New Britain — Some of us have spent a good part of the last nine months missing him.

Heck, some of us still can't look at the picture of George Gianakos hanging inside Our Happy Place without welling eyes. There it is, prominently in the bar, George smiling with his brother, Peter, the two men who combined on the food, fun, firewater and floor show at Mr. G's for decades. Oh, for just one more day with The Big Lug as he walks by your table, grabs a French fry off your plate and starts babbling.

Yes, we miss him. But our sorrow is a dull ache compared to the story of Olivia, who was with her dad coming home from a college trip when he suffered the heart attack that killed him at 63 last July.

Olivia Gianakos saw and felt things that day that are unspeakable.

And maybe that makes what follows all the more inspiring.

"I have literally never seen Liv falter," Betsy Vendel was saying Wednesday on the turfed lawn of Arute Field, where she coaches Olivia on the women's lacrosse team at Central Connecticut State University.

"I actually don't think there's been a practice where she's taken a rep off," Vendel said. "With our low numbers, everybody gets plenty of reps. I can't remember her taking anything off. Not once. You really can't find that nowadays. It's really tough to find the kid that wants to grind. I've told our kids in the locker room, 'hey, I want Liv on my team.' She's kind of kid I want to coach and the kind of teammate I would want."

Turns out Olivia Gianakos honors her dad's memory with more than her team-leading 19 goals. George's life was a monument to appreciating the present: all the people, places and things around us. It was very much like George to acknowledge every patron who came through the door at G's, launch into George-like stories (always free but never solicited), most of all making people feel like they mattered. He talked to everybody. He was present. He was never wishing time away waiting for the next big thing. Every moment was a big thing.

Every moment — every rep, as her coach says — is the same big thing for Olivia Gianakos, who in the wake of unimaginable anguish, has found the inner strength to keep her dad's memory dynamic. George gets to live through Liv.

"You can see what Liv brings us through her stats and how she plays," Vendel said. "But she'll never tell you about it. A humble kid who just wants to work hard and wants her team to do well.

"She truly comes to practice every day with a smile. I think lacrosse is an outlet for her and she values that outlet a lot. I can't imagine being in her position and doing what she's done. I'm so proud of her. I'm envious of her and how she can adjust, play and function. She knows coming to practice that this is her moment to breathe. I met her dad on her recruiting trip. I think she also knows how much her dad wanted her to play here because so many family members also came to CCSU."

George knew last spring that Olivia would transfer from the University of Hartford, whose entire athletic program was crumbling. He did indeed pray she'd choose Central, particularly over St. Bonaventure, which is a crisp 430 miles from Waterford. It's just that nobody at the time could fathom the future's cruelty.

Olivia Gianakos likes her new school, teammates, friends and coaches. There are few other colleges anywhere that inspire comparable loyalty to CCSU. Just don't get the idea this is easy.

"It's definitely hard not having him," she said after Wednesday's game.

She needed a moment to finish the thought, tears running down her cheeks.

"He was always my biggest fan," she said. "I know that anyone who knew him knew he liked watching me and my brother play sports even more than we liked playing them. Even though he's not here to watch and tell everyone about it, I know he'd be really proud."

Indeed.

"Sometimes I think of what my dad would say," Olivia said. "I think of how it was to hear him in the stands. I just want to play for him and make him proud. It kind of pushes me to keep going."

The family is still well represented in the bleachers. Olivia's mom, Tracy, is there at all the games, doing all the mom things, like making sure everyone is well fed postgame.

Tracy even got Olivia's brother, Michael, on the phone after Wednesday's game. Mike is a Providence grad working in Boston and was coming to his mom live from Fenway at the time of the call. George would have loved that.

This is Olivia' first full lacrosse season, having finally conquered knee issues that had sidelined her for two years. Nineteen goals in 11 games thus far in a program trying to grow. Central, ever affordable, has wonderful facilities and support staff in case all you aspiring lacrossers are unsure of college plans.

"Being on a small team, we're all really close," Olivia Gianakos said. "I'm good. I'm happy to be here."

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro