I have nothing to be upset about right now. I am in a good mood and there is nothing happening in the sports world that has sufficiently drawn my ire to write about today. I don’t know if it’s the weather or the fact I will double-fisting pina coladas in 72 hours, but last night I contemplated just how great it is to be a sports fan right now.
And by now, I don’t mean 2010. I don’t want to get into a philosophical discussion about how great technology makes following sports in the 21st century. The main reason I don’t want to discuss that angle is that I would be buried under a deluge of techno-speak once I got past High Definition feeds.
No, it’s great to be a sports fan in April. Why?
In Canada and the Northern United States, the weather begins a march towards the mercury-busting temperatures of summer. Nice weather just puts people in a better mood; and sports fans are people so this point applies.
The first golf major of the year takes place. Nothing kicks spring off quite like the schmaltzy music and vivid greens of Augusta National Golf Club. It’s the most entertaining golf tournament to watch in the world.
The start of baseball season. I could wax poetic for thousands of words about my love for America’s pastime. It’s the perfect summer sport. And with each of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball playing a 162 game schedule, it is possible to watch a game every day for the next seven months. How fantastic is that?
The NHL playoffs. I’ve been pretty brutal on hockey over the past year, but that’s only because I don’t care to watch the watered-down product that is a 30 team regular season. Every team in the league has at least three players who don’t belong on an NHL roster. The bad teams have even more. I’m looking in your direction, Toronto Maple Leafs.
But, I do love hockey when it’s played by supremely gifted players, which is why I followed Crosby and Ovechkin so closely during the year. I also loved watching the Olympics as that tournament featured the best players in the world playing with conviction and tremendous skill every single game.
The NHL playoffs, thus far, have done the same thing. The pace of play has been fantastic and every game has been entertaining. Is it a coincidence that the goon squad of mediocre players get zero ice time? Nope, because fighting is not a part of playoff hockey. The postseason is hockey at its best: playing on the edge with passion. It’s not picking a fight because you don’t possess another discernible hockey skill.
The NBA playoffs. Much like hockey, I don’t really follow the sport as a whole during the regular season, but I do keep an eye on transcendent talents like LeBron and Kobe. Too often, NBA players are disengaged during the regular season and just go through the motions (I watched Vince Carter do this night after night for years).
However, I do watch the playoffs because the level of play rises considerably and the games are riveting to watch. Case in point, the duel between Kobe and Kevin Durant in Los Angeles last night. Now that was exciting basketball. It’s not exciting to watch the Raptors lose by 10 in Memphis on a random Wednesday night.
What’s more, the previous three points can all be viewed every single night for the next two months. How great is that? It really is an embarrassment of riches.
Sports fans should count their blessings and remember this time when the dog days of August roll around and the only viewing option are baseball games where the players’ only goal is to not melt in the sun; batting average and ERA be damned.
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2 comments:
I'm all warm inside about your rosy mood and having nothing to disparage today -- I wish I could say the same. I let the nameless BOD pass without comment a few days ago, as Shannon Elizabeth is so 1999 (what in god's name did she do to her teeth after American Pie). But, I cannot let today's blonde siren pass without voicing my dissatisfaction of her anonymity. You're not on the beach with those Pina Colada's yet Tewks!
How does a male of the age of 25, (26?), who still lives at home with his mom, doesn't work and watches survivor and the batchlorette with said mother, afford to go south for a week?
you're bringing your own beer for the next hunt.
wakestock is august 6-8th.
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