Defend the wicket and pile up the Atlas stones — this week, we’re talking sports! Obviously, we’re talking about some more obscure sports in that opening line (to Americans, anyway), but trust us: there’s plenty of talk about football, baseball, and that other sporting event Americans clamor for: lumberjacking!
Wait — basketball…we mean basketball. (Even though hockey’s probably mentioned most…because hockey is BEST!!!)
But don’t think this is a talk all about games and stats and players because…well, we probably couldn’t sustain sports radio-esque chatter like that for an hour. (At least Christopher couldn’t.) Instead, listen to Shawn talk about striking out at T-ball and find out what Christopher once did to get much more than a red card in a soccer game. At the same time, we chat a little bit about the sports we have actually succeeded in pulling off…sometimes to levels of actual proficiency. Shawn talks about the sport that saw many broken bones for him, while Christopher talks about the sport in which he’s “pretty fast, for a big guy…”
Sure, we talk about athletes and teams that have impressed us, but we also talk about some weird sports — and things some argue are sports at all. We wrap it up talking about how sports geeks aren’t much different than geek geeks; in fact, Christopher makes the argument that anyone playing in a fantasy league of some sort just might be more of a geek than someone playing Dungeons and Dragons.
It’s more fun than SlamBall…and SlamBall’s pretty fun, right?
RIGHT?!
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Football I started getting interested in because of my eldest playing in Junior High, then High School. But I’ve never really liked ‘professional’ sports. Hard to put my finger on why, but comparing professional football to High School and College – there’s a different energy with HS and College. Maybe it’s school spirit. Maybe it’s the band playing in the stands. Dunno.
BIG BIG fan of LD Bell football (my alma mater) and love watching the Longhorns football, but Cowboys? Meh. Granted, I also loathe Jerry Jones and probably won’t support the ‘Boys until he’s out.
But HS and College sports I love so much more than professional sports.
Curtis: I’ve probably had more fun watching friends in rec league hockey play than some professional games I’ve seen. College football is weird to me…you get people soooooooo into it who have never been to college. I totally get that if you live in Alabama, you’re gonna like their college team ’cause there’s no pro team. But I definitely agree that the spectacle is different with the band and college rituals, so I can see the appeal. Hell, maybe one year we’ll have to go watch a UNT game (I’d go, just to check out the newish stadium and how green they made it…no pun intended.)
My first personal sports-ish memory was from grade school. Everybody had to line up in the gym and sit on these wheeled boards, kind of like skate boards, except they were square and could roll in any which way. We had to scoot on our butts on these boards across the gym floor and back. Out of everybody, I was the fastest scooter by far. It was my long legs. 🙂
In high school, I tried out for a couple sports teams in an effort to be more “well-rounded.” I was kicked off the swimming team for not being fast enough. So the next year, I joined the track team. This was after I had missed a month of school with the worst case of chicken pox my doctor had ever seen (I was 16). The track season had already started and I was still weak from the pox and behind everybody else in training. I think I lasted half the season, then quit. Again it was a lack of speed issue. But I actually did win a ribbon once by actually finishing ahead of another runner. A surreal moment.
Not at all into sports now, but sometimes I’ll watch the strongman competitions and the lumberjack competitions. On the 4th of July I’ll watch the disgustingly fascinating hot dog-eating contest if I remember. Sometimes I’ll watch part of a NASCAR race, but only because my husband is a big fan, and he watches. I usually either root for Jeremy Mayfield, even though he’s not in NASCAR anymore (kicked out for meth, now works as a delivery driver), or for Dash Ampersand, who is a fictional character, much to the annoyance of my husband.
I agree with jocks now being geeks (or nerds). It all started in 1984 with the movie “Revenge of the Nerds,” and Lamar’s javelin throw. 🙂
CMS: I remember those scooter board thingies! Loved them!
Running is a thing I just…never really did. They wanted me to throw shotput in track, but I just…didn’t get along with jocks. I never felt like a part of the team, even when I wanted to play a sport.
I live just a couple miles from a NASCAR track. I grew up watching races with my dad, but it was something that never took total hold with me. I can watch F1 racing, because it’s a shorter time and not an oval. But the sounds and rhythm of NASCAR…I could probably have it on in the background and it be a soothing thing.