Sports

Today is Sunday. To me that is “sports” day. Well, football day at least. From noon until midnight there is a game on almost every station. So why do I watch sports?

I don’t know how or when it started but television was always a big part of my distractive life, so I think when football started playing every Sunday, I was watching it. At least it was on.

There is nothing better to do when you are multi-tasking, like drawing or playing the guitar or listening to music through headphones while drinking beer, than to watch large guys out on a big green field running into each other. It seems senseless but there is a strategy behind the bedlam.

Unlike a “sport” like tennis or golf that only has one player, football has a bunch of these burley bums bumping into each other. While soccer is fast and constantly moving, American football is a series of sprints. Each team has a flashy uniform and networks and media moguls have declared some players, as heroes while others will go nameless. There is a lot of talk and replays in slow motion and a camera for every angle. The game is fairly simple with throwing and running and kicking and if you missed something, there will be recaps at every commercial break, and there are lots of them.

I don’t follow any teams so when I express I’m watching football and someone ask, “Who is playing?” I always respond “The Blue team against the Red team.” It is easier to switch back and forth between games when the outcome doesn’t matter.

I do watch the Super Bowl and the World Series and the finals at Wimbledon, but do not watch basketball at all and never watch any “sports” that involve animals. I don’t bet on sports or join fantasy leagues. It just isn’t that important to me.

I think it is time to put on the headphones as the neighbors break out the leaf blowers. There will be another game after this one and another after that. Sports are like that.