Tag: #Sports

  • SPORTS

    I just want to get this out of the way; it really rubs me the wrong way when “artists” hate on sports. From making a Mitt Romney type joke – “I like sport,” – to the playing dumb – “I hope our team makes more homeruns then the other team,” – to outright hostility – “A bunch of dumb jocks, and your dumb for liking it!” I know some of it comes from the fact that most “artists” went to schools where the arts were pitted against sports, and that resentment never went away.

    I come from a very competitive family, and my dad had a rule which was that we had to play a sport or have a physical activity until 16. After that age, we could do whatever. I played team sports up to seventh grade, mainly basketball and baseball, but that’s when it became very clear I didn’t have to coordination, nor the killer instinct, that was needed to be successful an athletics. For the next two years, I took tennis lessons, and I was pretty good, but it wasn’t anything that I had a passion for. It was just fun. Anyway, by the time I was 16, I was theatre nerd, and in a sense, I was part of a different team sport.

    When it came to watching sports growing up, I always found it pretty boring. But as I get older, I seem to find myself reminiscing on fond memories of being around my dad, and sports being on the tv. During summers breaks, Wimbledon would be on NBC, and I remember watching that with the old man. And March Madness, that was one that he looked forward to. And when the Cowboys were really good in the 90’s, that was another moment when we would watch Troy, Emmitt, Michael, Jay, Moose, and Alvin.

    And then there was my grandfather and his never-ending faith in the CUBS, while watching them on WGN.

    The other thing I find true about myself is that I like sports because it can tell a dramatic story; Underdog and GOAT, rookie and veteran, superstar and utility player. You have to believe that your team can win, and complain about the owners.

    Anyway… sports.

  • The Knicks Won!

    I don’t know if you know this, but last night, the New York Knicks won a playoff game! It is the first playoff win for the Knicks since 2013. After the game, a crowd formed in the street outside of Madison Square Garden to chant, jump on cars, be unruly New Yorkers, you know…

    Sure, the Knicks haven’t won the series, and the odds are still against them, but hey, they got a win in the playoffs…

    Not unlike when the Cleveland Browns won a game in 2018, after their 0-16 2017 season. It’s on that level of fan excitement.

    The other thing to remember about the game from last night was that the Knicks had a crowd to play for, and I think it helped. Especially after halftime when Rose and Gibson started in the lineup. People cheering, yelling, getting excited. The home crowd being rowdy when their team plays well. You know, normal stuff.

    I’m not a Knicks fan, but if I start saying that I am, then clearly I’m jumping on the bandwagon. I should be called out on that.

  • Europe’s Super League is a Mistake

    I have been following the Premier League for the past couple of years, and specifically supporting Tottenham Hotspur for the past three. I have watched them change mangers twice, get to the finals of the Champions League, got really annoyed when they didn’t re-sign Eriksen, got totally confused as to why Dele isn’t playing, and got really happy with the Kane/Son duo on the pitch. I even paid for Peacock so I could watch matches, and have tried to read up on the history of the team, so I at least have a bit of a knowledge to build off of.

    So, when the Super League was announced on Sunday, I had a resigned disappointment. Here is an explainer from the New York Times. Long story short, 12 of the biggest football clubs in Europe are forming a new league, and outside of these 12 teams making a whole lot of money, there really isn’t much benefit for anyone else. The Super League will kill off smaller clubs, actually eliminates competition, and just reeks of greed.

    And as an American, I just want to say, “Your welcome, European football fans!” Yup, we are great at greed and capitalism when it comes to ruining sports. I love baseball, but there is no mystery to that sport; whoever spends the most wins. Why don’t baseball clubs just announce how much they are planning on spending, and then the top 16 teams just play each other for the championship? It would cut out the pesky middle man, which is that boring summer season. There is no real competition during the baseball season, the playoffs is where all the action is, and money determines it.

    Which is what the Super League is. They have decided that their home leagues are meaningless, and having to deal with competition from smaller clubs is just getting in the way. The difference is in America, we still perpetrate the lie, while Europe is coming around to the truth; this isn’t about sports, it’s about making money.

    Again, you’re welcome Europe!

  • Football (Both) Amid Covid

    This will be one of my rare sports blogs, but as we are closing in on the start of American Football, and the English Premier League, it just seems fitting.

    Last week, my good friend contacted me and all of our circle of friends, asking if we wanted to continue out fantasy football league this season, and to be honest, I wasn’t even aware if there would be a football season this year. I’m sure I’m not alone in this; with everything that is going on, fantasy football hadn’t been high on my radar, but the thought of texting friends about how awful players are doing, and sinking their chances of winning our league did seem like a nice distraction. Don’t ruin it for me, but the fact that there are fantasy football leagues seems to me to say that there will be a season. But I don’t feel any excitement for it. Normally, I have a stupid optimism that my team, The Dallas Cowboys, will actually win it all. Facts don’t matter in this situation; I just somehow know that they will pull it off. I’m not feeling it this year. I don’t know anything that is going on with the team other than Dak will be starting.

    As for the other team I am following, Tottenham Hotspur FC in the Premier League, they start their season on Sunday. I do feel like I am a little bit of a bubble when it comes to rooting for them, as I don’t know of any other Hotspur fans. It’s almost like my little sports secret. If I want to watch them this year, I will have to subscribe to Peacock, which will be $50 for the season. This is a little more exciting to me, for the simple fact that I have to put some skin in the game if I want to follow them, (Funny how spending money on something makes you care more) and I will be spending that money on them.

    I can agree with the idea that with sports continuing, even in its limited capacity, it does give the sense of normalcy. That, we can have something “other” to talk about. But for right now, I will settle for my two teams to just have a winning record.