Sports

I sit on my couch watching a football game.  It doesn't matter what game it is because "my team" (the Jets) already played this week.  I'm just watching for the sake of watching (also due to Fantasy Sports implications, but that's another story).

It got me to thinking...why do I like sports so much?

It's not a simple answer and it comes from a lot of places...

Part 1 - Dad.  My Dad loves sports.  He was never the most patient Dad in the world while growing up.  He doesn't relate well to young kids (as he is very logical...and kids are not).  He was usually pretty short with me as a kid, but he always had a lot more patience when he was discussing sports.  Watching the Mets or the Jets was always a time for us to bond.  He would explain strategy and get upset when the Manager or Coach didn't do what he thought they should.  It was our time.  All these years later, the easiest (and most frequent) conversations with my Dad revolve around sports...

Part 2 - Friends.  I didn't have much of a place growing up.  I didn't know where I fit.  I was always the square peg in the round hole...except when I was playing sports.  Baseball, Soccer, Basketball...it didn't matter.  I wasn't the best athlete, but I had pretty good genes and I was pretty smart.  These traits were helpful when it came to playing (and not embarrassing myself).  On the field I made friends.  A few of them are friends for life.  I always felt like I had a place while playing sports.

Part 3 - Drama.  The thrill of victory.  The agony of defeat.  All that stuff...  If you are truly invested, then you feel it when your team wins or loses.  My heart was broken recently when the New York Mets lost the World Series (in shocking fashion) to the Kansas City Royals.  I was in attendance.  It was the second time I had been to a World Series (the other was in 2000) and it was the second time I saw another team clinch the Championship on "our" field.  It sucks.  I spent the next few days having "I'm sorry" conversations with my friends...

You know what?  As much as it stings...it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.  I still had to wake up the next day.  Still had to go to work.  Still had to make sure The Attack was ok...and his BG was good.

There is nothing more sobering than to walk out of CitiField after the Mets lost the World Series and see a BG of over 300 on my Pebble Watch.

Sports.  You have so much meaning in my life.  You are fun while you last.  Your significance ends when the game ends.

There are more important things to worry about.