SPORTS|CULTURE|PSYCHOLOGY
Watching Sports Isn’t My Jam, But I Get Sucked In — This Is Why
Beginning to understand what all the fuss is about even though sports competition still stresses me out
How It All Began…
When I was a kid, my mom used to take me to many of the “fan appreciation day” games for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team.
They gave away gifts at the door, oftentimes for kids 12 and under, which is why she wanted to take me on those days.
I found baseball to be pretty boring. God forbid, the game went into extra innings. My mom always stayed until the very end, except late at night.
Eating French fries, ice cream, and doing the wave was my favorite part. My embarrassment came when she yelled at the players was my least favorite part.
The rules of the game were easy enough to learn. It just didn’t hold my attention for long.
Later on…
Around 12 years old, I became a cheerleader for my school’s basketball team. Basketball was much more exciting than baseball to me and I enjoyed cheering for the team.
My mom wasn’t into basketball though, and I only attended a couple of professional games. I later learned that another reason my mom took me to baseball games is that the tickets were generally more affordable.
When I got to high school, I stopped being a cheerleader once I found out that I had to cheer outside in the cold during football season.
What. the. hell!?!!
Also, I did not get football.
Football, American football games last 3 to 4 hours, on average. It’s cold. The game constantly starts and stops…did I mention the cold??!
I was done trying to understand the game of football and some people’s obsession with it.
Philadelphia Eagles, my “home team”.
Flashback…
I played soccer for two years in grade school. My position was a left fullback, I think. Soccer was easy to understand. I didn’t take it that seriously, and I had fun playing with my friends.
Then, one autumn afternoon, I heard this awful scream by one of the varsity players and watched her crumble to the ground in tears.
The next time I saw her in school, she had a full leg cast. I stopped playing soccer soon after that.
The risk of injury was just too high, especially for our ages. It baffled me that so many people were willing to sign up to do these various sports with serious risks of bodily harm.
After I stopped cheering, I didn’t even bother to watch sports from the sidelines anymore. I lost all interest in sports for about 4 years.
Young Adult…
Fast forward to Seattle, Washington. I moved there in 1996. I worked with this guy named Rich who was a Harvard graduate and a fan of basketball.
In June 1997, I met him at his place to go for a walk. He was still watching the NBA playoffs. He asked if I was okay watching the rest of the game with him before our walk. I said, “Sure,” but wasn’t too keen on the idea.
Halftime had just finished. I poured myself a beer, plopped down on the sofa and prepared to count down the minutes until the game was over.
That game ended up being one THE BEST basketball games I have EVER SEEN in my ENTIRE life!
Those familiar with basketball might know it. It’s the game that Michael Jordan played when he had the FLU.
Of course, I’d heard of Jordan, just about everyone had, but I’d never seen him play.
I was in awe!
His playing was truly “poetry in motion”…and Jordan dominated the game- with the flu!?
“So sick and suffering from flu-like symptoms that at times he staggered, a dehydrated and exhausted Michael Jordan wills himself to 38 points against the Utah Jazz in a pivotal Game 5, adding to the his legend as a clutch performer and relentless competitor.”
Rich and I ended up talking about that game, and his love of basketball, for hours afterward. Looking back, I’m so grateful that I watched that game live and felt the magic as it unfolded in real time.
It was an awesome memory shared with a friend.
That was the day that it hit me how sports can play such a special role in people’s lives, especially in bringing people together.
Whether a person is on the field or off, whether someone has ever played a sport or not, there’s this comradery that is formed that is special and unique.
It’s cross cultural too.
Adult Life…
Since I’ve been in Europe the past year or so, I’ve seen tons of soccer games on outdoor screens throughout Italy and Croatia.
I’ve seen the Olympic games broadcast on various screens on the inside and outside of countless restaurants, bars and cares.
It was funny for me to see some of the USA Olympic basketball games on a few screens last summer. It oftentimes made me smile and feel connected to friends and family whom I knew were watching back home in the States.
These games are more than just games, and I never used to give them their due credit.
My German boyfriend is a huge fan of European soccer. I’ve been watching his team play almost every game for about a year and a half now.
When I first started watching them, I was a little bored at times. The team is good, but not “amazing”.
However, one of the surprising things that’s happened in recent months is that I have been allowing myself to get lost in the games.
They are even meditative in ways.
For those 90 minutes, more or less, I let myself be consumed by the game as if I was on the field with those players.
When my mind wanders, I bring it back to the game and focus on it, on our team trying to score.
I don’t check my phone (most of the time). I don’t look things up (most of the time). I just watch and listen, and cheer, of course, when we manage to get a GOAL/TOR or SCORE!
This is one of my new forms of “nirvana”.
Scot Butwell, thank you for the shout-out to us female writers of The Press Box and to everyone at the publication for promoting these stories.
A couple more of my stories:
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