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Where do the children play? Horswispr Crashes Puckmugger's Sports write-offJul 30 '05 (Updated Aug 10 '05) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Sports good. Play sports. Watch sports. Be happy.
I'm crashin' this one 'cause I like sports. I like playing more than watching, but I like watching too. Most of my youth was spent outside doing something with a round (or oblong) object, whether it was playing baseball catch in the early evening, touch football after school, or "500" when we couldn't get enough guys together for a baseball game on a Saturday morning. I hate to sound like a classic "in my day" dad-type, but I don't see kids out there playing pick-up this and that like I used to, and it makes me worry. But enough preaching. 1. What are your favorite sports to watch on television? Baseball. I grew up watching baseball, and went to my first game (at Candlestick) with my dad when I was six. I do understand those who think baseball is boring; if you didn't grow up watching it, it's slow. If you did, you notice everything, from pitch selection and location to defensive set-up to whether the ump expands his strike zone because the pitcher has good control or whether a guy changes his swing with two strikes. I'm primarily a Giants and Cubs fan, but I'll watch any baseball game if it's on. I tend to watch football (and hockey and occasionally basketball) too, but not with the same level of interest. I'm switching between the Giants and A's games as I write. 2. How often do you watch sports on television? If the Giants or A's (Cubs or White Sox when I lived in Chicago) are on when I'm home, I'll watch. In fact, if any baseball game is on, I'll watch. I'd say most of most of my Epinions thus far have been written at least in part while watching sports. During the Fall months, I will have the TV on to a football game on Sunday mornings, but I'm not watching that closely unless it's a really good finish. 3. What are your favorite sports to watch live? Baseball. The smell of hot dogs (and now garlic fries). The sound of the crowd. The sun. The appreciation the home town fans have for a good play or pitching performance by an opposing player. Wrigley Field in Chicago is the best. The ivy. The feel. The intimacy. The other day (visiting family), I was sitting down the first base line. I could see the expressions on the faces of people in the left field bleachers. It's that small. SBC Park in San Francisco is nice too, but it's not Wrigley. I haven't been to Boston's Fenway yet. Drove by it in winter a few times, but haven't seen a game there. Anyway, baseball is my favorite to watch live. 4. How many live sporting events do you typically attend annually? Only about six. Five baseball games and one football or basketball or hockey (remember hockey?) game when a friend happens to have a ticket. The San Jose Sharks' arena is pretty cool. We went to the A's home opener this season. They got spanked, but it was good to be at the game. 5. What organized team sports have you ever participated in previously? I played baseball and soccer in high school and baseball in college. Also played IM soccer and hoops in college. Now, I play softball. I was also on the bowling team in college, but that was just an excuse to drink beer and get 1/4 unit for it. 6. What organized individual sports have you participated in previously? Absolutely none! 7. What pick-up sports have you participated in previously? When I was a kid in Chicago, we played everything from touch football to 2 on 2 hoops to baseball to "500" to free elimination. "Strikeout" or "box ball" was also big in my neighborhood. In Strikeout, you have two guys, a rubber ball, and a strike zone box drawn on the side of a building, often a school. One guys pitches to the other and tries to strike him out. Anything hit to the pitcher is also an out. A ground ball or line drive past the pitcher is a single. A blast past (some landmark or another) is a double. Over (some other landmark) is a home run. At our favorite place (Ray School on 57th), a blast off the store front of Exclusive Cleaners was a home run. An evening game of catch in the summer months was bliss. I encourage my friends' kids to do that to hone their skills (hoping they'll find it seductive and keep doing it), but most just return to their video games. Others are in adult-controlled "leagues" and rarely play just for the fun of it. Not all, though. There's hope. 8. What sports or outdoor activities do you currently participate in? Aside from two softball leagues, mostly riding my horse, cycling, and hiking. I used to river raft with a friend here in California, but we had a falling out, and so I don't do that right now. 9. How often? Softball is two to three nights a week, horse is about three days a week, and the other stuff is whenever I can. 10. Is there any sport that you wish you could participate in now? Ice fishing. It's hot out. Actually, I did go ice fishing a few years ago, and I realized it's like hunting: an excuse for guys to get together and drink beers. 11. What’s keeping you from doing it? It's Summer in California. 12. If your fairy godmother was going to give you all the skill and a job in pro sports, what sport would you play? Baseball. 13. What team and position (if relevant)? I would play center field for the San Francisco Giants and end my career with 659 home runs. To pass Willie Mays would be impious. 14. What beer would you promote as a sports celebrity? Guinness. 15. What brand would you promote? Eddie Bauer. 16. Do you have any sports heros? Who are they and why are they your heros? Willie Mays, because he looked like he enjoyed playing the game. 17. If you could invent a new sport, no matter how absurd, what would it be? No need. We have baseball. Perfection can't be improved upon. For all entries, visit: http://www.epinions.com/content_4427194500  |
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