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My sports 'tude: Puckmugger's 2nd annual Sports W/O.Jul 29 '05 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line For better or worse, sports are my life.
Here's my contribution to Part One of Puckmugger's second annual Sports Challenge Write-Off. 1. What are your favorite sports to watch on television? NFL football, which I think is actually better on TV than in person, thanks to the myriad of replays, stats, and highlights. I watch about any decent college basketball game too. I even tape them and then watch later than night. 2. How often do you watch sports on television? Everyday. If it's an important game or event, I'm watching. It helps that sportscasting is my occupation. So really I'm "working" all the time. Yeah, right. 3. What are your favorite sports to watch live? Baseball and soccer. Nothing beats a day at a major league baseball game. The casual pace, the small battles, the anticipation and analyzation of every play as it happens. Great stuff. World-class soccer is also much more amazing in person than on TV. You can appreciate the movement, the formation, and the individual skill much more fully. 4. How many live sporting events do you typically attend annually? Well into triple digits, covering scores of high school and college games, in addition to attending a dozen or so games purely as a fan. Being in the media does have its perqs (free tickets). 5. What organized team sports have you ever participated in previously? Basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, hockey, volleyball...pretty much everything but football, because I'd get broken in half. 6. What organized individual sports have you participated in previously? Swimming, tennis, trap shooting. And I was the back-to-back shoe-kick champion in elementary school. 7. What pick-up sports have you participated in previously? Basketball, volleyball, although I usually play with people I know rather than total strangers. 8. What sports or outdoor activities do you currently participate in? Softball, volleyball, basketball. And for the record, since (based on my reviews) I obviously love poker, that is not a sport. An intellectually and occasionally physically challenging game, yes, but it's not a sport. 9. How often? Roughly weekly on all accounts, except for softball, which has been reduced to monthly thanks to the fact that it rains EVERY FREAKING TUESDAY! 10. Is there any sport that you wish you could participate in now? I'd love to play lacrosse, but... 11. What's keeping you from doing it? ...the game is virtually non-existent in Kansas. 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. Hands down. It's quite simply the best game ever. 13. What team and position (if relevant)? Second base for the Kansas City Royals, with the Cubs and Cardinals my second choices. 14. What beer would you promote as a sports celebrity? (OK, that was just to make certain Bruguru, Marty and Fuche participate) Having attended numerous Cubs games while in college, I'll say Old Style, although I don't drink enough beer to endorse any one. 15. What brand would you promote? Reebok. I've liked them since I was a kid, originally because their shoes fit me the best, and now just to be different from the rest of the Nike-loving world. 16. Do you have any sports heroes? Who are they and why are they your heroes? Roberto Clemente (Pirates outfielder), for his harnessed reckless style and our similar heritage. Jackie Robinson (Dodgers second baseman), for his aggressive playing style and stunning self-control in the midst of ridiculous adversity. Frank White (Royals second baseman), for being the best fielder I've ever seen and his dedication to the Royals. 17. If you could invent a new sport, no matter how absurd, what would it be? Miani ball (pronounced mee-AH-nee). My friends and I have perfected this game, which we stole from one of our pastors. The gist is this: As many competent guys as possible line the sides of a swimming pool. There is one ball, usually water-absorbent, about the size of a tennis ball. One guy jumps off something dramatic (slide, diving board, deck, etc.), catches the ball in mid-air and throws it to another guy before submerging. That guy does likewise, catching and throwing while airborne. Repeat as many times as possible, climbing out of the pool and going again frequently if necessary. Sounds simple, but it's much harder than you think. The record is a DiMaggio-like 56. Bring it on.  |
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