I’ve been accused of being a baseball dilettante, to which I defiantly say, “Guilty as charged.”
I’ve never been one for organized sports. I got into watching basketball because my boyfriend liked it, and I married him, so the whole thing kind of stuck. But once Kobe was involved in that whole rape allegation, the Lakers didn’t look so good to me. No Ron Harper? No thanks. Just not interested.
And now I’ve moved to this totally jocky city (I mean that in a nice way). These people are hardcore sports fans. But the problem is, there’s no basketball team here. I’ve still got baseball, hockey and football, though.
As was glaringly obvious in my post yesterday, I went to the baseball game last night for the cake. But something else happened while I was there.
I actually wanted to watch the game.
This is new. When I got my free hat, I put it on.
And now I find myself in the interesting position of actually caring about sports, and wanting to know more. Baseball’s okay, but you do tend to miss all the excitement when you’re out getting dessert.
Hockey? Not so much. As blasphemous as it is for a Canadian to say, I just don’t like hockey. It can be cool, and it requires an enormous skill set (unfathomable to me, as I can’t even skate, let alone hold a stick or look for a puck) but I just don’t like all the fighting. Why can’t hockey players get along, anyway? Is it that they’re all hopped up on testosterone? Or are they just kind of jerks?
Then there’s football. I can’t say I really understand the details, and it feels like an eternity for the ball to get anywhere. Everything takes so long in football. You blink and you’ve missed the kick. Then you wait for forty minutes and look for lost tortilla chips in your couch while the ball moves a few feet. Seems kind of Sissyphean.
So where does that leave me? Yes, it looks like I shall have to immerse myself in baseball. One day I will no longer be a dilettante, and then, all who now mock me shall bow at my feet.
I'd probably better bring my own dessert, though.
And the Oscar Goes to. . . .Yawn
2 years ago
If you want to become a baseball fan, here's the secret: Pick a team to follow--ideally, a contending team. It doesn't have to be a team that's considered a "lock" for the playoffs (e.g., Red Sox, Dodgers), but it should be a good team. Watching a bad team can be demoralizing. At any rate, once you pick that team, you follow it passionately through the year. You get to know the players, the manager, the other teams--you start to live and die with that team. You'll never be without baseball again.
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