So Many Sports To Choose From

Sometimes it’s hard being a sports fan.
Sure, there are the thrilling games, the transcendent moments, and the larger-than-life performances that bring us together as fans.
But inevitably, these hilltop experiences lead only to the valleys of sports fanship. In these times we search for the next great athlete, the next indomitable underdog, or the next phenom waiting to break out.
My recent mountaintop experience came, as we discussed here over the past few weeks, with the European soccer championship. I fell in love with the spunky spirit of the Turks as they rallied to one impossible comeback win after another; I marveled at the tremendous athleticism of Lukas Podolski, David Villa, Andrei Arshavin, and so many others; I looked forward to the championship match like a kid waiting for Christmas.
And now that it’s over, I’m stuck here in sports limbo. So where do I go to find that next great sports connection?
I’ve got a few ideas, but I still can’t decide which sports experience I’m going to sink myself into next. I’m not talking about the “Big 3” mainstream sports, the NFL, MLB or the NBA; I want to find a so-called “fringe” sport and find out what makes it great. And hopefully, I’ll find the top of the sports mountain in the process.
Let’s take a look at the options, in no particular order:
Soccer
We’ve talked a lot about soccer lately, so we might as well tackle it right up front.
Pros: It’s a classic game. Every country besides the U.S. has a storied history in the sport, and that history carries over into so many facets of the game. Good play requires a set of very specific skills, and the smallest mistake can be the difference between winning and losing. When it’s done right, soccer is really fun to watch. And there’s also Hope Solo.
Cons: It’s not always done right. Watching a soccer match between two lackluster teams is bad enough, but it gets even worse when a good team takes on a bad team. Because it’s incredibly difficult to score, a two-goal lead usually means game over. Plus, there are a lot of weird rules and quasi-rules that can get confusing. And there’s also Franck Ribery.
Conclusion: International soccer is great, but the MLS is another thing. Let’s see what else is out there.
Hockey
Specifically, the NHL, which used to be part of the mainstream but has fallen into the second tier of sports.
Pros: Like soccer, it’s an extremely difficult game to master, and the players who are great are exceedingly fun to watch. Rising stars such as Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Andrei Kostitsyn, and Marc-Andre Fleury give new fans plenty of opportunities to find a team to follow. If nothing else, it’s cool to watch the fights.
Cons: Like soccer, there are a few too many odd rules, although the league has taken steps to clear some of them up. Also like soccer, there are a lot of names that look like a box of Alpha-Bits spilled on the back of a jersey, making it hard for kids in the school yard to have to yell out things like “Oh yeah? Well I’m Maxim Balmochnykh of the Anaheim Ducks!”
Conclusion: Hockey certainly fills the hours in a place where it snows for eight months a year, but when you live in Southern California, it just doesn’t have the same appeal. Maybe if they scratch a few of the bottom-feeders (would anybody miss the Columbus Blue Jackets?) and relocate some teams back to Canada, I’d get more excited.
Tennis
As you read last week, I had a reader write in to suggest that I follow the Wimbledon tournament this year. It turned out to be a great final in both the men’s and women’s bracket, so we’ll see if tennis is making a comeback.
Pros: I don’t know… short skirts? I will grant that it takes a lot of concentration, skill and preparation to compete as a world-class tennis player. The men’s game shows off the power of the sport as well, with serves in excess of 130 miles per hour and impossible winners. And because it’s an individual sport, it’s easier to follow a particular player throughout his or her career.
Cons: Tennis has gone downhill from the exciting sport it used to be even as recently as the 1990s. With improving technology and physical capability, the game has become about power and speed, instead of endurance and precision. Also, there are so many tournaments and championships that the sport seems to lack a true season and off-season. And as exciting as the conclusion is, it’s really tough to watch a four-hour match of two people hitting a ball back and forth over a net, especially when the fans have to sit quietly while it’s happening.
Conclusion: If they updated the scoring system and made some improvements to keep the technology from taking over completely, it could come back. But it’s not completely hopeless.
Motor Sports
You may recall that I already follow NASCAR, and that with something of a passion. But every time I mention this in conversation, someone usually brings up some of the other forms of motor sports out there, such as Motocross or Off-Road Racing.
Pros: Since I already like NASCAR, I’d like to learn more about cars and bikes, mostly because I feel pretty manly talking about gears and carburetors. Racers are a unique breed of athlete, and watching a person wrestle with a 2,000-pound hunk of metal at 200 miles per hour is every bit as thrilling as a perfectly-placed free kick.
Cons: My defense of NASCAR as a sport usually revolves around the fact that we follow sports because we follow the story lines behind them. With some of the lesser-known motor sports, it would be difficult to get to know the drivers and the stories behind them. Plus, it’s not very easy to find these sports on television, and it gets pretty expensive to follow a sport when you have to go to all the live events.
Conclusion: If the fringe motor sports were more prevalent, I’d be more inclined to find out more about them. Of course, all it would take is finding an interest in a new driver or something like that to motivate me to find out more.
Curling
Ha ha… Just kidding.
Golf
I’ve heard lots of arguments that it’s not a sport, but it’s not like it’s bowling or something. Plus, it’s not a bad way to spend the afternoon in Southern California, so we’ll consider it.
Pros: Ask any golfer, from the most experienced pros to the beginners: golf is hard. You can practice ‘til your hands bleed, but you still can’t guarantee what that little white ball is going to do when you whack it with a club. So when the pros somehow manipulate the laws of physics to put the ball where they want it, it’s a little bit exciting. Add the drama of a major tournament and it’s worth watching.
Cons: Because it’s so difficult, golf can be excruciating to watch, especially to those who can identify with the struggles of the game. It’s also a very quiet game, so it’s hard to get too amped up about it. And now that Tiger Woods is out until 2009, it’s going to be a long season.
Conclusion: When Tiger comes back, it will be a fun sport again. In the meantime, we’ll just have to continue wondering what happened to David Duval.
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As you can no doubt tell, I have my preferences among the above options. I’m leaning towards hockey, mostly because I used to follow it and miss the thrill of the game.
But I’d love to hear from you as well.
Write me a note at sports@valleycenter.com to convince me to follow one of these sports, or even to enlighten me on a sport I haven’t mentioned.
As always, I’ll be happy to share your suggestions with the community in next week’s issue.