Bottom of the Barrel

It is no secret that 3 of my greatest loves are Soccer, Football, and College Basketball. They span most of the year and bring great joy to many. There is however, a small portion of the year that most call spring and summer, I call it the worst 4 months in the sporting world. Why you ask? Because it is dominated by baseball and the NBA basketball finals. These two sports are not my favorite, to put it nicely and avoid obscenities. Yes I know, soccer spans most of these 4 months as well, however the US has yet to catch up with the rest of the world and recognize soccer as arguably the greatest game ever played. And this year we are graced with the greatest display of athletic competition known to the world, the World Cup. But that will be saved for the another time when I can treat it with more reverence. Since the college basketball season ended in early April, with order restored to the college basketball kingdom I might add, I have been a little bit, shall we say, blue. I turn on sportscenter and Mike and Mike in the Morning and Sportsnation and to my disappointment, I am bombarded with endless talk of baseball and the NBA finals, the only highlight being the NFL draft. Since ESPN is basically the only television I watch, this puts a huge damper in my spirit. In an effort to give my soul a little peace in this dark time of the year in sports, I have attempted to give these two sports a chance. Two different outcomes have resulted.
First....and by far the better of the two experiences....was the the Utah Jazz vs. the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA finals. Now I really do not like the NBA. I love basketball, it's an amazing and athletic sport, but I've always maintained a stand that the NBA is not real basketball! At least not in it's current form. I remember watching the Jazz and the Celtics and the Bulls when I was very young and it mesmerized me. I feel like it's become a huge offensive game with no real defensive effort involved and a display of tricks and stunts. However, there is always something to be said about the atmosphere at a very important game where the crowd is constantly on their feet, screaming and cheering for the home team. The arena is so loud you can not hear yourself think and you swear you definitely just felt the building shake. The adrenaline that inevitably ensues is intoxicating. And that is what I love about sports. So this game was definitely enjoyable. It may not have changed my views on the game, and I won't be following the NBA any closer than I have in the past, but it was fun.

Baseball, baseball and I do not get a long. It is professed to be "America's game" and I do not like that! First of all I think America should catch up with the rest of the world and realize that soccer is indeed the superior form of athletic competition. And if they can't muster that, it should at least consider football a good alternative. But for better or worse, baseball seems to be a favorite of a few million people or so. Therefore in an attempt to understand this bizarre way of thinking, I decided to attend an MLB game. The Colorado Rockies vs. the San Francisco Giants. Now I am continually told by everyone I have this argument with that if I were to see a professional game, my opinion would change. I hate to tell you this, but everyone was WRONG! The game was not exciting, the fans were obnoxious and down right rude. They barely cheered, nobody seemed to be paying any attention to the game, until maybe around the 5th inning(that's half way through the game!), and not to mention I was cold! Now I am willing to concede that this was one single experience, and if I were to see, say maybe the New York Yankees in Yankee stadium from the 3rd base line I might feel a little differently. So Derek Jeter, if you're reading this, I challenge you to change my mind! Until then, I will forever be wishing for the speedy passing of April through August.

Me enjoying my MLB experience.