On Watching Sports

 One of my coworkers is English and refers to sports as "sport" but never could that singular be more inappropriate than now! There have been plenty of sports to watch in the past couple weeks: soccer, basketball, tennis, even hockey, cycling and baseball (which I haven't tuned into personally). 

I've been following the EuroCup, NBA playoffs, and Wimbledon--all very different sports. Soccer is a long, drawn-out battle where a team's positioning on the field and strategy combine with conditioning and skill to result in only a handful of actual (but very exciting) goal-scoring moments per match. Basketball, on the other hand, is a short court and short format with lots of breaks, but also lots of plays and playmakers; quickly swinging momentum and the opportunity for streaks abound in a basketball game. Finally, singles tennis is one-on-one combat, physical and mental; doubles is also great to watch, with a different dynamic from the singles matches.

Amidst a season of change in my life, I find watching sports strangely comforting. Besides the fact that I grew up with sports on TV, I find it fun to get caught up in the stories of athletes who, both individually and as teams, vie for success. Sports is the original reality TV! I don't know the stars personally but I can quickly find allegiance for the most arbitrary of reasons: Italy because the pope probably cheers for them and because they seem joyous on the field; Milwaukee because I'm staying here and I think "Fear the Deer" is a hilarious slogan; Djokovic because he's mental.

I haven't just firmly planted my rear on the couch, either. Last week, I went to a couple local pubs to watch EuroCup matches, which I plan to do again tomorrow for the final. In the safety of a group, I even ventured to the Deer District (outside the Fiserv Forum, very accessible in MKE) to watch Game 2 of the NBA finals, sadly another loss for the Bucks. I enjoy the energy of fans cheering together, even though we're all actually just watching TV as a big group!