9.7.05

Watching Sports

I'm not a sports person. I said that to my late grandfather once, and he used to quote it back to me all the time, "Oh right, you're 'not a sports person'". My logical mind says, "who cares who wins and who loses, it doesn't matter to me, I don't know any of the players ", and yet on those few sports I don't mind watching every once in a while, there I am, nervous as hell when things get close. So why does that happen?

Tonight I watched a the US Open quarterfinal between Agassi and Blake until 1AM. Tennis being one of the few sports I enjoy watching (mostly just the majors). Blake was the underdog and the so-called "Cinderella" of the Open so far, and he did well, losing to Agassi: 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6. It really was a thrilling match, one of the best I've seen. But, while I was rooting for Blake a little, both because I bet my dad in the hospital $5 and because he was the underdog and I wanted to see him get to the semi's, I really didn't mind if Agassi one either.. always liked him, mainly because he seems like a genuinely nice guy. However I found my stomach all knotted up while watching the final set, and especially the final tie breaker. It must be some kind of hard coded, war, fight or flight thing. Where competition in the sports arena is used to quench the tribal-battle thirst.

But why tennis? I honestly couldn't care less about football, or baseball, or basketball (except college, rarely) and the rest of them. And if I didn't see the match I would never feel like I missed out on anything. Maybe it's due to the individualism of the whole thing, you against yourself as much as against your opponent. Then again, maybe I'm full of shit.

I spent 2.5 hours watching that match. 2.5 hours of my life that I'll never get back. 2.5 hours that I could have spent writting another E-Z Cheez pop song like the one from 8.31.05. 2.5 hours in which I added stress to a life that currently has no vacancy. But you know what? Every once in a while you've got to do things that are a waste of time. When it comes to watching sports, I give myself about 5 hours a year. And so I'm going to not stress about the stress I've just put myself through, instead I'm going to look at it as a positive experience, because it gave me the idea for this essay in the first place.