The Big Green House

Monday, April 07, 2003

 

Almost as exciting as televised golf

Yet another reason why basketball is a dull sport: there are six games left in the season, the Sonics have just now reached the .500 mark, and there is still a good chance that they will make the playoffs. Let�s face it - if you bother to show up for most of your games, there�s a good chance you�ll make the playoffs. Why reward mediocrity?

Hockey suffers from playoff inflation as well, but at least it�s an enjoyable sport to watch. Basketball is duller than dirt. I�ve tried to enjoy it in the past; I used to live with a woman who played the game at the college level, so she was pretty keen to interest me in her sport*. We watched it on TV, we attended live games� I was never anything but bored. And so it remains today.

Before you get the wrong idea, I�m not one of those anti-sports guys. As I mentioned, I like hockey. I didn�t really discover it until I moved to Seattle � god bless the CBC and Hockey Night in Canada. Every year I keep meaning to go see the Thunderbirds play, as they�re usually pretty good, but I always forget.

I used to really dig baseball, until it became more about rooting for a uniform than a team. The Giants got me through many a hot, sweaty Sacramento summer, and I was a big A�s fan as a kid, back when they had that incredible 70�s dynasty. I lived for baseball season every year, as a fan and as a player. It was a very sad day for me when I realized that I had neither the arm nor the eye to become a professional player. I was ten.

The only thing which obsessed me more than baseball was the Raiders. I lived and died with the team. I watched the famous Heidi game on TV; die-hard that I was, I wasted no time in getting my radio, and so was able to at least listen to the incredible ending of the game. I bled silver and black for a long time. The team lost me, for the most part, when Al Davis started moving the team around.

Basketball, however, remains a mystery. And the fact that I�m short and slow has nothing to do with it.

*We even played one-on-one, once. I tried driving to the hoop; she threw an elbow and blackened my eye. We did not play again after that.
Science Girl, on the other hand, rowed for the crew � a non-contact sport. As long as she doesn�t smack me with an oar, I feel relatively safe.

bmarkey 4/07/2003 10:25:00 PM