Wednesday
May042011
Me? Watching Sports?...More Americanness
Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 3:30PM
Monday night, sat watching the Lakers game. The weekend, spent discussing the draft and watching college football highlights. Last Thursday, another Lakers game. Last week I even watched some baseball!
Anyone who knows me from England would never describe me as the kinda guy to sit and watch sports. It just never really interested me. I could watch the occasional important soccer game from time to time, most likely when it was United in a final, or England in an international competition. Even then, I’ll be the first to admit I got a little bored. I’d happily play any sport, but watching it, just wasn’t for me.
Well, watching soccer still hasn’t really changed, though again, England in the world cup will still have me. But American sports.... different matter. I think I am a football junkie now. I have really come to appreciate the skill and tactics of the game, even recognising some of the plays now. I am loathe to miss a Packers and Badgers game next season, and I feel like I might even find myself watching various other games too, both in college football and the NFL. I even watched some of the NFL Draft, the weekend where NFL teams pick up new players straight out of college.
On the subject of the Draft, it’s an interesting process. Too big a fanfare is made of it sure, but I like how it’s set up. Instead of professional teams picking up new players based on how much they can afford to pay in contracts, they are assigned positions in a queue, and simply get to pick the next best available player, or a player they particularly want. Your position in the queue is based on how well you performed the previous year...in reverse. So the worst team last season gets the first pick in the draft, the option to pick the very best available new player. And the team which won the Superbowl- the Packers this year- get the last pick, No.32.
Multiple rounds follow, picks are traded for better positions, or more players, and a saga unfolds. I like it because it means the teams with the most money don’t get to dominate, and by having the better teams pick later, it keeps a nice amount of fairness and competition in the game.
A similar process takes place in the NBA, the professional basketball league. I used to play basketball a little in high school (yes despite my height), but these guys are something else. I first started watching the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009, when they won the NBA championship. We saw the playoff finals, and since then, the Lakers have been my team. (In fairness, I was a Laker when I was 4 too, with my very own Lakers bomber jacket!)
These past few weeks, I’ve been back into basketball, watching as the Lakers seek a third straight NBA championship. I’ve seen them play the New Orleans Hornets and now they’re playing the Dallas Mavericks. I’ve also caught the Chicago Bulls playing, and Miami Heat and the Orlando Magics. I know players, I know plays, and I am hooked.
I even watched the Brewers play a baseball game, though I confess, that wasn’t my thing. That was a little boring. Some more watching though, and who knows? Heck, I even read the sports section in the newspaper!
P.S. The Lakers lost by one basket! :(
Anyone who knows me from England would never describe me as the kinda guy to sit and watch sports. It just never really interested me. I could watch the occasional important soccer game from time to time, most likely when it was United in a final, or England in an international competition. Even then, I’ll be the first to admit I got a little bored. I’d happily play any sport, but watching it, just wasn’t for me.
Well, watching soccer still hasn’t really changed, though again, England in the world cup will still have me. But American sports.... different matter. I think I am a football junkie now. I have really come to appreciate the skill and tactics of the game, even recognising some of the plays now. I am loathe to miss a Packers and Badgers game next season, and I feel like I might even find myself watching various other games too, both in college football and the NFL. I even watched some of the NFL Draft, the weekend where NFL teams pick up new players straight out of college.
On the subject of the Draft, it’s an interesting process. Too big a fanfare is made of it sure, but I like how it’s set up. Instead of professional teams picking up new players based on how much they can afford to pay in contracts, they are assigned positions in a queue, and simply get to pick the next best available player, or a player they particularly want. Your position in the queue is based on how well you performed the previous year...in reverse. So the worst team last season gets the first pick in the draft, the option to pick the very best available new player. And the team which won the Superbowl- the Packers this year- get the last pick, No.32.
Multiple rounds follow, picks are traded for better positions, or more players, and a saga unfolds. I like it because it means the teams with the most money don’t get to dominate, and by having the better teams pick later, it keeps a nice amount of fairness and competition in the game.
A similar process takes place in the NBA, the professional basketball league. I used to play basketball a little in high school (yes despite my height), but these guys are something else. I first started watching the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009, when they won the NBA championship. We saw the playoff finals, and since then, the Lakers have been my team. (In fairness, I was a Laker when I was 4 too, with my very own Lakers bomber jacket!)
These past few weeks, I’ve been back into basketball, watching as the Lakers seek a third straight NBA championship. I’ve seen them play the New Orleans Hornets and now they’re playing the Dallas Mavericks. I’ve also caught the Chicago Bulls playing, and Miami Heat and the Orlando Magics. I know players, I know plays, and I am hooked.
I even watched the Brewers play a baseball game, though I confess, that wasn’t my thing. That was a little boring. Some more watching though, and who knows? Heck, I even read the sports section in the newspaper!
P.S. The Lakers lost by one basket! :(
Reader Comments (1)
The draft overblown? Nonsense=P I've always felt that the real appeal of the draft is for the total football junkies who obsessively watch college and NFL football. The draft is the intersection of these two worlds in an explicit way. You get to see where the players you've been following for years in college football end up while analyzing their impact on the pro level.