Life’s just too short to waste on the couch

Dear television sports fans

Iam one of you. I love watching live sport on TV and, generally, I spend a great deal of my weekend planted on the couch, cold beverage in hand, watching something involving a ball on the box.

This past weekend, my beloved Arsenal were playing arch-enemies Spurs and the Springboks were in action against the unpredictable French, with victory a must after a string of really poor results in recent weeks.

But, I must confess, I watched neither match. In fact, I went nowhere near the TV all weekend except for the odd check of a news bulletin to get the latest on Uncle Bob in Zim.

My missus was concerned I would get withdrawal symptoms and start acting even stranger than usual. My kids looked at me weirdly and one of them asked: “Who are you and what have you done with my father?”

The reason for the deviation from my routine was simple: a family get-together to celebrate yet another of my birthdays (and I have had so many I sometimes wish people would forget about them).

I realised once the dust had settled and the parents and kids

Guy Hawthorne

and grandkids and friends had all packed up and gone home, I didn’t miss a thing.

Arsenal won 2-0 and the Boks scored a narrow one-point win over the French.

From what I hear, both matches were well worth watching. But I am delighted I missed them.

My father, whom I see very little of these days as he spends his time between Cape Town and various European cities since meeting his Dutch girlfriend, was there, as was his partner, Catherine. My kids were all there with their kids, and some of my good friends also made the effort to spend the day with me.

We ate well and drank well (some better than others) and spent a few pleasant hours in the company of pleasant people. I watched my grandkids playing in the garden and counted my plentiful blessings.

And there was no dubious offside goal to get me riled up, or a Bok knock-on with the tryline beckoning.

For me to go an entire weekend without watching any sport on TV is, as my youngest daughter put it, “something of a record”.

But having spent such a wonderful weekend under the African sun, and with the realisation that there are people out there, and here I was thinking about Zimbabweans, with plenty on their minds, I realised there is so much more to life than watching a sports event.

And I vowed there and then that I would do more socialising and less vegetating in front of the TV in future.

It’s all about priorities…