With sports on TV, I tune in for the snacks
I grew up playing sports – softball, basketball and soccer, depending on the season – and in recreational leagues as an adult.
I understand how the games are played. I’ll attend them for fun — the crowd. The cheering. The beer.
But watch them on TV? Only if everyone else is watching. And if there are snacks.
Which makes me think about all the things I don’t understand about watching sports.
Like, what season is it?
On Friday, I battled traffic for two football games on opposite sides of the Valley. My friend Greg is psyched his Dodgers are going to the World Series. And did I just catch the tail end of a basketball game on TV?
Ally, my go-to friend for sports questions, explained that the seasons overlap. And don’t forget hockey, she said, through at least April.
OK, that makes sense. Other things about sports do not.
Like why fans paint their faces and weirder still, strip off their shirts and paint their torsos.
Why they eat before the game in a
Why you like the Raiders so much when you’ve never lived in California or are so rabid about the Packers though you have no ties to Wisconsin.
Why you fervently believe that the jersey you’re wearing or which end of the couch you’re sitting on can somehow impact the outcome of the game.
Why you’re shouting at the TV. You know the referee can’t hear you, right?
Why some coaches wear suits or shirts with embroidered logos but baseball managers wear uniforms.
Oh, why, no matter that you watched the pre-game coverage and then the game, you now must watch the postgame analysis and highlights. (You just saw it happen.)
I could ask Ally. Then again, it’s fine that I don’t get it. As long as there are snacks and beer.