The Start of Football, the End of Summer
15th of September 2015
Growing up, I've always been a baseball fan. I knew a lot of the players, and I went to a lot of Iowa Cubs games (thanks to my parents). I even played a lot of little league. Ten years to be exact. I grew up seeing a cardiologist that would not let me play football or basketball. Baseball was ok for some reason. I don't even begin to pretend to understand. I followed what my mother said who was the one that really followed what the doctor said.
Since I didn't play football or basketball much outside of gym class, I didn't follow it too much. However, once football started, I knew that was the end of the summer season. I dreaded football season only because it meant going back to school. I dreaded that more than football. Football just wasn't as competitive as any other sport to me. It was just a bunch of guys running into each other. I would later grow to appreciate it for what it really was. I say was because I think now it has outside interference that ruins it. So stay on what the game really was, I saw that it was really a crash course to getting the ball to the other side. What intrigued me was the trickeries and plays used to do so. All this in some cold weather. A game played in rain, snow or shine, just as long as there's not any lightning. The temps can be below zero, and the game is still on. I guess with what the players wear throughout the game, I can see why they don't play during the summer. However, they meet before the season in some of the hottest temperatures.
Nowadays, I WATCH football. I hit the mute button because the commentators just ruin it for me. They have nothing to offer what-so-ever. I miss the days of Pat Summerall and John Madden. That team really opened my eyes to football. They would explain the plays and why they worked or not. They even reminded me of what the rules are, which I need a refresher of at times.
I'll always be a baseball fan, but sports is starting to be a circus act. It's mostly a place for people to get drunk and act a damn fool. It's not just football. It's not just baseball. It's every sport. It's not just the Pistons. It's not just the Raiders. It's every team. Every sport and team has bad apples. The trick is to not be a bad apple yourself.
To get back on the subject, once football season stops, we spend all week talking about it. The teams play only once a week, but we still talk about it all week long. We do this for about 5 months, and once the season is over, some people turn their attention to either hockey or basketball. Even though baseball is in the end of it's season, not many are paying attention. I don't even pay attention anymore. Why, you ask? 1) I'm a disgruntled Cub fan. Our season ends in May most of the time. This year (2015) is an exception, but I don't see them going past the first round. 2) It's so long and drawn out. The playoffs take a month alone. 3) The start of the football is the most exciting part for reasons I never understood. 4) Baseball has teams play in a series. They play the same team 3 or 4 times in a row. Snooze fest. Switch it up. Basketball doesn't do that. Football is more of a "bring everything you got" game where there are no excuses for losing. Teams don't play each other more than twice in the regular season.
I still like baseball, but the end of the season takes too long. Speed it up already. There's no reason for playoffs to last an entire month.
