Just what is it about sports that gets you?

What makes us watch games we don’t “really” care about

Jets-Dolphins?

Come on.

Leafs-Avalanche in Game 5 of a million in a long regular season?

Why?

Now, I consider myself something of a sports fan, a guy who likes a game as well as the next lady or fellow but I’m finding it increasingly hard to get too excited about the daily humdrum existence of pro sports.

Perhaps it’s because there is no huge rooting interest; as you know, I’m far more a fan of games and sports than teams and individuals.

But I also I imagine that’s a minority opinion here, isn’t it?

Do you sit anchored in front of the TV some nights simply because it’s “your team?” Do you live and die with wins and losses, feel bad after the latter and better after the former?

I’ve always found that to be quite interesting, even in a bygone era when I was far more “engaged” in the games in other sports than I am now.

Used to watch the Leafs all the time, same with the Jays and to some degree, simply through a factor of geography, the Sabres, Bills and Braves.

Now?

Now it’s white noise unless there’s some compelling reason to sit tuned in and turned on, as they used to say. There’s very little about a regular season that can get me going, even a great rivalry game is hard to really get up for.

I’m sure it has to do with the proliferation of games available now every day. Remember the times when there’d be, maybe, two or three NHL games a week, tops? Or when football was only Sunday afternoon? Or when basketball was barely seen and a trip to a real, live game – the Aud or the Gardens – was the way to satisfy that need and a special event.

Now? Heck, it seems there are three or four games on a night. And they seem to get more inconsequential because there’s nothing special.

Two teams, some sport, some game.

How about you?

I get the feeling more than a few Irregulars are avid sports TV watchers. This game, that game, some other game.

Why?

Is a “team” thing? Or a “player” thing? Or a matchup thing?

Or is it just a matter of habit and a boredom with everything else that’s on the tube?

Let me know, I find it quite interesting to learn what drives big-time fans.

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Okay, I don’t care what you think of reality TV – I tend to hate it all – but if you can find a show that has live appearances by The Bangles (DWTS!), you have to watch, don’t you?

And who didn’t have a wee crush on Susanna Hoffs? (Although I was perhaps more a Belinda Carlisle guy)

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I was going to start the weekly plea for mail today but then I saw where guy says the world’s going to end Friday – the day in May when it was supposed to happen was some miscalculation and I figure the dude needs a better calculator or something – so I’m not going to bother.

And now I better get busy, lots to do before Friday. Get to your own bucket list, too, okay?

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So I’m in Niagara today dealing with real live stuff and that means the morning at Starbucks, the afternoon at some wireless-enabled restaurant and the evening eating peanuts at one of the great locals in the city (hi, Mick and Angelos).

But I’m hoping, at least from noon on, that there are TVs turned on because, as you all know, it’s NFL Trade Deadline Day (we talked a bit about it here yesterday) and surely there will be breathless reportage from a wide variety of experts and insiders.

No?

Ah, ok.

Seriously, is there anything more boring than NFL trade deadline day?

It ranks so far behind the others it’s laughable and I guess it has to do with how difficult it is for a guy to change teams mid-season and have any impact. Those are tough playbooks to learn, I’d imagine.

If you had to rank ‘em, would it look like this, from most compelling to least?

Pucks

I don’t get it, but millions do. This third-line winger for that junior prospect, this anonymous backup for that anonymous backup.

I barely watch but it makes me cackle to tune in and see guys whispering into their cellphones and typing away on whatever I-thingy or Blackberry they’ve got.

Baseball

I know, there are like a thousand trade deadlines, it seems. But there does seem to be some juice in the day leading up to it.

Basketball

Always – or at least the vast majority of the time – it’s much ado about nothing but it keeps a grunt busy; this probably should be No. 2.

Football

See above.

Snore.

Yawn.

MLS

Do they have a trade deadline?

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Man, they’re up early at NBA PR Headquarters.

Got the big announcement just about 7:30 a.m. that the board of governors has approved the sale of the Philadelphia 76ers to a new group of deep-pocketed private equity folks.

But in the whole “timing is everything” thing, how are they going to stand up a news conference later this morning and sing the praises of their new investment when the league, the union and a federal mediator are meeting to figure out at new CBA amid the league’s contention that the economic situation is dire?

That’ll be fun to watch.

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Comments

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Oops, of course it was the United Center... dating myself again. Cheers.

[The J]

I've always watched more for the teams during most of the season (Raps, Jays, Leafs, Penguins and a few others I latch on to from time to time). Some times I'm a fan of a player, like Jordan in the Bulls era, or Nash in Phoenix. Other times a style of play for a team catches me, but most often it's the geography. This is why I watch a local team when they are good, bad or ugly. Case in point has been watching the Raps and Leafs the last couple of years.

However, when we get to what I refer as the most wonderful time of year (April to June) I'm watching the storys. Who's in and out in playoff hunts. Then the playoffs themselves. That's when it gets really exciting. Storys do present mid-season as well. For example, watching LeBron return to Cleveland last year.

It's hard to get excited about Hockey in October, or about Baseball in May. But It's easy to get excited about Hockey in May and Baseball in October. But It would be much easier to get excited any time of year, if any team in Toronto was any good.

[Boko]

Learn enough to know which teams have a real chance of winning a playoff game. Then watch the games where those teams are playing each other. The rest isn't worth watching unless one is looking to 'kill some time'.

[james]

@D-Mac: No, there is nothing better than baseball on the radio (especially a small but powerful transistor late at night, long after a person should have been asleep). Nor is anyone better than Scully, the poet laureate of broadcasters. Thanks. The point should be made: Sport is not only something you watch, but also listen to and read.

[Boko]

... but I am a Raptor & an Argo fan, so I watch every game they play, and read about the guy sitting at the end of the bench.

[PT]

As I am about 10 years older than Uncle Doug and was also born in the Falls.

I have found it to be not productive to throw socks, shoes or what ever at the TV screen.

I only had Cable TV to watch the Raptors. I decided that was not worth the cost, so it went.

I read real papers or on line this way - Sports, Business, the Front Section and commentary. If I missed a memorable dunk, I am sure I can find it on line.

The results will be the same if I watch it or not.

From one old cynic.

[doug]

I was thinking about this "why we love sports" question....my interest ebbs and flows, for long time I couldn't get into baseball because when the Expos left Montreal part of my love for baseball died...as i was so passionate about the Expos, my life revolved around them and so many memories,but this year I truly enjoyed watching the Jays,..it was then I became aware of how sport is a business, then i went to Vancouver and I loved the Grizzlies, then they moved...it was ticking me off, and also part of my watching a sport is based on the announcers, Glen Healey in the Leafs games makes me not able to watch, same with Joe Buck, and McCarver in baseball....but the biggest factor is this, I loved/love playing sports , all of them from b-ball/baseball/golf/squash/anything and everything...part of me has lost that, so I need to rediscover that...and in there I know some passion for viewing will return....

[Josh C.]

Yay, Doug! I was a huge Belinda Carlisle fan too, still am actually. I'll never forget the one and only time I saw her live in concert back in 1990 at Canada's Wonderland at the Kingswood Music Theatre.

[Lorie]

Ooops! Forgot the music today! The Bangles were great, but I was more a fan of The Go-Go's. And when Belinda Carlisle launched her solo career this song instantly became a personal fave. And was one of the very first tunes downloaded to that first iPod playlist. And it's been there ever since.
http://youtu.be/KrFqtPO8XoI