Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve got nothing. I feel uninspired about today’s happenings in sports, so I’m gonna just talk about something on my mind. But first, a grab bag of sports stuff.
I would talk about the US Open and Wyndham Clark, or the US winning at soccer against Mexico and Canada to win the CONCACAF (horrible acronym) Championship, but those have already been covered in Aidan’s blog yesterday.
I’d talk about the Bradley Beal trade, but I honestly don’t know if that trade moves the needle for the Suns; they’re no more interesting to me than they were last year, and I still don’t think they have a bench that is ideal for a playoff run. I didn’t feel like writing a full blog about that, especially because I still think the Nuggets are better in the West.
I could talk about Michael Jordan selling the Hornets for an enormous return on investment, but that seems to simply be a symptom of the NBA’s massive growth and less to do with the brilliant performance of the Hornets over the 13 years of his ownership. It was just a winning investment by basketball’s biggest winner.
I’d love to talk about how what should have been the first place marlin in a North Carolina fishing competition that would have won the fishermen millions of dollars was disqualified because apparently the marlin at one point was bitten by a shark, which I guess makes the fish ineligible even though it was over 600 pounds, and well over a hundred pounds heavier than the second place marlin. That sounds like a ridiculously stupid rule. I’m sure this is very controversial in the competitive sport-fishing community, and I will boycott watching the next North Carolina fishing competition because of this. I’m doing my part.
That was my grab bag of some interesting stuff going on in the wide world of sports that I thought would be better in short recap form rather than full blogs. For the rest of today’s blog, I’m going to talk about the way guys play sports throughout their lifespan. This was on my mind because I felt something in my lower back pop at the gym when I bent down and it’s still sore 3 days later, which is a poignant reminder that I am washed up as an athlete and my prime is behind me (I’m in my early 20s). Because of this, I decided I needed to examine how (casual, nowhere close to D1 recruited) athletes evolve in their participation in sports as they get older.
The obvious start is tee ball. Tee ball is a congregation of 5 year olds getting ready to make their first real attempts at finding their athletic coordination since taking their first steps. Dads at that point can see if their son is going to be able to do anything athletic at the high school level. If they can’t hit the stationary ball off a tee or throw a ball a few feet in the right direction, they’re done, and it might be time for parents to help their children explore a hobby off the field. The one-two punch of tee ball and kindergarten soccer (where every player on the field, other than the goalies, who are busy picking dandelions, stay within a 10 foot radius of the ball at all times) build the foundation of a man’s athletic ability.
After boys pay their due on the tee ball field, it’s time to find a few sports to focus on and commit your free time to instead of being a nerd and studying after school. Little League is a staple of this stage of life. Even kids who won’t continue with baseball at the middle and high school level play Little League. It’s as American as apple pie and being the CONCACAF champion. Pop Warner football, youth hockey, youth soccer, and all sports of that kind of thing all fit here. This sets the stage for the most important time in the athletic career of normal dudes: high school sports.
Michael Jordan didn’t make his varsity high school basketball team right away, just like I didn’t make my varsity hockey team as a freshman. But Michael and I both showed tremendous resilience, and came out on top the next year. It may not come immediately, but at some point in high school, many arrive at the pinnacle of their sporting achievement. Now, Michael Jordan decided to go above and beyond and achieve a decent degree of success in athletics beyond high school, and more power to him, but for the rest of us, high school sports are our Super Bowl. It’s the last time where most get to be a part of a real, tight team in an organized, competitive league, with students and fans that care about the outcome. A lot of people get to do this in multiple sports, allowing us all to be exactly like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders. I miss that environment sometimes, but you gotta know when to hang ‘em up. After this, you’re on your athletic downhill.
Other than those NCAA and pro athletes, team sports after high school become a hobby at varying degrees of seriousness. I did club hockey in college, and choosing to do a club sport (or at least intramural sports) is something I’d recommend to anyone in college, because it’s still competitive and largely organized, but it’ll also give you time to bridge the gap between organized, serious sports, and the world of beer league and slow pitch softball. After college (and also in college), playing sports becomes an opportunity to meet up with the guys, have some fun, and drink beers.
The evolved version of this, which carries you through the entirety of your adult life, is golf. Golf is the ultimate sport for getting together and “staying active” (competing and drinking beer at the same time outdoors). It’s not generally physically taxing and you can do it into your 80s and beyond if you’re in decent health. Personally, I love getting out on the course for an afternoon with the boys, and look forward to a long future of doing so. I might throw in a tennis or pickleball type thing when I’m older to be active, but I anticipate that golf will be the athletic constant of the rest of my life.
Today’s blog might not have been focused or revolutionary, but think about it: you could hurt your back like me at any time and have to think about your future as an average athlete. You need to have a plan in the event of tragedy. It’s like sports insurance. Whatever stage you’re at in your athletic life, good luck to you, but you should work on that 9-iron.