Football

One thing people would never guess about me is that I love football. I prefer pro ball, not college. I like football because of the action and because of the craziness, both of the rules and the game itself. I live for the plays where the ball is fumbled and a linebacker picks it up, running--if you can call it that, as it takes a lot to get those 380 pounds moving--with three guys hanging off of him into the end-zone. "...This is his first touchdown in his seven-year career...." the announcer will say. Linebackers aren't supposed to make touchdowns. Or the plays where the quarterback passes to a running back who then laterals it to a half-back. I appreciate when they spice it up like that.

I like pro football better than college mostly because of some of the lame rules college employs. For many fans, the victory dance is as entertaining as the game itself and to deprive a sport of this is just insanity. In college ball, they quickly get penalized if they so much as blink to a beat. Obviously I'm exaggerating but you get my drift. Also, I like the rule that two feet must be inside the line in order to be counted as a completed pass--college ball only requires one foot in. What other sport does that? In gymnastics, you take one step off that blue springboard and you get a huge deduction (and if you live in China, they might cut off that foot in their cut-throat--er, cut-foot--ways.).

One thing I have struggled with for YEARS as far as sports is how to pick a team. From what I've observed, there are a handful of ways fans go about doing this. The first is if they happen to live in the town where a team is planted, they root for that team. So because you just so happen to be born in a particular longitude and latitude means you should root for all the teams within a 20-mile radius? This also doesn't allow for the fact that people are mobile and move around. Whatever is one to do if they grow up rooting for the team they share a town with only to find themselves in a new town with their own team ten years later? Also, there are plenty of people who live two hours away from a particular team and STILL root for that team merely because it is physically closest to them. Another way of choosing a team is based on players or coaches you like, but the obvious problem here is that players change teams fairly constantly. Still another way I've encountered is the likability of colors: if a team has some colors that strike one's fancy, that person is hooked and roots for this team. There are more ways to pick teams, no doubt. But none have ever struck me as intelligent. Needless to say, I still haven't picked a team. So I just root for whomever happens to be on offense. Then when the roles switch, I root for the opposite team. Like I said, I just like the action and the unusual plays. I don't care who wins or loses though I do like when the underdog wins, especially if NO ONE expects it. And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some ball to watch.