More Reasons Why I Love Sports

11. Michael Jordan

I feel like a dumbass for never actually affording myself the opportunity to see this guy play. Here's a small story. When I was twelve years old, after Michael had retired from basketball, he was playing briefly for a minor league team, the Scottsdale Scorpions, in 1994. A friend of mine said that his dad received tickets to a game of theirs and Michael Jordan would be there and he offered them to me because they couldn't make it. I didn't go. I don't even remember why, but hey, I was twelve, I was an idiot. I've never seen Michael Jordan play live ever, even after he came back. I can't say all is lost though, I did see this guy play on television 100s of times and when I watch old tapes now I can see how fantastic he actually was. The guy was a true leader, a butt-hole at times, but he still just commanded the attention of every eye in the arena, no matter where he went. He was one of the first superstars that literally transcended the game. He was Michael Jordan, in fact, I believe his name is a trade mark now. LeBron and Kobe are big, but they're no Michael. I mean, his SHOE still is one of the highest selling and he hasn't played in a couple of years!! You don't see Charles Barkley's shoes selling do you? No. MJ made sports fun and I really do miss watching him play.

12. Fresh cut grass during football season

It may be a simple pleasure, but I'll never forget the first day of training camp for the new football season in high school and I'm sure you remember it too. The sun's beating down on your back, you're in practice uniforms that don't reek like dead raccoons, and the grass, (sniiiiiffffff), the grass is so freshly cut the groundskeeper is barely getting off the field. You know that the grass is a sign of a new season. It hasn't been ruined by cleats, blood, sweat, rains, and cold weather. It's green, it's lush, and it's ready to be trampled. It represents starting over.

13. Rivalries

There's not enough bandwith on the internet to get into how much I love rivalries in sports. Even after a MISERABLE season you may actually, as a player, be looking forward to that big game against the team you hate the most. For fans it works the same way. You can see your team suffer horribly all season, but when it comes time to face those "motherf******s from Boston" it can really make the season worth it. Conversely, it can ruin a GREAT season. Just ask the Michigan Wolverines if their high win percentage over the last five years means much despite being owned by Jim Tressel, AKA Sweater Vest. Another example is Harvard and Yale, two of the worst programs in college football, yet when they get play, you have alumni ripping off rolexes and throwing their glasses of chardonnay on each other because it's so heated. Even if you're not a fan of either team the rivalries can be so interesting it draws you to the TV. Michigan/Ohio State in 2006 was the one rivalry game that I couldn't miss. You had a #1 and #2 match up. Two teams that hated each other. Two historic programs. Each team in search of a national championship. It was perfect. True rivalries are undeniable too. Sometimes you have a team that thinks the other team is their rival (like the St. Louis Cardinals thinking the Cubs are their rivals) which makes it only meaningful on one side, but true rivalries don't need to be played up in the media, they do it themselves. The best rivalries stand the test of time also. The best aren't short lived. Here are some of the best that I could come up with:

Yankees/Red Sox

Michigan/Ohio State

Dodgers/Giants

Patriots/Colts

Bears/Packers

Clemson/South Carolina

Broncos/Raiders

Alabama/Auburn

Arizona/Arizona State

Oklahoma/Texas

I know there's a ton more, but these ones are the battles I've got no problem skipping church for. Let me correct myself, I don't actually go to church so technically I'll skip church to stare at the ceiling, but either way I get excited just thinking of these rivalries!

14. Winning

This of course goes for the fan or the athlete themselves. Winning is like a magical elixir that can cure any bad blood between teammates, years of losing, bad trades, and draft pick busts. Everything is just BETTER. In some sports winning is at more of a premium than others. This is mostly true for football. As a player and a fan there is nothing worse than a crushing defeat and then having to wait a WHOLE WEEK to get back at another team. You don't get second chances in football very often. Sometimes you have to wait a year to play some teams you lost against and that will eat at you like nothing else. Football is such a mental sport and dealing with losing actually shows the mark of a true winner. Just sit back and think about all of the times your team in any sport came from behind and won, beat a team that was heaviliy favored, won a rivalry game, won a championship game, clinched a series, won at the buzzer, or blew out a team. Feels good doesn't it?

15. Losing

You'd be surprised that losing is one of the great things about sports. Losing helps teams figure out who they really are. It allows teams to re-evaluate their stance, change up their philosophy, personnel, and in some cases even ownership. Losing is also great for the sports section. I remember after each big loss by a team I hated I would go to that city's website and read the responses from fans. You can just FEEL the heart break and when the other team loses it makes everything feel that much better. You also get to see the pure emotion that is involved with defeats. Another thing losing does is makes many more fans and athletes actually MORE committed. Think about the big shot that was hit against your team, whey your team was blown out of the water, acted as if they didn't show up to the game, were out coached, were out hustled, were physically dominated, or lost to a team they should have beaten. It makes us all reasses what needs to be done and the only way to get better is through making mistsakes.