Two Months In

Reflecting on two months of non-sports watching as we enter a new year altogether/all together.

It's clear to me at this point that my world was compressed by the amount of attention I paid to sports. I had fun with it, to be sure, but I'm not sure that I can claim balance the way things used to be. Maybe that's something I can find later on when and if I return to the games.

For now, the world seems more spacious and interesting without the constant concern of wins and losses. It's interesting to think of how this shift in my overall attention has manifested in my personality. I'm sure I'm the least qualified to assess things, but I would like to think that I am a calmer, more interesting version of my old self. 

If I'm being honest, this exercise has not been a perfect effort so far. On Sundays you can easily catch me accessing Boston.com by accident, where the score of the Patriots game is not hard to see. There isn't much A-Level sports news (at least insofar as Boston teams are concerned) that I have not been able to simply distill from a potent mixture of Facebook posts, Twitter declarations, and local news. It's not something I am proud of, and perhaps this time of resolutions will encourage me to redouble my efforts. 

It shouldn't be hard to do so thanks to one of the most special christmas gifts I have ever gotten. My wife Lori, knowing about the next challenge on my list, gave me a gorgeous classical guitar. It's got nylon strings, which I had been taking about for a long time. I've been strumming away on it for a week now, and am really looking forward to building on what I already know.

For now, fire, friends and food are calling, so I will leave you with one of the driving thoughts behind both The Off-Season and New Years Eve, long my favorite holiday;

It's never a great idea to take anything you cherish for granted. Try, instead, to present and aware of the moment you are in.

I wish you and yours a happy, healthy, and hearty 2014.

I Can Juggle

I mean, I'm not hitting the road with a vaudeville act or anything, but I can throw three things back and forth in circles in front of me and keep them from falling down for a bit. Occasionally, I can even decide to stop on my own before anything goes wrong. In my mind, that means I can juggle.

The most exciting part of this for me is the fact that I actually understand how to do it. Before, whenever I would see someone juggling, my mind couldn't even process what was happening. It felt like I was a different kind of person, not imbued with the ability to perform the task I was witnessing. I was resigned to my status as a non-juggler, and I had no ambition to change it.

I think it's a great idea to attempt to identify and break down those types of self-imposed barriers, though. It's one of the the things about The Off-Season I am most excited about. Theres a type of self confidence that comes from doing the thing you thought you couldn't do that you just don't get from anywhere else. It's an interesting change of pace from the random ego-gambling that comes from rooting for (and against) people who are playing a game you have nothing to do with. Winning that kind of a bet sure feels great, but even that feeling is a bit hollow at the end of the day.

So, having reached a point where I feel reasonably honest in saying that can, in fact, juggle (I even tried different sized items with some success!) it is now time to pick the next task. Once again, it's a skill that many, many of you have and may think little of, but I'm excited to take it on. I'm going to try to learn how to sing a song while accompanying myself on guitar.

I'm not starting from scratch on this. I have a few things going for me that should make this a fairly easy process. I can sing pretty well, and have been doing it for years. That shouldn't be a problem at all. I also know a good number of chords, and can get from one to the other with some facility. I can even recreate the progression of U2's The Fly to the point that you might recognize it. I can also sing that song very well, but combining those two skills currently lies beyond my field of comprehension. It baffles me that anyone can make their minds work in two different ways like that, despite my many friends who can do it with ease. So that's the challenge.

You might think I would be using The Fly to begin, but that song simply isn't good enough to be the one thing I can play for people. Instead, I am going to be working with an old favorite that my father used to sing to me when I was small. It's called "Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod" and it's based on a cute children's' story. There are likely many versions of this tune, but I'm going to be attempting to cover the one done by The Brothers Four on their album Cross Country Concert. If you like things that are great, go download it now.

And wish me luck!

I Miss The Celtics

Of the four teams that represent my town, three are legitimate title contenders at the moment. The Patriots will have Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and a home playoff game, the Bruins lost a great Stanley Cup series last year, and the Red Sox will open the season as defending Champs. Only the Celtics are a team in transition, not expected to do anything. At least this was the case when The Off-Season began back in October.

It would stand to reason, then, that I would most miss watching the contenders try to win it all. It would make sense if the hardest part of this "sports refusiasm", as I am calling it, was missing the better teams play their respective sports at the highest level, bringing honor to my town, and glory to me in some small, stupid way. But that has not been the case. I miss the Celtics. 

I miss the questions about who can take over, and what the personality of the next championship team will be. I miss hearing about the rookie that starts to play lock down defense, or the new center that starts gobbling up offensive rebounds. You start hearing about those things, and slowly the picture starts to come together. A trade here, and a free agent there, and the answers start outnumbering the questions. You start to be able to play against anyone on to good night. Eventually, a leader emerges, and the team starts to gel. Now you are running people out of the gym on occasion, and beating all the teams you are supposed to. Before long, you look around and start to say, "Our guys can play with anyone." No one can beat you at home anymore. From there, all it takes is a few lucky bounces and you are champs again.

Or maybe it's basketball that I really miss. It's always been my favorite sport to watch. I love the way a good team can work the opposition out of what they want to do. They use set, prescribed formations and rhythm to try and break down the other guys. Whenever and wherever the breakdown occurs, that's where you attack. Everybody has to be ready at all times to pounce when the opportunity comes. That's best exemplified by the fast break, like the Showtime Lakers, or the great Celtic teams used to run. The ball would never even touch the floor. That's Jazz. That's Improv Comedy. That's any great connection between artists. 

And it's fun to watch.

Revelations

I have a dear friend who truly loathes the very existence of professional sports. To his mind, the time we spend (to say nothing of the money) taking about and following professional sports is an absolute waste. And worse, it distracts us from important issues that deserve our time and attention.

For years, I had no idea that he felt this way. In fact, a lot of our friendship was founded on, or based on talking about sports. He comes from a big sports town and I had rooted for and against some of the teams from that city in the past. I simply assumed that, being from that area, he was in to it, and he made no suggestion that he wasn't. Meeting groups of his friends from back home did little to change that perception, as many of them we're very happy to discuss just about any sports topic you pleased. Though it was far from the only topic we ever discussed, there is little argument that sports greased the skids for us in the journey from acquaintances to lifetime friends.

After he moved back home, I would occasionally write to him when one of his local teams was playing a big game. It's one of my favorite parts of being a sports fan. I see a game between two teams, two cities, promoted and I am instantly thinking about friends and family members in the areas of those teams. Sometimes I will reach out to them, maybe before, or after the game. The whole process makes my far flung scattering of family and friends seem closer. But, anytime I reached out to this particular friend, no response would come. No big deal, as our friendship was far more involved than these one way exchanges, but still, it seemed odd.

Eventually we talked it through and he admitted his disdain for pro sports. I can see his point. Even before The Off-Season began I knew that he could name senators, world leaders, and other political figures and their accomplishments the way I could recall big moments in sports. I'm sure there are many people out there who can do both with ease, but it seems my ability to multi-focus is limited.

This leaves me asking a very big question during The Off-Season. After you consider the power it has to build friendships, and connect us as a society, and after you factor in the distraction it offers us, and the absurd money, and questionable treatment of athletes of all ages, if you add it all up is "Sports", as a cultural force, good or bad?

The list of major pro sports scandals is a long and familiar one, so I won't bother dredging it all up. We would be fools to think that scandals will ever stop. Former athletes seem to meet with tragic endings more frequently than child stars. In many ways, I think that is what they really are, child stars. They gain wealth, celebrity and validation for doing something they have done since they were just kids. When the ability is gone, which comes early in a life relatively speaking, they must share that feeling a child star has as they struggle to recreate themselves. Unfortunately, in both cases, if it's gone, it's just gone. Who wouldn't have trouble adjusting to that?

It's easy to ignore the machine that pro sports is while you are watching the highlights. It's easy to just think about the cities that the teams are representing. And even as I write all this, I miss that dearly. But when next October rolls around, it may be very difficult for me to jump back in with both feet.

Jacobye Ellsbury

I’ve seen the headlines. I know that history has repeated itself. Jacoby will be wearing pinstripes and stealing bases in the Bronx next year. It’s a great time to be disengaged from the sports world. It’s a great example of how the sports media industry takes advantage of the emotions of the fans to stay in business.

I used to be a dedicated EEI (the only local sports radio station back in the 90’s) listener. At work, in the car, at home, I was tuned in all the time. At some point I realized that basically listening to people argue all day every day wasn’t a very good idea. I weened myself off and really have never gone back. My enjoyment of sports went up almost immediately without having to worry about rival fans calling in to rub in a loss. Somehow, my ego was less on the line and I was able to just appreciate what happened on the field. What a relief.

The truth is that most people who follow the Sox closely have been braced for this for a couple of years already. Truthfully, this couldn’t have worked better for the Sox as they were able to squeeze one more title out of Ells before he beat a path out of town. He racked up more DL loyalty points than just about anyone over the last 7 years, and there was little chance Ben and the front office was going to commit long term again to him. Not with some intriguing talent waiting in the wings and the financial freedom to get someone else if that talent doesn’t pan out. Much as I hate to think in terms of contracts as opposed to talent on the field, the Sox are likely better off without him.

None of that will stop writers and talk show hosts from wailing away about it today and all winter long. Even in to next year, you’ll hear the story of how he spurned Boston and chose the hated Yankees. They’ll feature the angriest of fans calling in to complain about it and spit at the NY fans on the air. They’ll draw the parallels to the parade of Sox that have headed south in the past to cash in and win titles. It always happens, and it seems that it always will.

The thing is, the dynamic has changed ever since 04. Since then the Sox are up 3-1 in championships, and have arguable run their ship better. At the end of last season there sin’t a baseball fan on the planet who would have said that the Yanks were in better shape than Boston. Seems to me, Jacoby simply went for the money. Hard to argue with that.

Any fan who can’t see all that might need to take a step back and look at the larger view.

Challenge!

Surely today, along with the entire month of March, will be the biggest challenge for The Off-Season. Football is as much a part of my Thanksgiving tradition as it is many of yours, and I certainly won't be asking others to change their day around just for me. Because of all this, I wanted to set the stage.

I am only vaguely aware, right now, of what time the games are even on. I do not know who is playing (aside from the home teams, of course) or if the games are expected to be good or anything. Typically, my Thanksgiving hosts tend to have movies on until one of the guests ask to switch over to the games. This year, that guest certainly won't be me.

If and when the games come on I'm not quite sure what I will do. I won't want to be rude, and technically my rules will be fulfilled. I will not have actively sought out sports. So I don't feel the need to leave the room and isolate myself. I suppose I'll try to at least maintain conversations that have to do with something other than the game. Oh, and I can always play with the dog.

I plan to bring my backgammon set and my juggling equipment to see if I can create a diversion in another room, but if no one bites, I'm not going to sit alone. I don't think that is in the spirit of the experiment.

If you feel like keeping up with things, you can follow my day at @the_off_season

If not, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Football is the hardest

I thought the hardest game to stop watching would be basketball, for a couple of reasons. First off, the schedule is a bit haphazard. It's not like baseball, where they play so often you can be surprised by an off day. The Celtics play three or four times a week, and there never seems to be much rhyme or reason to the timing. They play every other night for a while, then three games in a row. It's easy to lose track. Beyond that, the Celtics are a team at the bottom right now. There is so much development to follow. So many plot twists stand between today and their next title. I have followed 7 teams from irrelevance to championship, and there is nothing quite like it. I will truly miss this first chapter of the Celtics next run.

Hockey schedules are the same way, but I have to confess that I've just never been that close with hockey. Die-hards tell me it's cause I have been to hardly any pro games, but I'm not sure that's the real reason. I just didn't fall for it the way I did basketball. I've not yet been able to understand how every single person on the ice can react to the puck the way they need to, and games can sometimes get to the point where it simply seems impossible to score. Don't get we wrong, I love a good hockey game. Maybe I just haven't seen enough of them.

Anyway, in both those cases, it's just easy to forget if the teams are even playing or not. But football is different. Every Sunday for the past four weekends, I have awoken knowing that they are playing football all day long. My team, the other teams, the rivalries, the amazing plays. It's all happening right now, and I'm not watching. That's been the biggest challenge. Before, it was a real pleasure to ignore the challenges and successes of my week, and the tasks that awaited me in the week to come, and just sort of camp out. Watching. Being entertained by something vulgar and beautiful. Being connected to friends in far flung places, who are spending the day the same way I was. One month in, that's been the hardest part to go without.

I'm certainly aware that the Belichick-Brady combination is a once in a lifetime gift. The fact that I am essentially turning away from one full season of theirs is a huge struggle for me. I am sure that any list of regrets I have for taking on this experiment will start with that. Based on some of the Facebook and Twitter posts I saw early on in last nights game, I seem to have more faith in them even while not paying attention than some Pats fans do while looking right at them. Something very special seems to have happened last night at Foxboro, where my Patriots play. The clues were there on social media, but then, just as I was laying down to sleep, I got a frenzied phone call from a friend out west who could hardly process the fact that I was missing what was happening. It was awesome. This morning, social media did the job again, informing me that whatever kind of comeback the Pats were able to mount, they made it stick and won the game.

I'm bummed I missed it, but I can tell you this. Though I was dying to open my phone and see what was happening in the game, I was also keenly aware of how nice it was to not be stressed out by the game. That was a new feeling, and it does not bode well for my return to full time sports watching when this is all over.

Going Out More

We go out more. 

Guys, I hate to break it to you, but it's the simple truth. I never felt like my interest in watching sports was preventing us from doing anything as a couple, but it's hard to think otherwise when I look back on the last couple of weeks since I stopped. We've been to a play, a stand-up show, and a very odd, but entertaining interview between Michael Kay (stop it, he's just an announcer) and Larry David. Beyond that, we saw a living legend, Charo, perform an hour of immensely entertaining humor and music (look up her flamenco guitar chops on YouTube, and make sure your chin has something soft under it) and spent an afternoon at a museum. 

Factoring in the cooking I've been doing, and this has been among the most culturally diverse two weeks I can recall. And it was all immediate. I really don't know what to say about all this. 50 weeks to go, and while I still struggle not to open espn.com, I'm really enjoying the space in my life to explore new things.  

This weekend I decided it was time to start playing around with advanced cocktails (read: more interesting than a rum & coke) at home. One quick shopping trip later and I have simple syrup, angostura bitters, and some rye on hand and ready to play with. I know I am behind the times, and you can all probably school me on more challenging drinks than old fashioneds and manhattans, but I am a believer that you have to learn the basics before you can start messing around with the advanced levels. Come on by, and maybe we can have a drink and talk it over. 

Oh, and by the way, the juggling is coming along. At the moment, I can't seem to help myself from throwing them forward. I'll keep working on it, but these drinks sure aren't helping.

Food Rushes In

It's impossible not to know what's going on. I'm aware of the beating the Pats put on the fading Steelers last weekend. I even saw something about the whole bullying thing with the Dolphins. I think the Celtics have won one game, if that. I'm also pretty sure the Bruins are doing OK, even though they seem to have lost the grudge match with their former players a few days ago. There's just no way to avoid finding these things out in this town. That makes this whole thing even harder.

I'm trying to stick to WBUR for radio, and they are more than happy to report when teams are playing, and what they did the night before. Boston.com, as I have mentioned on Facebook and Twitter, is hardly different than looking at ESPN.com when it comes to sports coverage. Every single time I glance at it, I find out something about at least one team. So far, though, I have managed to not click on a single link. It hasn't been easy.

So what have I been doing? Well, I just recently got a set of juggling balls and scarves, so I am digging in to that. The scarves proved pretty easy to pick up. I was able to keep them going for a few seconds right out of the package! The balls are a different story. I have heard from many friends that they were able to learn how to juggle quickly, as an afterthought, or even while drunk. Unfortunately, these stories have only served to make me feel worse as I have made very little progress. I'm now trying to get to a place where I can throw two back and forth without breaking rhythm. Baby steps.

The thing that has really sprung up in place of sports so far has been an ambition for cooking that runs deeper and different than any I have had before. I've always been able to follow a recipe, but now I'm trying to understand the role each piece of food plays in the success or failure of the meal. In the past, the idea of cooking something from scratch on a weeknight was a complete nonstarter. These days, without the constant curtain of a game starting at 7 or 8 on my mind, I have the time to think of and attack a real meal.

Maybe it's predictable. You remove a passion from your life and food rushes in to fill the void. Hopefully I'll be able to keep some of the skills required of this newish hobby, and not just the extra poundage. 

Face palm

So glad to have an extra hour to think about how I won't be seeing any NFL action at all today.

Walking the Talk

Well, it finally happened. The Red Sox season is officially over, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Looks like I'll have to make some space on the trophy shelf!

On this small shelf among our modest DVD collection (a collection that feels sillier and sillier to maintain with each passing year) sits a embarrassment of riches. Among these discs (and, yes, two VHS tapes!) is footage and/or retrospective from people who were there on every single championship that my favorite teams have won over the years. I love being able to go back to them to relive/relearn the memories.

I never thought it was worth buying hats or t shirts that commemorate victories. It just seemed so short sighted to me. After all, within about a year some other fans will have something better to brag about. So why bother? But the highlight videos are different. They sit on the shelf like any other grand memory of your life. But even better than photos or paintings, you throw them in and turn on the TV and get transported back to the magic. The night when your hopes came to fruition. When the others were conquered. When your team celebrated right along with you.

Of course, now is when the Off-Season really begins. I've already had a day or so to adjust, and this far I'm enjoying it. It's hard to avoid reading sports talk, especially looking at Boston.com, what with the parade and all. Still, I'm managing to not do much more than glance at headlines.

Here are the steps I have taken so far:

1. Removed espn.com and other sports related links from my bookmarks

2. Removed all sports related figures and teams from my Facebook and Twitter feeds

3. Removed all sports related apps from my phone/iPad/AppleTV etc.

4. Removed sports radio stations from car presets, iTunes, and Tunein app favorites

Secondarily, I've settled on Circa as my primary news app. It doesn't offer a sports section, and I like how digestible their format seems to be. There may come a time when I move away from that, but I like it for now.

Oh, one more thing. I also bookmarked a bunch of YouTube video that purport to teach one how to juggle in 5 minutes.

We'll see.

It Was A Very Good Year

Most of the time, you lose. Even the Canadians, the Yankees, the Celtics and the Steelers, have not won the majority of championships in their respective sports. And those are the real title hounds, too. The teams that have own it more often than any others. But they don't come close to winning championships more often than not. So, it's not an optimistic thing, to start rooting for a team to win. In doing so, you have to understand that you will usually be disappointed.

But each year, the possibility seems to be there. A key player is acquired, someone come in to training in better shape than they were. A new coach, or GM is hired. Some kid comes out of nowhere to impress people and fill a glaring need for the team. You start to think, "If things break our way just a little, we could really do something this year." 

The twists and turns a season takes, between injuries, mistakes, and the day to day of reality setting in, can be maddening. You look back to the supposed promise of the pre-season and try to reconcile it with what's been going on. Injuries are the worst, because you start to feel as if your team isn't representing what it could have been. That it Isn't being given the chance to be what it was constructed to be. Injuries can change the whole league around.

But if you are very lucky, you get the chance to watch a team that manages to pull together as opposed to falling apart. You get to watch a team that rises to each and every challenge, all year long, and is stronger for the effort. You can be lucky enough, every once in a while, to watch a team that wears the name of your city on their uniforms, and goes out each game, and makes you proud of where you live.

It doesn't make sense, of course. The city of Boston has strengths and weaknesses like any other, and they don't change based on what the Red Sox do on the field. But when the world around us feels harsh and angry, we need to remind ourselves that wonder still abounds. October in Massachusetts is already filled with wonder. You see it everywhere you look. And, lucky for us, the Red Sox are wonderful too. And for a few more games, they've still got a shot.
Sent from my iPad

The Final Countdown

With any luck, at some point this weekend the Red Sox will advance to play in the World Series. They have two chances to win one game in the friendly confines of Fenway Park, where they have played particularly well this season. Things are looking good for one more week of sports watching before the Off-Season kicks in.

During this out of nowhere playoff run I have taken to Facebook after each win to post a number. The idea is that it takes 11 wins to win a championship (3 in the Division Series, 4 in the League Series, and 4 in the World Series), and I wanted to count them as they go by. Many of my friends have been correcting me, thinking that I am counting down the wins and my math is off. People are certainly free to count however they want, but I'm here to tell you that I think counting down to a championship is the wrong way to do it.

In January of 2008, the New England Patriots came within 2:39 of finishing a perfect 19-0 in the NFL. On the way to that fateful Super Bowl, they mostly slaughtered opponents, setting records what seemed like every week. When asked about late touchdowns the team had scored in some blowout games, coach Belichick would sneer, "What did you want us to do, kick a field goal?". It was unlike anything that had been seen before. It was a blast.

That's the team that taught me to count up, and not down. See, they never quite finished the job, but I can't look at that season and focus on just the last 2:39. I would rather they had won the game, but I feel lucky to have been taken on that ride in the first place. You say the Broncos are going to have a better year this year? Call me with 2:38 left in the Super Bowl, and we'll see.

As a fan, much as the beer companies would have us believe it, we can't actually control any thing that happens on the field. What we can and should do is enjoy the ride. With just a few (maybe only 2!) games left for me before I can't watch anything, that's never been more important to me. So that's why I am counting up. And that's why you should too.

Commitment

I don't imagine anyone that I don't already know will be reading this blog. However, in case I'm wrong, I wanted to make sure you have a sense for what kind of sports fan I am.

At the moment, I've been listening to the Red Sox try to take a 3-2 series lead on Detroit for about an hour. It's 4-1 Boston in the bottom of the 6th. 

This wouldn't be a big deal except that I'm in Madrid, where the time is 4:21am. Making things worse, the internet connection isn't great, so periodically I have to reach over and reset the connection.

I'm not the kind of fan that thinks I am affecting this game by listening, that they 'll lose if I don't tune in. I am, however, the kind of fan that wants to know what happens.

Setting the story straight

I've had a few interesting conversations with people recently about The Off-Season, and I've also gotten more than my share of questions about it. So, I figure it's time to take a step back and reset so that we're all clear about what's going on here.

As I type this, I'm watching the Tigers and the A's play for a shot at the World Series. Once this game is over, there will only be four teams still playing baseball, and lucky for me, the Red Sox are one of them. I'm lucky not just because I'm a fan of the Sox, but because once their season is over, I won't be watching any games or sports coverage of any kind for one year. The Sox may get swept in four games, lose the series in seven, or move on to play in the World Series. No matter what, once they get their final out, The Off Season is on.

So what does that mean? How do I live out the rules of a self imposed sports sabbatical? Well, I'm not sure, and that's part of the point. At the most base level, I have defined this experiment as "Not having the ability to actively seek out sports coverage in print, radio, or video". Maybe that will have to be modified in the long run, but that's what I am going with for now. This does not mean that should I show up to meet friends in a restaurant where a game happens to be on that I need to run screaming or hide my eyes. At the same time, I will be under pressure not to give my attention to the screen in that scenario, so I don't look forward to it. Similarly, when looking at Boston.com, I will certainly see headlines, but I am forbidden from clicking on them to find out more.

I think it will be interesting to see how hard it is for me to keep unaware of the state of Red Sox (and Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics) Nation while living a sports free life in Boston. I know it has been easy for many of my friends who don't care about sports at all, but it will be different for someone who is leaving it all behind. It will be interesting to find out just how tightly connected Boston is to her teams.

But there's another side to this, and it may be even more fun than all of that. Currently, I spend a good deal of time just enjoying sports. I could go in to detail about how and why I enjoy sports, and I will in another post, but for now suffice it to say that I think it's a blast. Removing sports watching (and reading, and listening) from the equation will leave me with a good deal of free time. And, like a smoker who quits and has nothing to spend $7 a day on anymore, I am going to have extra time to figure out what to do with. It's prudent for that smoker to save their extra dough, but you can't quite do that with time, so I'll have to spend it on something, and that's where the fun comes in. 

For this part of the puzzle, I'll basically be granting myself wishes. Anything I have wished I was better at, I'll be attempting to learn how to actually do. As I have said before, I'm starting with juggling. I have a few more things on my list already, but I don't want to get locked in to a schedule or order just yet, so I'm sticking with that for now. Once I can juggle satisfactorily, I'll find something else to do. That's likely what most of the blog posts will be about during The Off-Season.

I should take a moment to acknowledge that I am also open to the possibility that I will not be able to last the whole year. I'll be completely honest with you if that happens. You'll hear about it here first. Sports and the enjoyment I get from following them may simply have become too big a part of my life for me to completely separate from them for a full year. I'm sure there are more than a few of my friends reading this that would sooner put money on that than the alternative. Only time will tell, I suppose.

I'd love to hear your questions, concerns, or doubts. See a big hole in my plan? Let me know about it. Want to root me on? Go for it. Have a suggestion for a new skill to try? Let me know about it, and maybe I'll take it on. Or just sit back, and keep reading. I'll do my best to make it reasonably compelling.

Stranger Things are Happening

I'm traveling alone for work this week, which gives me a lot of time to consider things. It's amazing how many similar, small interactions you have on the road. The workers at various counters, the people in your row, or in line with you. A seemingly endless series of tiny conversations can really make your break your travel day.

I tend to wear my Sox hat when I travel, as it engenders less ill will than a Patriots hat. As it happens, I have been in two very sports happy places, so my hat is something of an open invitation to talk. There's a fun sort of dance that happens when a conversation starts to tip toe towards team talk. The stranger and I try to gauge where each other stands, and how much interest we have in each others' teams.

The most satisfying of these conversations are always the ones where, though we may root for different colors, we are aware of some of the history and current status of sports in our respective cities. The older folks are usually the best ones to talk to. They have some great stories, and once they see that you don't just blindly support your own town, they'll open right up.

It may be folly, but I believe you can really understand the personality of a city, and even a region, by learning how the fans talk about their teams. I know there are major parts of the population of any area that could give a crap what happens in stadiums and arenas. And yet, the ones who do are usually spread very nicely through the various social strata that divide us in other ways. 

Sports can be a kind of inverted third rail when dealing with strangers. Where politics and religion are far too highly charged, sports can be a nice, neutral entry point for building a relationship. I'm grateful to have it, and I expect to miss it once the Red Sox finish this year. 

Happy October, all!

A Tip of the Cap

A fairly pedestrian beer company has, for a couple of years now, had a cute campaign centered around the odd things sports fans do to try and influence the performance of their teams in the games they watch. The first few were pretty fun, but I have grown a little tired of them as they have gotten more and more complex and absurd. I'm also more than a little embarrassed by the portrayals because, as it happens, I do some of those things.

When I was younger, I had a North Carolina Tar Heels hat that I would place on the television for big games. The record that the UNC basketball team had in "games with Tim's hat on the TV", while not available from Elias Sports Bureau, was spectacular (you'll have to trust me on that). The mojo was far too precious to use for every game, so I would only break it out for the big ones. ACC Tourney finals, Final Four games, etc.. Far, far more often than not, the hat did the job. At best it was a practice that gave me a sense of involvement and identity with the team I was rooting for. At worst it was the manifestation of a pathological delusion of grandeur. Either way, it was a part of me.

And in many ways, it still is. After an historic collapse at the end of the 2011 Red Sox season, hopes were high for 2012. A new manager was in town, and things felt like a fresh start. In early April I went to Fenway for my first game of the year (I try to get to 3 or 4 each season). I decided to buy a new Sox, banking on the voodoo of getting it at the ballpark to outweigh the Fenway markup. The 2012 Sox did not figure out how to make up for the slide of the previous autumn, instead being an even more unlikeable, embarrassing, underachieving group. Eventually, against the incredulous protests of my much more sane wife, I threw my new hat in the trash.

This past spring, after yet another manager change and one of the biggest trades in baseball history, no one expected much out of the Red Sox. Still, knowing I needed a hat, my in-laws picked one up for me as a birthday gift. It's important to note here that the hats in question were identical. Deep denim blue, with a olde style font, red "B" proudly on the front, an adjustable strap in the back with another little "B" on a tag. No matter where you are in the country, you have likely seen this hat today. The one I threw away, and the one I got as a gift were indistinguishable, but they were most certainly different.

A few days ago, the Red Sox won the AL East for the first time in years. As it sit here, they possess the very best record in all of professional baseball and they are a favorite to win the World Series by their own fans and the taking heads on national sports channels alike. They are a fun, silly, skilled group of guys who play the game right. They are balanced, and they have been on a roll all year long.

I know that my hat has nothing to do with all these accomplishments. After all, it's just a hat, but I'll be damned if you can borrow it.

Football addendum

An article was brought to my attention that further drives home the point that Football is all about the watching: http://nyti.ms/1aKt1b2

Football – The Television Sport

Unless you are a Fantasy Football player, or maybe a bettor, the NFL pre-season probably doesn’t generate much excitement. Even as a die-hard Patriots fan, I can never muster the energy to even watch a few downs of a pre-season game. There’s just no point to it. The coaches are looking for things that we can’t be sure of, so why bother watching?

Because of all that, when I made up my mind to take on this challenge, the Sox were the pretty much the only game in town. The emergence of the Patriots has certainly brought a new level of seriousness to The Off-Season, and I’ve been thinking about football a lot over the last two weeks.

The NFL is arguably the most successful sports league in history. This is largely due to the fact that the NFL was built on television. Most every other league was built on the rules of the game they play, but the NFL was designed to be paired with television and sold to the fans. NFL Films is a side business that leans on the all-encompassing documentation of the league to create pioneering sports documentary films. Just knowing there are pro teams playing football on TV on Sundays makes it tough for me to focus on other things. It just feels right to watch.

I never really realized how reliant the NFL was on TV until the Patriots were being tempted by a new stadium in Hartford, CT in the late 90's. Sports radio was wailing away about the possible loss, and I was right there with them. I thought it would be a tragedy. I was talking about it with someone when my friend Brian walked by. "What do you care where they play?" he asked. "How many games a year do you go to?"

I was stunned. The answer was one or two, tops. It really made very little difference to me where they played. I was going to watch anyway. The Patriots, to me, and to the vast majority of fans, exist on TV only. Think about the fact that the NFL is the only league that plays it's championships on a neutral site! How weird is that?

Interestingly, during this same time period, I have been able to connect with a steward of the history of the game, rooted right here in Boston. Rooted, in fact, right outside my office. As it happens, the first organized football team was created by kids from the Dixwell School, located in Boylston Alley, the current location of Emerson College, where I work. Seriously! Here’s an article all about it.

I’m excited to have met Mr. McGrath and even more excited to be taking over the position of Team President when he is ready to relinquish it. I don’t think it will violate the rules of the Off-Season to be paying attention to things that happened 150 years ago. I hope to have the chance to repair the monument and continue to promote the important place Boston has not just in the current world of football, but in it's genesis as well.

In other news, it may be a very good thing that I am laying off of watching sports for while, if this article is to be believed.

BFD?

In the few days since I made my announcement, the Red Sox have played three games that demonstrate just how tough The Off-Season is going to be for me. A thrilling pitchers' duel, an absolute demolition, and a see-saw battle with a great rival (all Boston wins) have combined to make me realize what's so great about watching sports. I thought I'd talk about that for a bit here to raise the stakes for those of you who don't have skin in the sports watching game.

In some ways, I think sports was the first social media. Picture a kid in bed, pretending to be asleep while listening to a baseball game on a little radio sometime in the 1920's. The home team wins it in the bottom of the 9th and the kid can hear the fans roar. Thrilled, the kid knows other people out there, in the stadium and in their own houses across the region, "like" it too. They are separate, but they are together. The next day, the kid wears a hat with the team logo and instantly is connected to other people who are doing the same thing. They are on the same page. They know nothing of each other, and yet they know they have something in common. They share a smile over last nights win. Maybe even talk about it. That's powerful! 

Things that bring us together should be embraced.

These days, time shifting radio and TV have left sports and awards shows as the last bastion of large scale, shared public experiences. As I watched the last three Sox games, I knew that there were friends of mine out there wincing, sweating and cheering at the exact same moments I was. Again, power.

So why give it up? 

I'm not really sure. One thing I do know is that several years ago I have up listening to sports talk radio. I had been a loyal listener ever since about the 8th grade. Despite that, I had developed a sense that the constant arguing and rehashing of events, good and bad, was not quite in line with what I loved about sports. It wasn't about the wonder of the moment, and the unpredictability of the contest at hand. It was difficult at first, but I quickly saw that mu instinct had been right, and my quality of life improved greatly. The wins became more fun, and the losses less damaging, as I didn't have to worry about hearing about it for the rest of the day or week. I was happier.

It's not as if this is an easy time to turn away. The Sox have a great chance to win it all, as do the Patriots. The Bruins are a title contender with high expectations after a stunning end to last year. The Celtics are starting out on a very intriguing rebuilding process that may very well move pretty quickly. They won't likely be very good, but with that comes the ability to catch a game anytime you want at a reasonable price and be surrounded by actual fans. A nice benefit, but one I'll have to pass up, I guess. It's even a compelling and important year for my Tar Heels with new rivals to play and some status to reclaim after a down year.

I'm not sure what I will discover my giving up the games, but I'm curious, and that seems like a good enough reason, right?

Walking Away

Since 2001, the City of Boston has seen an incredible run of professional sports success. All four major teams won their respective championships within seven years, and they all played for several more titles, winning three. Few other towns, if any, have seen similar runs, and it's hard to imagine any ever will in the future. All this in a place where sports were a near constant topic at water coolers, bars and social events even during a 15 year span of utter futility. The resulting fervor around the Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots makes it difficult to operate in Boston without paying some attention to them.

This has been no trouble for me, as I happen to have loved the inherent drama and civic pride that comes from rooting for the home team long before I adopted Boston as my home. Coming to this region for college, it was easy to fall for the four big teams in town, and I have not looked back. Following Boston sports has given me countless wonderful memories, and there seems to be no end in sight... but now I'm walking away.

As a bit of an experiment, once the Red Sox have played their last game of this season, I'll begin a self imposed year away from sports. I'm interested to find out two things as a result of this project. First, how hard will it be to avoid knowing what's going on, and second, what will I fill the time with? The rules are simple:

1. During this time, I will be unable to actively seek out sports games or information.
2. I must be actively pursuing something new to fill at least some of the time formerly occupied by consuming sports.

Rule one means that if I am in a bar with a game on, I don't have to leave, but I can't devote my attention to the game, nor can I click on a link I might see that talks about sports of any kind. Rule two is easier. I'll be starting by trying to learn to juggle, something I have always wanted to be able to do. If I am able to learn it, I'll have to move on to something else.

I'll make regular updates here, so let me know if you think I can make it, or if you think I'll crash and burn. I'm really not sure myself! Regardless, as the Sox finish this year Champs or chumps, once they make their final out, The Off-Season begins.