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.
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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.