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.