The First 150 Days

Five months ago today, I stopped watching sports. The Red Sox had won the World Series the day before and, true to the promise I had made some weeks earlier, I embarked on this one year "sports sabbatical" called The Off Season. I did it because I was inspired by friends of mine in the academic and tech worlds who had recently gone on their own sabbaticals. I did it because I wanted to force myself to write more often. I did it because I am a fan of big ideas, and it did it because I believe that if you truly love something, you have to set it free.

Prior to that day five months ago I enjoyed watching my favorite 5 teams win 10 championships between them in the previous dozen years. And, make no mistake, I loved it. I loved it so. It was an utter delight. Actually, it could have been better as just about every team in question had a year or two in there where they easily could have won it all, but didn't. It's hard for me to imagine that any fan could ever have it so good, before or since. They say the Boston fan has grown to be abrasive and insufferable amid all this success, and that may well be. It's hard to imagine anyone managing to keep a cool head when something like this is going on. At some point though, I realized I had to see what it was like to step out of it. And once you decide to do that, I'm sorry but there's no points for doing it after the teams aren't that good anymore. No, the only way to walk away was to do it at the top.

In the interim, I have learned how to juggle, how to play guitar and sing along with myself, and a fantastic and unique way of tying my shoes. I have been cooking more, and hitting the gym more often. I've read more books, and seen more plays and musical performances than I used to before. I have learned how to properly make a real old fashioned and how to mix a round of drinks for guests. In short, I've had some real fun. And I'm not even halfway through this little experiment.

It's not clear to me that many folks are reading this, but it is a true pleasure to know that a few of you are. Thanks for paying attention, and thanks for your encouragement. I hope I can keep this somewhat interesting for you for another seven months.