New Year and New Things

Hey everyone. I have neglected this blog for too long. I apologize for that. But I have made it a resolution to try to blog more about things that I have been doing at work (Facebook apps) and other things that I feel like talking about.

I’ve got a couple of posts in the hopper that I am still working on so look for those. I also have a follow up to the popular iPod Touch vs iPhone posts a did a couple of months ago.

Why We Care So Much About Sports

Last night I watched my beloved Arizona Diamondbacks drop another game in the NLCS to the Colorado Rockies to go down 2-0. I find myself getting really upset and the play by the Dbacks so far in this series. Cursing, punching the air and couch cushions, and disbelief are just a few things that I do when we lose big games. During the Dbacks World Series run in 2001, I had a migraine up until Luis Gonzalez’s hit won it for us. This gets me thinking about why I get so emotional about all of this.

In all reality, the outcome of sporting events shouldn’t have any bearing on my life or my day to day actions. But they do. If the Diamondbacks go on to win 4 in a row and go to the World Series or drop the next 2 and end their playoff run, my life will probably go on exactly the same. Probably also exactly the same had they not even made the playoffs. But I have a great interest in them. When they win, they bring the community together. People who would never talk to each other, have something in common the minute they see each other in Dbacks colors. After the World Series win over the New York Yankees in 2001, anyone wearing Diamondbacks stuff was your best friend and vice-versa. This even happens when they lose. There is nothing better than fans talking about “what could have been” with other fans. Look at the Chicago Cubs. They have probably some of the best and most loyal fans of any sport and they haven’t won a World Series in 99 years now. They are the lovable losers but they never have to worry about not packing Wrigley Field.

To some people, sports are just as much a part of life as anything else. Football fans will sit in a parking lot several hours before the game just to hang out with friends and other fans just like themselves. Why? For the love of the game, rooting on your team, and sharing stories (both of winning and losing) with others. Fans will devote an entire day to sitting in the parking lot tailgating for several hours, then spend 3 to 4 hours inside the stadium watching the game. Once the game is over, time to go home and sit around with buddies and discuss the game.

Sports brings people together in different ways that many other things can. A team is something that many different people from different paths of life can share. Sports can also be used to help heal. This is best shown with the Virginia Tech home football opener this season. It was the first time since the tragic shootings there in April that the school had come together like that for something not related to the shootings. While those who were lost were mourned, it was a chance for the community to come together and realize that as tragic as that event was, they are still a strong community and they showed it at the game.

So people who ask why you care about sports may not be able to understand. You can’t really explain it. It’s not like anything else out there. We care about the team, win or lose. We rush home at night to catch a game on TV. We wait in line to buy playoff tickets. People who don’t get it don’t do those things for whatever it is that they love in place of sports. Just like they might not understand our love of sports, I cannot understand their “lack” of love of sports.

So what I’m trying to say is that I can’t tell you why we care so much about sports. What I can say is that it is there and for most of us, it’s not leaving anytime soon. Like it or not, sports are part of the American landscape. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten goosebumps at a live sporting event watching the team and crowd interact. I was at game 1 of the NLCS and to see all the crowd act in unison and wave their Dbacks towels was amazing. Either you are moved by that or you aren’t. I’m a true sports fan and I am proud to admit it.

Congratulations Arizona Diamondbacks

Hey I know that this is a bit off-topic but I am a HUGE Arizona Diamondbacks fan and I have to say congrats to our boys for sweeping the Cubbies tonight. We get no love from any major media outlets because we are on the West Coast. We did have the best record in a tight National League and did hold on 2 worthy contenders to win our 4th National League West crown in 10 years of existence. All but 2 “expert” writers for ESPN picked the Cubs to win. The closest they got was a base-loaded situation tonight and they choked their way out of that.

It’s about time we get the respect we deserve. The Yankee$ and Red $ox are good but I’m tired of seeing them all the time on national TV. Now it’s time for the nation to see that the young Dbacks are a force as well.

CONGRATS ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS!!!!!!!!