So, with it being summer time again, a good chunk of my time is now spent on the computer (hence, this blog) and watching tv. Or, at the very least, trying DESPERATELY to find something worthwhile on the tv. And, as many of you might agree, what is worthwhile on tv is certainly something relative to our own personal taste, or lack thereof. Well, one thing I enjoy is watching old football and basketball games on DVD or cable. It helps me get excited about the upcoming seasons in the fall, it helps me learn something new about those particular games, teams, or even particular plays or sets. Often, it helps me remember details about particular games that may have faded over time. Hell, for nostalgia's sake, it allows me to reminisce upon a time when my favorite team may have been better, what my life was like at the time of a particular season, or just giggle while I relive an OU team getting ravished by playground trickeration.... For instance, where were YOU when this great moment in college football history went down?
Me? Generally speaking, I was running up and down the halls of Moore Hill on the campus of UT with my "new" friend Eric and countless other random Longhorns celebrating the demise of the Nebraska dynasty at the time and the rise of Texas in the "new" Big 12 conference. (1997 would be a much different story....)
But I guess the point I'm getting to is that some people find watching old games ridiculous. I've heard things like, "You know who wins....What's the point?" I find that an incredibly short-sighted and surface-level argument, insinuating that all sports watchers care about is the bottom line, victory or loss. If that were the case, there'd be a bunch more miserable sports fans out there because each sport only crowns one champion each year, and the rest are all "losers," second place through last place. (Except for college football on occasion, but that's a tired discussion I'll save for later.) I'd argue that sports fans care about the progress of their team, seeing how their favorite players gel with teammates or improve over time. I'd argue that sports fans are all about "hope," and that failure now may still be the building block and character established for better times. Not that losing doesn't piss me off, and I'm not a huge "moral victory" guy. But it certainly isn't always about the W or L.
So, why would I watch a game again if I've seen it before, even once? Well, I think I've addressed that to death by now. But my question is, how is it any different than watching a movie more than once? Don't you know how it's going to end? Don't you know the jokes that the actors are going to recite, and the plot twists that are going to occur during the movie if you've seen it before? What do you get out of watching it again? Why, for that matter, would anyone ever listen to a cd more than once, or read a book over and over again if they know the ins and outs of it by experiencing it before.
Perhaps it inspires you. Perhaps you might learn something new. Perhaps it speaks to your passions in life in a way that some just don't understand. Perhaps it isn't all about the movie, but rather remembering what life was like when you first saw that movie- not necessarily better or worse, but just different and worth remembering. The answer isn't the same for all of us, that's for sure. But to me, it's no different. Watching an old game I've seen a billion times before, listening to my favorite album over and over again, or watching a movie I've seen seemingly infinite times, and knowing the good guys win (or not) and exactly how it occurs. But what do you think? I'm curious to hear if others think watching sports games over and over is silly, or if opinions tend to side with me on this one.
Oh, and for the record, I still get goose bumps seeing "Steeler Roll Left" work perfectly on the Corn Huskers, but why wouldn't it with Priest Holmes and Ricky Williams in the backfield? But, I think it's also about me getting one of my first big tastes of the beauty and pageantry of college football.
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