With all of the steroid scandals, player arrests and other bad behavior by players and coaches, the good things about sports tend to get overshadowed. So it’s good once in a while to remind ourselves what makes watching sports fun.
I sat down at the computer and came up with a list of the 25 things that are still good about sports. Granted, this is not a definitive list, and your choices may be different. But I think these are things we should all keep in mind the next time a baseball star is accused of using human growth hormones or a young NBA player is arrested for an altercation in front of a club at 2 a.m.
In no particular order
The first day of high school fall team practices. There is an optimism on every field and the anticipation of crisp autumn evening games when these squads start practicing that make the dog days of August feel a little less hot and humid. You don’t get that when winter teams start practicing because the fall season is still going on, and you don’t get that when spring teams start practicing because they’re often inside gymnasiums while the fields thaw from a late-winter snowstorm. Plus, it jolts me back into action after taking it easy for 10 weeks.
Friday night football games. Yes, there are far more games played on Friday night than Saturday afternoon around Section II. But there’s still something about playing under the lights that brings out the best in both the players and the fans. Perhaps it’s the spotlight effect (no pun intended) ` which states that a high school athlete must get more psyched up when a light shines on him or her in the dark ` that creates such an atmosphere. Or maybe it’s knowing that you’re playing in front of family, friends and a good chunk of your community that does it. Either way, it’s an electric evening (again, no pun intended).
Sectional/state championship games. This correlates to the atmosphere of a Friday night football game, except that the stakes are much higher and everyone’s emotions are ratcheted up 10 levels. The players push themselves to performances that can sometimes border on legendary status. Coaches can become so demonstrative that you actually fear their heads will explode if one more call goes against their teams. Fans react to every play like the fate of their world hinges on what happens next. You just can’t beat that, at least at the local level.
Saratoga Race Course. Honestly, is there a better place to be in the Capital District on an August afternoon than the oldest thoroughbred track in the United States? Great racing, great weather (usually) and a great atmosphere. And you don’t even have to be trackside to have a good time. Just pack a cooler and hang out in the picnic area behind the grandstand all day. You’ll get a better view of the horses as they’re led through the paddock than if you stood in the pack along the rail near the finish line, and you might make some friends with the group next to you.
Seeing a local player/team make it on the national stage. In other regions of the United States, this wouldn’t be a big deal because so many athletes and/or teams from their cities and towns play on the national stage. But when Niskayuna’s AndrE Davis returns a kickoff 97 yards for a Houston Texans touchdown or the University at Albany men’s basketball team beats Vermont for the America East title on national television (two years in a row, I might add), it’s a big deal around here. Seriously, is there a Capital District resident who doesn’t remember where they were the day Siena upset Stanford at the 1989 NCAA Tournament? I remember where I was ` in the family room of my parents’ house thinking this was the greatest thing to ever happen to the town of Colonie.
Mid-major college teams. Other people like following major NCAA Division I teams like Duke, North Carolina, Michigan, Southern California and so on. But growing up in the Capital District, I have more of an affection toward the mid majors like Siena and UAlbany. There’s something about watching a mid-major team play a major program that makes me automatically pull for the smaller school. Heck, I’ll root for Gonzaga (which is bordering on becoming a major basketball program) if it’s playing against someone like Florida or Syracuse. It’s just fun to pull for the smaller school in that battle.
Nutty student cheering sections. Nothing adds flavor to a sporting event like a creative cheering section. Look at what the Cameron Crazies do for the Duke men’s basketball team at home games. Besides creating a near-constant soundscape, they get inside the heads of the opposing players by finding one little thing about them or their school and chanting it at them. A little mean spirited? Perhaps. But it’s still better than seeing people sit on their hands. Locally, we’re starting to catch on with such student sections as Bethlehem’s BC Hooligans (the only known soccer-specific section I’ve seen), Guilderland’s Red Sea and Mohonasen’s Black Hole.
Mascots. I know they can be an annoyance to the serious sports fan. But a good mascot can add something to the live sporting experience. How can anyone hate the Philly Phanatic? I mean, he’s goofy looking, and he can sometimes block your view of the field with his big, green body. But he also pokes fun at the umpires, the visiting players and the opposing team’s coaches in that good-natured, wouldn’t-really-harm-a-fly sort of way. Also, it’s fun to see a mascot get a come-uppance once in a while. Anytime Syracuse’s Otto the Orange gets pummeled on a `This is SportsCenter` commercial, I can’t help but laugh. Maybe I secretly hate walking oranges. I don’t know.
The Super Bowl. This is simply the greatest American sports spectacle. First, there’s the two weeks of hype leading up to the game. Then, there is the four-hour pregame show where every aspect of the match-up is analyzed to the finest point ` that is, if there is time between the player profiles, the tear-jerking feature on the struggles of an athlete’s family and the guest appearances from celebrities paid by the network to come on to the set and yap about their upcoming projects and a little about football. Follow that up with an over-the-top national anthem and a halftime concert by a legendary (or washed up) music act, and there you have it. Oh yeah, there’s also a game involved somewhere in all of that.
Spring training. Nothing gives us Northeasterners hope that spring is around the corner quite like the day when pitchers and catchers report to their Florida and Arizona training facilities. The hot stove can cool off as baseball fans start analyzing their teams’ chances to win the World Series (unless you root for Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Florida, Pittsburgh and Washington). And once those spring training games start, fans start looking for those rookies and diamonds in the rough who will be our next batch of baseball heroes. All in all, it’s a great time to be a baseball fan.
March Madness. The only thing that can take our attention away from spring training is 65 college basketball teams competing for the NCAA title. The first two rounds usually provide fans with at least a couple of upsets we didn’t see coming and three times that amount of nail-biting finishes. By the time we reach the Final Four, though, the cream has risen to the top, and we start debating who is good enough to earn their `One Shining Moment.` Still, it’s the journey to the national championship that intrigues us because there’s always the chance we’ll see something that we won’t see again.
The Stanley Cup finals. The only time you see athletes act like men possessed and act like gentlemen afterward. Hockey players pursue Lord Stanley’s chalice as if it were the Holy Grail. They push themselves to the limit every night and don’t so much as take a minute to keep up with their personal grooming. But when it’s all said and done, they take a moment to congratulate the opposing team for a job well done before they hoist the trophy over their heads one by one, often with tears of joy streaming down their faces. You won’t see that with any other team-based sport in North America.
The World Series. No matter which baseball teams are involved, it’s always a good show. Every pitch, every swing of the bat, every play in the field is important. Inches could separate a team from a rally that puts it over the top. And given how late into the fall the World Series takes place now, snow ` yes, snow ` sometimes has to be factored in. The intrigue grips us, even if the series ends in four games like it has in three of the last four years.
The Daytona 500. It took me a long time to warm up to this event, but now I understand why it’s lapped the Indianapolis 500 in terms of importance to the American racing fan. In any given year, there are at least a dozen drivers who have a legitimate shot at winning NASCAR’s biggest race, and it isn’t until the last 25 laps that we have any idea who might come out on top. Even then, we have to hold our breath while we watch a tightly packed group of cars ` sometimes three or four wide ` take the corners and try to avoid a major pile up. And when it’s all said and done, the joy on the winning driver’s face is unparalleled at any other NASCAR race. It’s great drama.
Wimbledon. I’m not a big tennis fan, but I always watch the men’s and women’s singles finals. You see the players bow to the Royal Box before engaging in a grueling match which usually ends with the winner crumpling to the ground in joy. Then they get to do a victory lap with the trophy, stopping several times to let the fans ` many of whom sit close to the court ` snap pictures of them.
Al Michaels and John Madden. Simply the best national announcing team in any sport. Michaels describes the action on the football field simply and matter-of-factly, leaving all the colorful commentary to everybody’s favorite coach. What’s better, they interact well with each other. They don’t step on each other’s toes, and they sound like they truly like being in the broadcast booth together. NBC made a great move by keeping Michaels and Madden together after ABC abandoned Monday Night Football two years ago.
Dick Vitale. His loud voice can be annoying after a while, but in short bursts, Dickie V is wonderful to listen to. Behind all of his catch phrases such as `he’s a PTPer (prime time player)` and `get a TO (time out), baby,` his insights into the college basketball game are usually dead on. But beyond that, he’s always struck me as a genuinely good guy with his work for the Jimmy V Foundation (former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano, for those who don’t know who Jimmy V is). Vitale’s voice is silenced for now following throat surgery, but you can bet he’ll be yelling again soon.
Analysts who state the obvious. I’ll admit that this can also be considered an annoyance, but let’s be honest ` the analyst gives as much voice to what the fan sees as to what the reason is for what the fan sees. If all analysts were allowed to do was show us what caused a pitch to tail away in the wrong direction or why someone’s foul shot fell short, Tim McCarver wouldn’t have a career. Besides, it’s funny when the analyst says exactly what us fans were thinking two minutes ago. The fact that the bases are loaded means a pitcher can’t afford to make a mistake. We don’t need to hear that from the analyst, but it’s funny when he says it anyway.
ESPN `SportsCenter.` The only place to watch highlights of the day’s action. The announcers are funny when they want to be and serious when they need to be. All in all, it’s an entertaining hour of sports and still a must for the serious fan. One personal request: more NHL highlights. Any sport that combines grace with brute force should get more than two minutes out of a 60-minute sportscast.
Parity. Some people decry this as a sign that the sports landscape is no longer as good as it once was. I say it’s a good thing because it means more sports fans can be optimistic about their teams than ever before. Heck, if the Cleveland Browns can rise from the AFC North basement (which they occupied for the last four years) to second place in one season, then there’s hope for fans of every last place team.
Dynasties. Before you say, `Doesn’t that contradict your statement about parity?` let me tell you that it’s also good to have an occasional dynasty because it gives you a team to root against. Let’s face it: it’s still fun to root against the New York Yankees, even though they haven’t won a World Series title since 2000. Why? Because we consider them to be a dynasty with their 26 championships. It’s the same logic behind rooting against the New England Patriots this year.
Rivalries. Everyone loves a good rivalry. We all watch when the Yankees play the Boston Red Sox, or when Duke plays North Carolina in men’s basketball. Even local rivalries grab our attention. Siena vs. UAlbany in men’s basketball. RPI vs. Union in football and hockey. Shenendehowa vs. Saratoga Springs in any high school sport. We get hyped up when our favorite rivals face off.
Upsets. This is fun for all fans, except for the fans of the favored team. You go into a game thinking there’s no chance the underdog is going to prevail, and then somehow the underdog prevails. How cool was it when Appalachian State beat Michigan in Ann Arbor? How memorable was it when Siena knocked off Stanford in 1989? How insane was it when the U.S. hockey team beat the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid? These are all etched in our brains because they were upsets.
Cheering for your alma mater. We may have left our college days far behind us, but we still feel a connection when we see them play. I was so hyped up to see the Plattsburgh State hockey team play Skidmore in Saratoga Springs last year that I actually bought a new T-shirt and cap for the occasion. But even graduates of larger institutions such as Syracuse, North Carolina or Arizona State keep a watchful eye on their alma maters’ teams and take pride in their accomplishments.
The game winner. It’s the play everybody remembers. The last-second three-point shot from midcourt. The two-run home run with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning. The improbable 55-yard field goal that tucks inside the left upright. The goal in the fourth overtime of an NHL playoff game. It drives athletes, coaches and fans into a frenzy that no other singular moment in sports can deliver.“