My Letter to Sports

Dear Sports,

Why do you do this to me? You’ve drawn me into your net of deceit by promising me championships and glory only to deliver me to agony time and time again.  I am sick of your silly games – your baseball and your football, your tournaments and your bowl games, your last second buzzer beaters and your fatal collapses.  Only a fool would stick around through all this misery, only a fool would allow themselves to think that one day this will all get better, one day I will get my championship.

It all started on a Saturday in December, 2005.  I was lonely freshman in college sitting in my vacant dorm room watching the ACC championship game.  My #5 Virginia Tech Hokies were coming off of earning the ACC title the year before and were out to make it two in a row.  We were facing an unranked Florida State team and looking forward to another Orange Bowl appearance.  However, as you would have it, that day was meant to be for agony and bitterness.  Florida State won that game and the heartbreak was just beginning.  Later that night the Virginia Tech Basketball team had a date with #1 Duke in Cameron Indoor.  You brought us back from 11 pts down to take the lead with 1.6 seconds left; a sure victory in our hands! You gave me hope that you were going to make up for the agony from earlier.  “One set of fans couldn’t handle that much pain in one day,” I thought.  Obviously, I was wrong.  Sean Dockery received the ball at half court and shot it immediately.  It seemed like the ball was in the air for hours, then “clank”, then “screaming”.  He had done the impossible.  My heart sank.  I hated you and promised I would never again let you hurt me like that.

Yet, I couldn’t stay away from your lure.  Just 2 years later I fell back into your trap and went crazy for my Hokies who were hosting Boston College on a raining and very cold Thursday night.  Lane Stadium was rocking, we were ready to knock the #2 Golden Eagles back to earth.  The game was sloppy due to the rain and my Hokies had a 10-0 lead with 2:11 left.  I was ready to rush the field and had already started moving down towards the sideline from my perch in the upper east stands (row 5Q to be exact!).  Then you struck; you decided to break my heart once again.  Matt Ryan worked his miracle and somehow escaped with a win.  Wet and miserable I found my way home and again promised to get off the your drug.  I never wanted that feeling again. 

My love of the Hokies didn’t fade, I just somehow accepted that they wouldn’t be able to fulfill that dream you promised me.  Then I moved to Dallas and found a new love.  You gave me radio to listen to, scores to check, and articles to read.  I was hooked and fell in love with the Texas Rangers.  I thought that this would be different.  It’s a new team, new place – “I can dream again!”  We won the division, then the ALDS, then the ALCS.  You had me in your grasp and I had you.  This was going to be the year.  This was going to be the chance for me to finally get that elusive championship.  Then like always you broke my heart again.  You failed me.  I had a glance at glory twice! I was one strike away in the 9^th and 10^th innings and you failed me.  I hate you sports and only fools would let themselves continue.  Yet, as the night gets closer and Game 7 nears, I am going to give you one more chance.  You have one more chance to come through in the clutch, one more chance to add glory to the already excellent drama.  One more chance, before I move on.

Ah, what empty threats those are.  You have monopolized my heart.  No reality show or primetime drama could ever fulfill your shoes.  I cannot move on.  I am stuck.  I have fallen into your trap and will never get out.  The truth is, I really don’t even want to get out.  The trill of victory will keep me going and the agony of defeat will only be a hurdle, but its times like these that I wish you were more kind to my often broken heart.

Love,

A Passionate Fan

A Game of Wits

In today’s sporting world, I have seen that victories are earned more often by the team that can make “smarter” decisions than the team which boasts the strongest and fastest athletes.  For example, Butler can make two consecutive final fours with subpar “athletes”, Wes Welker can become a top 5 wide receiver in the NFL and even the brilliant Tony LaRussa’s Cardinals can be defeated by a team that seems to be playing consistently smarter all over the field. 

I saw this come to fruition last night in the Ranger’s 4-2 win over the Cardinals.  It was a great example of how much the mind can affect a game that is determined by physical exertion.   The story of Game 5 has been plastered all over the internet today.  See “GAME 5 SUMMARY” if you want the back story.  But to quickly summarize, the Cardinals made crucial mental errors the each of the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th innings.  In the 7^th and 9^th, Craig should not have been stealing.  And in the 8^th, Motte should have been ready to pitch to Napoli.   These errors are in sharp contrast to what I wrote last Thursday about Elvis Andrus and the 3 “smart” plays that he made in the 9^th.  We saw last night how crucial it is to remain mentally sharp on the field.  No matter how strong or fast you are, if you lose concentration for just one play, you will likely be outmatched by your opponent. 

Before I continue, I want to make a few disclaimers.  I DON’T want to imply that the Ranger’s physical abilities were not essential to last night’s game.  They scored 4 runs on 2 homers and a double.  Also, the lack of ability shown by the Cardinals by going 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position played an equally crucial part.  I also DON’T want to imply that Tony LaRussa is not a smart person or manager.  He is one of the greatest and most brilliant managers of all time. 

It just seems that throughout history the athlete has unjustly earned the dumb jock stereotype, when in reality being a successful athlete requires a greater amount of mental prowess than most people understand.  And, with the advent of more and more complex defensive systems in both football and basketball as well as increased stats and sabermetrics in baseball, being able to think quickly on one’s feet as both a coach and player is becoming an even more sought after trait.

Not a Game for Idiots!

For those of you that watched the World Series game last night you saw one of the things that I love most in sports.  Smarts! Elvis Andrus made three, straight-up, smart plays in the 9^th inning last night.  Maybe they weren’t the most “brilliant” of plays, but he made the right play when he needed to and didn’t try to do too much. 

The first of these was not bunting when Kinsler was stealing second.  That may not seem like a lot and I know that these guys are pros, but let’s look a little more at the situation.  We know that Wash didn’t put on a “hit and run” or anything there and that Kinsler decided to take off on his own.  (A play that I’m not too sure I agree with; but since it worked, I’ll back off Kins for now).  But, we do know that Wash did have Elvis up there bunting (he already tried twice before) in order to move the runner up to second.  In those sacrifice situations the usual case is that the hitter is concentrating so much on getting a quality bunt down that it is acceptable if not expected to ignore everything else.  However, Elvis was able to react in milliseconds and make the correct decision.  If he bunts, or even fouls off the pitch, Kinsler doesn’t steal second and we have an entirely different game. 

The second and third remarkably smart plays were advancing to second and then to third respectively. In advancing on the mishandle (that has now been ruled an error) by Pujols, if Elvis isn’t immediately ready to move as soon as that play is made, he is out at second.  And again, we have an entirely different ball game.  Now, advancing to third is a much easier play, but we just have a situation where the right play was made in a split second of decision making. 

Let’s remember that Elvis is only 23 years old!!! He’s still a kid making the right decision when he is called upon to do so.  Also, don’t forget the amazing defensive plays that he made in the 4^th and 5^th innings.  Go RANGERS!