In the stands vs. on the couch
I looooooooove going to sporting events. Just love it. If something hilarious happens, it’s more hilarious to me if I was there. If something historic or otherwise awesome happens like a brawl or a walkoff home run by one of my favorite players, it’s sad to not be there, even if the moment itself is completely awesome. And even absent of huge moments like those, games are just fun. I can make friends with a seat-neighbor just because we like the same random/obscure player, or talk trash (in a friendly way!) with opposing fans. I can get way more popcorn than I’m able to eat, then share it with total strangers. Celebrating victory is exponentially more powerful when my voice is one with thousands of other like-minded fans, rather than a nuisance to my next-door neighbors.
If I made a Top 10 list of favorite Royals moments, up to nine of them would be from games I actually attended. It’s not that I’ve been to THAT many games, but things are more memorable when I see them in the flesh. (Side note: Have you ever read those annual Top 10 of Everything books? They are fascinating. When I was younger, I had this obsession with the Guinness Book of World Records every year, but I think I like these better. I’ll have to get both this year and see if the Top 10 books really are better, or if my memory is underrating the Guinness books.)
However, sometimes when I attend a sporting event, I feel less informed about sports than if I stay home and absent-mindedly watch games on TV. This is especially true for football; whenever I join the Sea of Red for a Nebraska football game, I am left with a lot of questions that would normally be answered by TV announcers and the magical power of replays. If there’s an injury during a game I’m attending, I have no way of knowing what’s wrong, but if I see it on TV, a thousand gruesome replays are shown and then a sideline reporter is there with the scoop. And when I’m in the stands, I’m not fed screen after screen of statistical tidbits like I can see on TV, nor a constant scrolling bar of other scores from the world of sports.
I felt this a little bit yesterday when I went to Kansas City to see my Royals, and realized I had NO clue what was happening outside of Royals vs. White Sox. Yesterday was Saturday, which means college football. Usually I like to watch around 10 different games (plus whatever baseball I can take in) on Saturdays, so to be so far detached left me feeling lost, and like I would have a LOT to catch up on when I go back home.
I suppose missing all that football and other sports stories (like the Cubs clinching the NL Central) is part of the cost of making a sports road trip - just like gas, food, and sleep. It’s almost always worth it, especially when MY team wins.