Giving up something you love is hard. Smokers love to smoke, drinkers love to drink and, well, people who watch television love to watch television. This summer I was forced to give up watching sporting events on television for the most part, a passion of mine since I saw my first installment of SportsCenter so many years ago. It has been tough, especially when trying to write a sports column each week for this paper and having only the Internet to work with.
I'm currently finishing up a stint at camp in Charlottesville with the Summer Enrichment Program. Not only do I not have air conditioning, but I am also prohibited from having a television -- with good reason. I'm supposed to be supervising the kids, not watching highlights, which I am sure would've happened at least once, likely resulting in at best an injured camper and at worst a lawsuit.
It was hard; this was an eventful summer in sports, particularly the last couple of weeks. Just four short days ago, the Ricky Williams era ended as he boarded a plane to Asia. He was already in Hawaii -- how much more remote could he be searching for? I hope he keeps up his tradition of always wearing his helmet just like he did that season where he snapped and only gave interviews through his facemask. He can wear it as he searches for inner peace over there. The language barrier is tough, I'm sure, but a reflective visor and NFL helmet could do wonders for that issue.
I have missed some actual important events, not just news like Ricky's departure. As a golf fan, especially around majors, I was frustrated that I missed most of the British Open. I got so desperate to see it that at one point I took all eight of my campers to the head counselor's suite, who has a television, and made them sit on the floor and watch the final four holes of Sunday's round.
Most of the kids whined the entire time, claiming they knew nothing about golf and that they were bored and wanted to leave. In order to be annoying and try and force me back to the room, one camper, clearly a baseball fan, yelled strike after every practice swing taken by the golfers. The same camper asked repeatedly how they could miss the ball -- it wasn't moving, and it was right in front of him. I tuned them all out, and focused on one 13 year old who carries a nine handicap. He and I enjoyed the reprieve from an Internet scoreboard for all it was worth. As fate would have it, Todd Hamilton and Ernie Els tied, sending the match to a playoff that Hamilton won but that I simply couldn't talk the kids into watching.
I also missed the Tour de France and Lance Armstrong's sixth straight victory. While I'm not a big cycling fan, I understand the sport much better after reading up on how the teams work, which is impressive. Some team members' job -- and these are top-notch bikers -- is to shuttle water or anything else that Armstrong needs. Other riders are sent to chase down leaders and tire them out, while still other riders simply ride in front of Armstrong to protect him. It is incorrect to think that cycling is an individual sport. He relies on that team every step of the way and by assembling the best team, he has almost assured himself of victory each time he races.
So, while I've relied almost solely onthe Internet and the occasional Washington Post for my sports news, I've managed to stay on top of the sporting world. But I would've liked to see Emeka Okafor get drafted. Or that Red Sox vs. Yankees brawl. And to think of all the Inside the Huddle with John Clayton segments I've missed
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