Don't Talk to me Unless You're a Sports Fan !

Excuse me but, this is personal. I know that sports is a common part of human nature. This is because we are all naturally competitive. However, that does not mean that we are all sports fans. Sports provide a social venue for all of us. Sports provide us with the great opportunity to relax, yell, and be a part of a group. According to a study by the University of Kansas students that regularly attend sporting events generally have better GPAs. However, those people that go with their face painted or the hot chicks that only know the players by number are not sports fans. According to me their either leaches or one dimensional fans. You see when I was a kid I was like any other naive boy who thought I could play in the NBA, NHL, MLB, or NFL. All I had to do was choose and I'll be their on draft night. However, as high school approached and my height stayed the same, I started to realize that the only way I would be in any of those professional leagues would be if every capable athlete in the world was killed or had career ending injuries and my services became required like being drafted into the army.

My lack of athletic build and skill never deterred me from watching or following sports. In fact it made me want to know more about them. I even broadened my scope as the years passed. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a city that had a professional team in all of the four major sports leagues (Philadelphia). I was instantly hooked on the four major sports by the age of 6. Over the next 16 years I became a follower of other sports such as NASCAR, Tennis,Golf, Women's basketball, MMA, and soccer.I mean there are a lot of other sports that I have looked into but they never really did anything for me like horse racing, rugby, or eating contest.

I guess at this point you're probably wondering what am I getting to. Am I here just to list all the sports I know...No. Am I here just to brag about myself? No. Then what is my point? Well it is simple. Look at the title of the post!

I am sick and tired of non-sports fans calling themselves sports fans. Just because you like your local sports teams does not make you a sports fan. It just makes you a homer. I mean I like Garth Brooks, but that does not make me a country music fan. It just means I like Garth Brooks...and Darius Rucker ( you know...Hootie from Hootie in the Blowfish). I am not trying to be an elitist I am just trying to clarify the difference between me and the guy in the sports bar that considers sports jerseys as business casual. Getting into sports conversations with these people are awful. It like getting into a political conversation with Glenn Beck.

Typically the conversation with me and the sports bar guy goes like this:

Bar Guy: Man, Kobe is just as good as Jordan. Don't you think so?
Me: No. Not even close. Kobe isn't even the best Laker of all-time so how can he be just as good as Jordan?
Bar Guy: What are you talking about? Everyone on ESPN says that Kobe is just like Jordan so it must be true.
Me: No. Not even. ESPN exaggerates all the time just to start debates. I bet you most of them would probably not rate Kobe better than Magic Johnson.
Bar Guy: What? Kobe is way better than Magic Johnson, he scores more points than Magic.
Me: And?
Bar Guy: So he's a better player.
Me: No.
Bar Guy: That's all Jordan did. All he ever did was score and dunk and people call him the greatest. Kobe does that too and he scored 81 points in a game! Jordan never did that!
Me: Okay.
Bar Guy: Okay what?
Me: Jordan did more than score. He played defense very well. He even won the Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was also the ultimate teammate. I mean he was a part of the winning-est team in NBA history and never lost in the NBA Finals. He also won the Finals MVP every time he was there. Not to mention he left for a year and a half to play baseball. Imagine if he didn't retire. He could have won two more titles and two more MVPs. Jordan also has the....
Bar Guy: Whatever. I don't think that is all correct. I never saw Jordan win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Me: (sigh) I'm gonna go grab another drink. It was nice talking to you (not really)

I understand not everyone has the same passion for sports like myself and David. I mean we write a sports blog that nobody reads besides us. And we enjoy it. Sports Bar Guy wouldn't do this. He's too busy yelling, playing beer pong, eating nachos, and/or watching Sportscenter all at once. I watch Sportscenter, but I also read articles to mold my own opinion. Many people watch sports for the social experience. It's like social drinking. However, I can watch the Super Bowl by myself and be perfectly fine. I watch sports because I absolutely love it. My day begins with sports and it ends that way, seriously. When I wake up the first thing I do is turn to Mike and Mike in the morning on ESPN2. When I fall asleep the last thing that I see is Sportscenter. Sports Bar Guy doesn't do that. I recite sports sports players the way preachers quote bible verses. Sports Bar Guy can tell you his team's all-time great players and nothing else.

Some may say that I have an obsession with sports, however it's far from that. Sports is part of the fabric of society and I recognize that it is important. Sports Bar Guy understands the importance of his team and nothing else. Sports provide the ultimate equalizer in society. Racial issues disappear, poverty issues are non-existent, and classicism is banished. Sports is the ultimate proving ground where politics do not influence the outcome. I absolutely hate when people say that, "It's just a game." Ask New Orleans if the Saints are just a team? Or ask the Ivory Coast if Dider Drogba is just a soccer player? Teams and their athletes provide us an escape from the trials and tribulations of life. Though sports provides us with just as many heartaches as blissful moments it is still a break from that brute force called responsibility. Life is hard enough and Sports makes it much more bearable.

I am not calling out people, but I just want to set the record straight. A German Shepard is a dog, but it does not deserve to be lumped in with all the toy dogs, it has it's own category. Me and Sports Bar Guy both will watch a basketball game, but we are not in the same category.