It’s taken nearly 15 years to happen, but I think I’ve come to the point where I’ve realized that simply being exposed to something on a daily basis has made me unknowingly knowledgeable about a certain topic, and maybe even a bit of a fan.
In our house, our mornings are fairly standard. My husband’s alarm clock goes off at about 6:40 a.m., and mine follows at about 7 a.m. But really, I’m usually already awake, lying in bed, with the faint sounds of sports highlights going on in the background.
Sometimes I can zone the noise out, and other times, I wake up knowing more than I thought I did about the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, or UFC. A couple of days ago, I found myself using sports terms correctly that I didn’t even know I knew of, and spouting out names of athletes that I thought I had long forgotten.
I’ve also recently found myself remembering more personal life milestones based on what professional sporting event was happening around that same time. So, while I often accuse my husband (a huge New York Yankees fan) of being a closet Blue Jays fan, I guess maybe it’s time for me to admit something that I have been in denial about – I think I might actually care about sports.
Obviously, I’ve always cared about the local sports scene. As a reporter in St. Paul, there’s no way to avoid sports. I even covered sports for a full year after my second maternity leave, and despite a lot of evenings and weekends spent at hockey arenas and in school gyms, I really do enjoy the atmosphere that comes with small-town sports.
This past weekend, I once again found myself doing a bit more than usual for the sports section – taking in the Bengals’ provincial football game. Watching the young athletes perform in freezing temperatures was impressive on its own, but seeing and feeling the excitement of an entire community behind me, and the players in front of me, was certainly a great experience.
I’ve also covered my fair share of hockey games in St. Paul, and heading out to cover games during last year’s Jr. B Canadiens’ playoff run was something I really did look forward to.
Over the years, I’ve come to learn more about local sports, starting with the necessity to learn the rules of football when I was a high school cheerleader for the St. Paul Lions. Oddly enough, those lessons, taken about 15 years ago and taught by current football coach John Lumby, have been quite useful in my career with the St. Paul Journal.
I suppose, if Siri was a real person, rather than just a voice in my phone, she would likely agree that I need to come clean about how I really do enjoy the world of sports. I’m pretty sure the only two things I ever ask her are about the weather, and the scores in hockey and baseball games.
