Minor Sports: What else is on TV?
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by user JuTMSY4
Let's say its a sleepy summer Sunday afternoon. You're a football fan but its June, minicamps have ended and the real training camp is still over a month away. There's only so much the NFL network can provide and watching half hour reruns of ESPNews has gotten old. You're a Red Sox fan or a Yankees fan, doesn't really matter, but the game you really want to watch isn't on till this evening, and while the Detroit Tigers game is on and that team looks pretty hot right now, you can only stand so much of their opponent, the Kansas City Royals. The NBA finals were on last night and you witness a great match up resulting in a series that appears to be set to go the distance. So that leads you to one question, now what?
You have no interest in the current baseball games on, there's nothing but Dirk and Shaq left of the NBA and that's not on till tomorrow and Football is still to far away to even fathom watching the ever so entertain Hall of Fame game. So, what to do with your time. As an avid sports fan, Sunday is a religious holiday, one reserved for the magic of Manning and there power of Pujols, but today it seems like God has taken an off day. What to do, what to do...
Perhaps, the Stanley Cup Finals. First stop, the OLN, a network full of outdoorsmen type shows like Bass Fishing, Hunting and strangely, NHL Hockey. The NHL seems to have brewed a nice little plot. Dwayne Roloson has left the Edmonton Oilers and now the Carolina Hurricanes lead by young Eric Staal are all but set to hoist the cup. Alas, the feed from the network is grainy, the OLN set looks like its leftover from the 80s and you still cannot get over Barry Melrose's hair. The answer is, yes that is still a mullet. The action in the game is a lot better than advertised, but the NHL, due to its lockout, is now a minor sport, relegated to semi-basic cable even for its championship. Luckily, the games will be picked up by NBC starting with game 3, but you probably still won't care.
So you need some hoops eh, then the next stop is NBA TV for some WNBA games. While the sport is far from minor, this league, in and of itself, is. The talent level is similar, but different. Women, much more capable of the jump shot, try to dunk and display athleticism which can be impressive, but in a vastly different way. You sit back in your chair and ponder: Can you name the last 5 WNBA champions, could you name last years, could you name any? WNBA basketball is the highest level of profession basketball for women, but you must admit, its still a minor sport. The advantage is, if you have a team in your town, you can watch high level basketball at a fraction of the price, and get good seats to boot. Too bad there's no team in your town, or you would maybe go to the game with your kids, then again...
Time to flip the channel again, this time to FOX for the something or other 500. NASCAR is the newest sport and league that is sweeping the nation. Something to the effect of, "the fastest growing sport in the US" according to some yahoo on ESPN. Fortunately, you are watching the end of the race, the part you hope is the most exciting. Wait, they pan the camera over to a whole bunch of guys in nice bright orange and red suits. They seem to be fighting and there is also another fight involving women. Fights are always entertaining, especially ones with women, but this was not meant to be. Back to the action demands FOX. A race fan might argue, but most would admit, the reason they watch NASCAR is for the wrecks, and you can't blame them. While FOX is recounting the race, they display the awesome scene of a car flipping over and rolling, one, two, three times. "Fortunately, the driver walked away unhurt" claims the FOX announcers, which stuns you, all things considered. The NASCAR experience isn't about what goes right in a race, but what goes wrong. Wrecks, fighting, photo finishes, officials being corrected, illegal parts, you name it, NASCAR has it. If anything, the best part about the entire Auto-racing sport itself is that it fits perfectly with our ESPN world of highlights and on demand information without actually having to watch the four hour long epic of 50 guys driving around in a circle. God Bless America. Some guy in a car with a giant "Viagra" stick on the hood won, but you don't care, on to the next channel.
Click to ABC and the Indy Racing League. Another Motor Sport, but this one is about the same as the last. They still drive around in circle and still crash, but there’s less drama. They recently held what could be considered the most famous race, the Indianapolis 500, but this isn't it and so the action is less intense, even if the race means about the same. You didn't care for racing before and you don't now, next channel.
On to Tennis, which is in the middle of its first grand slam tournament of the year, the French Open. Your assumption is this is a relatively big event, but it takes place in France so it value must be limited. The first match on air is a men’s' match. The action is slow, apparently due to the clay court, but the fact that the players seem to slide across it with ease makes the game a little more interesting. Suddenly, the station switches to a women’s feed, with a face you finally recognize, Maria Sharapova. Of course, the action your interested has little to do with the court, but appears that she has lost relatively early and you won't be seeing her any time soon and that slightly saddens you. They flip back to the men and you flip right over to another channel.
You go back to the end of the Tigers and Royals game, with Todd Jones on to close it out. You intently watch as the Royals go one, two, three in the inning and that’s it. ESPN then take you directly to the largest sport in the world, for a Team USA "Friendly" against some little country you've never heard of.
Soccer might be the oddest example of a minor sport, because its only minor in the United States. You question how a sport so popular can be so boring. Knowing that this game has already occurred, you are aware the final score will be 1-1, but you just need sports for today and this will work for a little while. Perhaps you just need to be there to fully understand its beauty and unfortunately, moving to Europe isn't exactly the first thing on your to do list. Intermittently, ESPN interrupts you and then spouts off about its World Cup coverage (not that you care). It looks exciting but will probably interfere with your normal baseball routine.
A quick click and you are on to what is apparently some sort of Track & Field event. You recently heard about the tribulation involving Justin Gatlin, the current world's fastest man and possible NFL receiver. A quick pan to the shotput, followed by a nice view of the 400 meter run and then a its over to the high jump. All of these events are interesting and considering the short burst of each, your attention is held for almost an hour. However, they finally switch to a distance race and after the start, you flip on.
Another quick click and its on to Lacrosse, a sport sweeping across high schools all over the nation. The game, lying somewhere between Football and Hockey is actually fairly entertaining and with the recent news about the Duke University Lacrosse team, you are actually compelled to watch the NCAA Championships. Quick feet, frozen rope passes and hard hits, what more could you ask of a sport that may eventually be the sport holding your attention till football season. Too bad you got here too late and the game is almost over.
Click again and this time its NBC and the AFL. Surprisingly, this version of football is actually doing well and is serving as a great replacement for regular football and hockey. Some good players have come out of here (Kurt Warner) and its more entertaining then any other football league of recent memory (CFL, XFL). Its even got a team owned by Bon Jovi! The AFL adds a bit of speed to the game, along with lots of scoring and lots of hitting, what more could you ask of second rate NFLers. This game might actually be worth watching till the late game tonight. Once again, timing was not your strong point as the end of the 4th drains away and that’s the end.
So its back to the FX network and its reruns of M*A*S*H and another day of channel surfing is in the books. Still, no one in the US cares about soccer and only the south cares about NASCAR. The bottom line is that sport is sport and its most important aspect is watchability. Until these sports are more watchable, they will always be minor. Of course, its still better than Bonds on Bonds.
Date
Wed 06/07/06, 6:11 am EST
