All Star (54/90)

I almost died in another storm today. The tornado sirens went off.

But that has nothing to do with today's entry. Today's entry is going to be about sports, I think. I've been half-heartedly following England and USA's progress in the World Cup. It seems like every time I have a chance to catch a part of these games there's something going on that sounds like it's more exciting then the bits I get to see. You see, usually I'm asleep for the beginning of it.

I'm interested in soccer if there's something going on. I get easily bored of watching tiny men run up and down a pitch for about an hour, and following the speeding ball. I get excited when they're close to the goal and there's a struggle going on, but I've missed out on seeing all the big ref calls everyone is screaming about.

Generally speaking, I'm not a person who's terribly into sports. I enjoy playing them more than I enjoy watching them. And even then, it's only for a little while. I honestly get bored really quickly with watching what seems like the same thing over and over again. With soccer, it's them running up and down the pitch for quite some time. Baseball is just them swinging a bat and trying to run occasionally. I've never been able to sit through an entire baseball game while watching on TV.

People say that going to baseball games is much more fun than watching them on TV. Judging from my past experiences with watching other sports live, I'm willing to bet that I'd be bored with baseball live as well. And these other sports are basketball and football, both of which I had to stay for entire games because I was in the high school bands that played at these events. Granted, I can sit through non-professional football and be excited about it. But NFL has very little movement, so many time stops, and so many commercials that I get bored watching.

Basketball just doesn't appeal to me anywhere. Basketball is literally run from one end of the court to the other, make sure you dribble, and put it in the hoop. And Formula One racing isn't much better, because they're driving around the same track for what, 90 passes? I'm not sure, usually I leave before the end of the races my parents watch. Another thing they watch is golf. Now, it's probably because I just really don't understand golf, but I can't watch it for the whole 18 holes. Mainly I can watch it for long because I have no clue what's going on.

My mom got interested in hockey when the Blackhawks were in the running for the Stanley Cup (as were many others around me - we are a Chicago suburb), and I could watch a period of that. But I had a friend when I was younger who was an avid hockey fan, and she never got me very interested in it. Track, cross country, and swimming are all basically the same - really boring races. At least I can sit through a few of those. And I can sit through a few tennis matches, I think.

Don't get me wrong, though, there are a few sports I can watch, and willingly. Fencing is one, although this may be because I'm a fencer. But even a whole day of watching fencing is a bit much for me. Let's face it - sword-fighting is pretty cool to watch, and that's basically what fencing is. I think I've seen one rugby game, and I quite enjoyed it. I've never gotten to see a lacrosse, water polo, regular polo, or poker (it's on ESPN.com under "all sports"), so I can't really say much against them.

But the sports I love watching are gymnastics, dance, and marching band. I believe that if cheerleading is a sport, then marching band should be as well. That, and I was in marching band all through high school. But I digress. Gymnastics and dance are similar, in that there is a lot of movement and it isn't the same thing over and over again. I like the upbeat dances, and the floor exercise in gymnastics. I just like seeing constant movement, and these are the sports that give me the most of it.

I appreciate (most of) these sports, but I just can't get engaged enough to watch. But I do like playing them.