As you may have heard, the Seahawks won the super bowl and Seattle celebrated a major championship for the first time in many years.
Jack and I happen to have been bystandars to quite a few victories in the cities we have lived in recently. Boston had an amazing sports decade from 2001 to 2011 during which time all four major professional sports won championships (actually there were 7, in total).
The funny thing is just how much sport championships are wasted on me.
Sure, I’m excited about large gatherings and I’m happy that so much of my city was ecstatic about the win. I’m also a little fascinated by how alien sports fans are to me. I just don’t understand caring so much about something so far removed from my own life. I gather from careful study of other humans that many people feel genuine emotions that depend on the outcome of distant sporting events. I’m sure they’re not all putting on a show, but I simply do not have it in me to be such an aficionado.
Anyone who know us, knows that Jack is a big Mariner’s fan. Over the years I’ve come to appreciate the sport and certainly Jack’s knowledge of it. The fact that he still plays baseball makes his passion a little bit more intelligible to me. When Dave Niehaus (the Mariner’s announcer of 24 years) passed away I understood people’s sadness because he was such a familiar and beloved figure. At the same time, I couldn’t help but think that if teams have different coaches, managers, owners, players and even cities, what does it mean for an announcer to be the single most constant element of a team to which people are so devoted?
I swear I’m not a robot.
Jack and I happen to have been bystandars to quite a few victories in the cities we have lived in recently. Boston had an amazing sports decade from 2001 to 2011 during which time all four major professional sports won championships (actually there were 7, in total).
- Pittsburgh - football - 2006, 2009*
- PIttsburgh - hockey - 2008
- Boston - basketball – 2008
- Boston - hockey – 2011
- Seattle - football – 2014
The funny thing is just how much sport championships are wasted on me.
Sure, I’m excited about large gatherings and I’m happy that so much of my city was ecstatic about the win. I’m also a little fascinated by how alien sports fans are to me. I just don’t understand caring so much about something so far removed from my own life. I gather from careful study of other humans that many people feel genuine emotions that depend on the outcome of distant sporting events. I’m sure they’re not all putting on a show, but I simply do not have it in me to be such an aficionado.
Anyone who know us, knows that Jack is a big Mariner’s fan. Over the years I’ve come to appreciate the sport and certainly Jack’s knowledge of it. The fact that he still plays baseball makes his passion a little bit more intelligible to me. When Dave Niehaus (the Mariner’s announcer of 24 years) passed away I understood people’s sadness because he was such a familiar and beloved figure. At the same time, I couldn’t help but think that if teams have different coaches, managers, owners, players and even cities, what does it mean for an announcer to be the single most constant element of a team to which people are so devoted?
I swear I’m not a robot.
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