Three Big Sporting Events On April 5

Today, April 5, is a pretty big day in U.S. sports with three high profile events taking place.

Opening day for baseball (for all teams except the Yankees and Red Sox who played last night).

• What to like: could be a good season for the hometown Mariners, they open with a winnable series vs. Oakland, Jr. is back again this year and with no Sonics around any more and college b-ball over, it's good to have another local team to follow.
• What to dislike: baseball is, at least in my opinion, boring compared to basketball, ice hockey, soccer and football. So, here we go with seven months of guys mostly standing around either spitting or scratching themselves.

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game - Butler vs. Duke

• What to like: a compelling match up of an unlikely finalist on an incredible run and an old traditional power looking to win another title.
• What to dislike: two private schools from the east playing for all the marbles in Indianapolis...not too relevant or interesting to we basketball fans from the west.

Start of the Masters Golf Tournament...and the return of one Tiger Woods to competition

• What to like: well, I'm not a golfer or a fan of golf, and I'm not fan of Mr. Woods even before all his problems came to light. So not much to like here for me.
• What to dislike: Oh where to start. Tiger Woods for one. Enough said. Then there's the fact that the tournament is played in the oldest of old school private golf clubs in the nation. Not very "everyman" and certainly with no women allowed to join the club very "everywoman" either. Then there's my opinion that golf is not really a sport...more like guys walking around their lawn with sticks. It makes baseball look like ski-cross from the Winter Olympics.

Best of the three? For me it's clearly the Ms opener. Local team, start to a new season, hope springs eternal.

Observations from Baseballville

My buddy Sean and I went to the Mariners game Sunday afternoon. It was the first game I've been to this season, and I was hoping to see Ken Griffy Jr. play one last time. However, that was not to be as he did not play that day.

Right about game time the sun came out and all was good as we settled in for what we hoped would be an entertaining game against the defending American League champs - the Tampa Bay Rays (they used to be the Devil Rays, but the fine folks of Florida compelled the team to change their name to just "the Rays" to get that "Devil" out of their name.

Anyone who follows the Ms probably knows by now that they won the game, scoring 11 runs...including a grand slam homer by first baseman Russell Branyan. Suffice it to say, the game had a lot of hits and a lot of runs, with the good guys prevailing 11-2. It was a fun game and we had a great time.

As anyone who has read my blog before knows, I find sports outings a facinating place watch and observe behaviors...occassionaly taking a stab at what might be motivating them. For example, click here and here.

Based on my experience Sunday, here are a few thoughts on what I saw:

The club level experience is the way to go. This isn't an observation about people but about where to sit. Between the lower deck and the upper deck of Safeco field there's a small "200 level" club section that offers nicer seating, more food options and fewer crowds. Sure, each ticket is $65, but for someone who goes to one, maybe two, games each season, this is no problem. Why it's great is not only do you have great view seats, but you can grab a bite or a drink and continue watching the game live from one of the many stand up bars overlooking the filed in this section...and do so without being crushed by thousands of people.

Talking during the game. OK, on to my first observation. In my years going to baseball games, I've noticed that your real baseball fans...the ones really into the game (you know them when you see them)...do not want people around them talking during the game. And so it was again Sunday as one focused couple sitting in the bleacher seats in front of us as we tipped our beers and talked about baseball - and non-baseball - topics in the club bar got up and moved to other seats. I've seen this before. Ask my frind Rich about our experience at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

I find this behavior ironic in a couple ways. First, baseball is the ultimate spectator sport to talk and hang out with your friends. Why? Because virutally nothing is happening at any given time during the game! It's pefect. And besides, isn't that the traditional perception of the sport...as a pastime? This ain't the NHL folks. Second, everywhere you look around you there are screaming, fidgeting or talking kids. Any way you slice it, there's no way you're gonna be able to sit and focus in on baseball without hearing what's going on around you. My guess is that your true and dedicated baseball fan is an introvert. Baseball with all it's statistics and calculations of probabiliites has an appeal, I think, to introverted and/or left brianed people. These are not people who want to talk or be bothered.

Baseball is "family central"...why is that? Per my previous point, am I at a baseball game or just intruding on a large scale babysitting convention? Man, there are a lot of children at a baseball game. And I'm not talking about your 8-16 year olds here, although there are plenty of them too. No, I'm talking 0-5 year old kids. There are a lot of families who bring their really young children to a baseball game. And hey, that's their right...no arguement from me. But, I'm wondering why? What is your infant or toddler going to get out of the game? And, guess what, you're going to probably miss 2-3 innings because you have to deal with thier diapers, feeding or meltdowns. What's the fun there?

This is not what I see when I go to a football, basketball, soccer or hockey game. Sure, there are some kids around, but not to this degree and not so young.

So, why is baseball so family oriented? I'm going to give four guesses, but I'd love to know what others think:
1) Tradition. Baseball has a long history and through the years it has just developed a reputation of being family friendly. That's it. It is because it is.
2) Fans aren't as rowdy as other sports. They just aren't. At least not here in Seattle. Perhaps people in Boston or New York would disagree, but out here baseball is G rated.
3) It's not as expensive as football or basketball. More affordable means bring the family. Although I have to say there were plenty of babies present in the relatively expensive section we were sitting in Sunday.
4) The leisurely pace. Baseball is slow. There are lots of breaks. This gives parents time to police up their kids without missing too much action.

God Bless America. I get why the national anthem is played at the begining of a game, and I understand why people like that. I do. I think it's good. Especially at at time when we have soldiers, sailors and airmen (and women) in harm's way.

But, at least at a Mariners game, that's not enough. No, in the middle of the 7th inning, the same person who sings the anthem before the game comes back and sings "God Bless America." Everybody is expected to stand up and pay attention while this is happening, even though it's not the anthem. Look, I'm as American as they come. I love my country, and I don't want to live elsewhere. But, really? Do we really need another helping of mom, apple pie and God during a baseball game? What's the point? Is it Major League Baseball trying to further position itself around tradition and a rosy picture of "America?" Not sure. What followed the song was the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," and at that point I had to assume that the whole thing is just a big nostalgia play appealing to a sense of Americana...all as positioning for baseball.

So there you go. A few observations from baseballville.

It's Not a Sport If...

With the end the NCAA basketball season and the NBA and NHL heading into their playoffs, we're coming up on a time of year when sports really takes a nose dive in my book. Prepare yourselves for a summer lineup full of golf, poker, auto racing and similar. I'm pleased that Seattle now has the Sounders FC MLS team as that will fill in a little of the immanent sports void.

This got me thinking about a conversation I had once with a buddy about what is a sport and what is not. He summarized his feeling on the subject by saying, "It's not a sport if you can do it while smoking a cigar and wearing a pinkie ring." I think that does very nicely.

A sport, to me, is something that requires athletic ability. You need to exert yourself in a physical way in order to play a sport. You need to be up, active, moving and performing athletic actions as part of the activity to be a sport. This can be in an individual or team situation, and certainly mental abilities are important too. These are things like basketball, track and field, football, soccer, hockey, baseball (but see my note below), tennis, skiing, skating, boxing, etc. You get the idea.

Using the cigar and pinkie ring test as a guide, here are some of my thoughts on the important matter of what is not a sport...

Rock solid, not a sport

• Billiards
• Bowling
• Poker
• Darts
• Target shooting
• Hunting and fishing

Most of these are games. They are not sports. No discernible athletic ability is required to perform them. Put them in the category of Monopoly, checkers and pie eating contests. They can be as difficult or as easy as you want them to be, but one thing that is not required is athletic ability beyond what your average everyday person can muster - a person smoking a cigar and wearing a pinkie ring to boot.

To be clear, I'm not disparaging the games. They can be really fun, social and competitive activities. They can also be quite difficult. And, I realize that some people who excel at them can make money by playing these games in tournaments or via wagers. All I'm saying is, these are not sports and I'd appreciate it if we all just recognize that.

In terms of fishing and hunting, those are now pastimes based on the need in times now long gone to secure food to eat on a daily basis. You don't need to be athletic to sit in a boat or stand in a stream and catch fish. Similarly, walking around the woods with a rifle is not athletic.

Barely a sport, very questionable

Golf - that's right, you heard me. I question if golf is a sport. Up and until a few years ago, I would have squarely put golf into the not-a-sport category. However, since Tiger Woods came on the scene it's clear to me that some athletic ability does elevate this leisurely rich man's game to another level that we can tenuously place inside the "sport" category. His example has inspired a new breed of golfer, at least at the top levels, who is more athletic and it shows.

Take Tiger out and, well, you've got a bunch of everyday people walking around on the grass with a stick (and usually a beer) in hand who occasionally whack at a ball. Add in cigar and pinkie ring and, there you have it, not a sport. Again, I'm not saying golf is easy. Far from it. Lord knows I am horrible at it. Golf is hard. But to swing a club at a ball and get it to go a distance and direction you want is not something that requires athletic ability - just lots and lots of practice.

Motor "sports" such as NASCAR, Indy car, hydroplane racing, motorcycle racing and the like. Driving is not a sport. The end. If it was, then virtually all Americans play a sport every day...and I think you'd agree that most people aren't exactly up to playing a sport every day.

The only reason that I've pegged it in this category instead of the game-oriented "not a sport" category is that for what most people think of as the "sport" of racing, there is probably some amount of athletic ability needed to deal with the speed to control whatever vehicle you're sitting (sitting!) in. But, mostly, driving is a mental activity rather than an athletic one. So all you NASCAR fans out there, you can take pride that what you like to watch is compelling, competitive, difficult, dangerous and indicative of what you'd really like to do in your own car...but please, do not delude yourself into thinking that driving is on par with running, lifting, jumping, throwing sports.

Suspect sports

Baseball - Baseball is a sport. Indeed, to play it requires athletic ability and effort. Running fast, being strong enough to hit a hurtling baseball out into the field of play or throw it quickly and accurately to teammates and hand-eye coordination are all required. So, for baseball fanatics reading this and my comments below...I'm not saying baseball is not a sport. It is.

What I am saying is that it's suspect. Here are two reason why:

1) At any given time in a baseball game, everybody involved is doing absolutely nothing. There is a LOT of standing around doing nothing in baseball and, well, doing nothing is not very athletic now is it? Plenty of time for that cigar and the pinkie ring doesn't get in the way. In basketball, hockey, soccer, football, lacrosse, tennis or any other sport there is a lot of action pretty much at all times. For those of you who might be tempted to say, "but in football they huddle after every play and there are time outs," I say, "Do you really want to compare how much down time there is in football with baseball?" I think not. It's not even close.

2) You don't necessarily have to be fast, strong or in shape to play baseball. For example, if you for whatever reason just happen to have a good arm for pitching...that's all you need. You literally can be a fat, out-of-shape slob who can throw the ball. You don't need to run fast, jump or perform any other athletic move than to throw the ball to the catcher.

Sailing. Similar to motor sports, I have my doubts about this "sport." However, I think there is enough running around, lifting, hauling and muscling going on to elevate it to sport status - albeit in the "suspect" category rather than "barely a sport." Also in its favor, there isn't an engine powering the movement of the vehicle. The team has to use its mind and muscle to get the boat into position to harness the wind. On the down side, sailing is - in the end - a bunch of people on a boat. Getting from point A to point B on a boat isn't exactly the most athletic thing you could do...and you certainly could do it with pinkie ring set and cigar lit.

So there you have it - at least from my perspective. There are plenty of other activities that could be listed in any of these categories, but I think these are the best examples.

What do you think is a sport? What isn't? Why?