A Philadelphia Sports Addict?
Hello. My name is Patrick Edmonds and I think I'm a sports addict.
I started to recognize I have a problem during the MLB playoffs. I was following my beloved Phillies of course, and I prided myself on not missing a single pitch from the division championship all the way through the final out of World Series Game 6. In that time span alone, I painstakingly dedicated more than sixty eight hours of my life to watching these men of athletic distinction attempt to satisfy what would eventually be a failed dream.
In addition to these hours of visual consumption, I also thought, read, and talked about these games, players, plays, and calls for no less than thirty hours. Immediately after the Phillies demise, I reasoned that this excessive time was well spent because the Phillies are so rarely in the playoffs, and it is even rarer that they have an opportunity to repeat as World Series Champions. As a matter of fact, they've never had the opportunity. However, I started to realize this obsession existed with other Philadelphia based sports as well.
For the past twelve weeks, I've devoted an average of four and half hours every Sunday and one Monday to watching the Eagles. This commitment may be worse than my Phillies dedication because I know exactly what my Eagles are going to do: make the playoffs, go on a surprising run, make it to the NFC championship and get absolutely trounced by a vastly superior team. However, this foresight did not prevent me from purchasing a ticket, game and airplane, renting a hotel room, and flying to Atlanta to watch the Birds play against the Falcons this past Sunday. Again, I've rationalized this absurd expense in the name of friendship and not sports, but why couldn't I have gone down with friends to Hotlanta any other weekend and merely enjoyed some of the other attractions?
The amount of time and expense are not my only concerns. I also realize that while I enjoy these sporting amusements, I also tend to indulge in other not-so-healthy favorites. I like to drink when I watch sports, especially for the Eagles. But, even for the Phillies playoffs, I found myself alongside many other rabid faithful at a local bar, enjoying a frothy beverage or two, or three, or four- you get the point! Also, I have the tendency to coat my colon and ingest my intestines with the finest of Philadelphia fare: hoagies, cheesesteaks, Herr's chips with Herr's dip of course, buffalo wings, etc. I don't know why I feel the need to satisfy all of my vices in one mere sitting, but everyone else is doing it, so why not?
On top of these additional unhealthy past times, I recognize that watching all these sports, Philadelphia teams especially, has developed in me an absurd amount of stress. Stress, according to other people's doctors and Webmd, is really bad for me. But what else am I to do?
This question is at the heart of my true distress. What else am I to do if not watch, think about, read about, and talk about sports on a daily basis? Seriously, what should I do for four hours on Sunday, read? Or maybe instead of watching my fourth Phillies game in a row on a beautiful evening in July, I should go for a Sunday drive? What about going into the city for the theatre? Better yet, how about taking my dog to one of the conveniently located state parks and go for an invigorating hike? More time with loved ones? Exercise? Prayer?
These are well and good in some sort of fantasy land where asinine knowledge of fine literature and one's environment are more valuable than male social acceptance through cheering on athletic prowess in singularly American sports. But unfortunately for me, I'm a realist and I realize that none of those aforementioned outlets will ever grant me the same level of satisfaction as cheering on the promising Phillies and hopeless Eagles does. So if there is anyone out there who can help me assuage this dependence on such trite, superficial entertainment, please...
Sorry, I have to go, the Flyers are playing the Devils in a game which could theoretically determine if they make the playoffs or not.
Patrick Edmonds
The Eagles beat the Giants and are back on top of the division, and poised to win a Super Bowl once Brian Westbrook returns!
The Phillies might be acquiring Roy Halladay, securing their triumphant return to the World Series for a minimum of three more seasons!
I officially recant all of original apprehensions of having a problem. Addiction? What a chump!
Reader Comments (5)
I lament with you and have celebrated a few of those games in your presence. I often wonder also if the facination with sports is a way to overcompensate for the fear of being bored.
What I think is fascinating is the idea of how I would be alienated if I didn't have a little knowledge or follow a team. I just came back from a trip up the mountains where I met many people I didn't know. If it wasn't for sports, I would have been alone most of the weekend since most of the people shared a history. But becaue of sports, I had a great night arguing Giants fans, mocking Cowboys fans, teasing Bills fans and watching an insanely boring Army and Navy game.
Sports is a safe way to approach others; to see their personality without delving into their personal life or seeing cute pictures of their kids, neices or pets. It is the quickest avenue, other than dress, hairstyle, and language, to tell if this is a person I would like or I should just stay away. It may sound trite, but I think a few hours a week are not so much to ask to connect with others who may be foreign.
I ask, if we lived in England, wouldn't we have to pick up a soccer team? Wouldn't we choose the team closest or had the most fans? This would help us be accepted or show a interest in their culture. I think going to theatre and parks are great, but try talking to someone about the great experience and you will soon be staring at the wall alone.
Sports are good, not in the athletes or prices, but in the friendship connections it helps us make. You said this well. So perhaps we do waste time, but it is an investment in the community around us. It gives us a sense of place and most of all, it allows our family and friends to know what to buy us during this time of year.
Thanks for the lunch.
As with all addictions, the only cure is the decision to abstain. This decision comes easily, particularly in these moments of stone cold reckoning. "I will never do this again." The words come easily. But can you walk the walk and talk the talk? Can you avoid being a fan one day at a time?
I've hurled so many remote controls against the wall during Jets games that I know that I am hopeless. Think about it - the remote is the most important device in the house. You'd think I would have learned by now the relationship between fandom and pulverized remote. Fandom + remote = death of remote.
Nope. Nothing.
Eh, I don't think four hours a week is excessive or warrants the label of an addiction. I think Dugan is right to point out that sports have value as a common social bond. As with all good things, moderation is key. If you think you might have a problem, like our remote hurling friend Martin, then maybe you should scale back the sports watching. There are plenty of other things to do in the dead of winter, like lie around and stare at the ceiling or go on the blog!
Thanks for the feedback. I am certainly not concerned with my moderate sports viewing. I merely was attempting to draw light upon the unfortunate reality that many people do not practice the same moderation that Carraway mentioned. These people, if they managed to mistakenly read my piece as a real sports report, would probably snicker with confusion at my perceived apprehensions of excessive indulgence, missing the point that was I actually talking about them.
While primarily facetious in nature, as most of my satire has been, I genuinely feel there is a severe epidemic of idol worshipping in this country that is worse than most others. Our three greatest sports are of our own invention. Unlike most European, African, Asian, South American nations, we have an overwhelming abundance of selection when it comes to sports. Many Americans consider this to be a source of pride, a reflection of superiority, but I see it as just another mindless distraction from the meaningful essentials of art, reading, education, appreciation for nature, true human relations rooted in more than just a love for one's home sports team, etc.
We once had sight of these things, and I bemoan the declining appreciation of the finer things in life, and the ever increasing admiration for the trivial. These athletes have taken on a god-like status, which we as fans have created. There is no justification for it! In the past, when these athletes were simply regular men, who often worked real jobs to support themselves, there was no grotesque glorification because I think people had a better balance of quality leisure.
The alternatives I offer at the end of my piece are actually hobbies and practices of mine that I maintain; however, they are not the norm for too many people I know and see. The norm for many is after eight hours of sports on Sat. and then eight to ten on Sunday, they change the channel to some atrocious reality TV show to cap off another weekend of nothing! This is sad and should be lamented, here especially.
Case in point, there is an amazing four part series on the horrendous condition of Philadelphia's justice system this week in the Inquirer, but on Philly.com for the past two days, instead of highlighting this essential read for anyone who cares about the city, all attention has turned to the now certain acquisition of Roy Halladay for the Phillies. This is sad and pathetic, but it is what the masses want.
BTW, only three more months until Phils spring training!
Interesting points, especially about how it is that we choose to spend out spare time. I have found, and my wife has noticed, that my sports viewership has increased at a rate roughly commensurate with the amount of time I spend at home. This is due in part to my city-suburbs move of four years ago, and in part due to becoming a father and a husband. Whatever the root causes, sports that I used to watch only occasionally, such as hockey and college football, have become parts of my weekly routine.
While socialization is surely one of the more positive aspects of being a sports fan, most of us settled-down types end up far more often in our recliners, frosty beverage and meat products nearby, spouses/children only feet away. This, more so than being a simulation of being at the game, is a simulation of being out at a bar watching the game. There is (and I don't think it's just me here) a sort of Pavlov's dog effect here- game on= junk food and drink ingested.
I'm not sure whether it's the chicken or the egg- does watching sports encourage behaviors we would otherwise avoid (ex: Coors Light on a Monday night) or does it enable us to do what we would like to do anyway? I'm not sure of the answer, but I figure anyone who downs Buds and wings during every episode of Law and Order has some serious issues.