Don't get me wrong, the course I've been on this year has required us to write about all sorts of topics. It's just that when we get a free-choice assignment, there's always four or five individuals clambering towards the beautiful game.
It's not a crime. It's what we know. But I acknowledge there's no harm in being able to write indepthly about another of the sports I like to keep one eye on.
So what's it to be then?
Here's three potentials, with their justification.....
Golf
Hopefully it's only a matter of time before I start playing golf. Maybe this summer actually.
I flirted with it mid-teens before entering a ten year period of taking nothing more than a fleeting interest in who won the majors.
But the dormant golf volcano within me is rumbling. The last two or three years have seen me closely follow the sport and I find watching it on TV both enjoyable and relaxing. Can't beat hearing the bird-song in the background at Augusta.
Pangs for the fairways and greens only multiply when playing putting in Portpatrick.
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| Portpatrick Putting Course - where friendships are put on hold |
So, golf's a serious front-runner.
American Football
Aged five, I sat my parents down for a chat and decided education was the best route for me. Enrolment at Bothwell Primary was a formality.
There I developed a real aptitude for eating Quarterbacks, the 10p cheeseburger flavour crisps. A love for American Football was born, and I especially liked this American Football lark when I got a small broken crisp from the bottom corner of the bag which had an over-abundance of flavouring.
I stuck with my studies. Primary 1 became Primary 2, which became Primary 3. It remained Primary 3 for six years until I was ready to cut it at Primary 4. But, the graft was worth it, and before I could say 'touchdown', I was in Primary 7 with responsibilities like 'monitor'.
In Primary 7, I think I was the only person in Scotland to have a stab at completing the Panini NFL sticker book. I soon soaked up a solid knowledge of all the teams, colours, crests and players. Having no-one to swap with was the collateral damage.
Since then American Football and I have been complete strangers. Almost awkward at times. It'll take a lot of patience and hard work but I reckon we could be ready to pick up where we left off.
A good friend of mine supports the Chicago Bears. They're from Chicago.
Cycling
Used a bike for paper-rounds. Rode around Millport within 24 hours. Can sometimes cycle one-handy. Only needing the single stabiliser these days.
So that's a start.
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| Couldn't work out why this one didn't work, so took it back to the shop |
The Tour de France has turned my head. July dinner times are enhanced by the catchy tune of the one hour highlight show - I had it as my ring-tone for a three year stint.
The tactics, the teams, the sprints, the jersies, the crashes, the scenery. No complaints writing about that. Click here to see an infamous crash from the 2011 Tour.
Now that's just three potentials. I must say I'd be open to bringing cricket, motorsport, tennis, snooker, darts and rubgy into the mix too, but you folk must have homes to go to by now.
Where do you think I should channel my writing energies then?
Personally, I would avoid the cycling option, can't get excited about watching it never mind reading about it.
ReplyDeleteOf the 3 choices you left us with, I'd go for American Football. I used to watch the weekly NFL magazine programme on channel 4 when I was much younger and actually began to understand what it was all about.
Being a team game I think it's much easier to get excited about it and perhaps actually support one of them, it's much harder to do that with an individual. I would suggest you do a bit of searching on youtube for American Football videos, there's some that are actually really good. Search for "Hail Mary" and you will get a good selection, it's hard not to appreciate it when the commentators are going off their nut about some play.
The downside of it for me is that to watch a 1 hour game on TV it takes like 4 hours due to all the timeouts etc, but I think for the fans who go to the game it's a great day out. Certainly a plus point is the fact there's just healthy rivalry between fans and not any of the nonsense we are subjected to here in Scotland - though perhaps not for much longer given recent events.
Of your other choices, I made an effort to watch some F1 last season. I actaully enjoyed it, but having watched "Senna" since then, it just doesn't seem to have the magic of the glory days back then - it seemed to be less about the car and more about the drivers' skill.
It is good to explore sports other than football for a wee change, I'm actually considering croquet myself :)
Thanks for the feedback chief. Interesting to hear you've been a closet NFL fan all these years. Did you have a favourite team? (just so I know who not to support)
Delete'Senna' is a fantastic film. I was just getting into F1 when he died. Had no idea how fierce his rivalry with Prost was.
Firstly, agreed on "Senna". F1 wasn't the same after he died because of all the safety enhancements cars got. Since then a Schumacher and Vettel procession, with a few others thrown in, so not much to write about.
ReplyDeleteCan't really get excited about American Football, except in films like "Remember the Titans" and "Gridiron Gang" where the beauty is, as Morlando points out, you don't have to watch 4 hours of a game.
I'd like to see you cover Golf. I've just reached the age where a wee trip to Playsport driving range at EK is becoming a guilty pleasure, so I'd read your views in the hope of picking up a tip or two(or tee). Plus, the UK has some top golfers. How about something on Martin Laird the Scot who is making it big in the States?
Thanks for leaving a comment. It will be interesting to see if Scotland's Paul di Resta can make an impact on F1 over the next couple of seasons.
DeleteI'd really like to check out that Playsport place sometime. What's the prices for the driving range?
Yes, lots of promising Scottish golfers at the moment. Great win for Paul Lawrie at the Qatar Masters recently and Peter Whiteford is currently leading the Avantha Masters in India. Lawrie should make the Augusta Masters which would be brilliant, and he may even feature in the Ryder Cup team.
Na, na, na, na. You're all wrong. What about cricket? This is by no means a minority sport. What better game stops for lunch, tea, rain and if it gets a little too dark. A ticket for a day's cricket could let you see 6 hours of action.
DeleteNot to mention the beauty of cricket grounds, the skill and brutality of the batsmen and the pace and guile of the bowlers. A five day game played almost entirely on a knife edge.
Not to mention Geoff Boycott, Tony Greig, Jonathan Agnew, Athers, Bumble in the commentary box. Test Match Special on Radio 4 LW is a summer treat.
Thanks for the comment Bucci. I'm hearing you loud and clear. Be assured my disposition is sympathetic to cricket and I too appreciate the aspects of the game that you've mentioned.
DeleteThere was a spell when I was in 4th/5th year at school where I would eagerly anticipate Channel 4 showing the Natwest Trophy County Cricket tournament from the semi-final stage onwards. For some reason I loved that particular competition.
From a knowledge point-of-view, I'm nowhere near ready to start writing about cricket yet, but it is definitely not without its appeal, so I won't rule it out!
Kenny,
DeleteUsually I pay £4 for 50 balls at Playsport. On weekdays between 9 and 11 it's half price if you get the chance to go up then.