I think that as an American; I am a bit of an odd duck because I watch little football or baseball which is a little surprising since I grew up playing little league baseball and listening to the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio. My mother and father both grew up in Springfield, Missouri. Springfield had a Cardinal’s minor league team whose games my father attended. Because of the proximity of Springfield, the Cardinals would assign the players they were calling up from the minors there just before they got to the majors even though Springfield was not a AAA team. He saw most of the star players at St. Louis and was a die-hard fan. I have vivid memories of being very young, pre-kindergarten, and listening to the Cardinal’s play on the radio. We would sit in the car, at night when the signal was strong enough to reach Colorado and listen to Harry Caray and Jack Buck call the games through the static.
When I was old enough to play little league, Dad would occasionally coach my brother’s and I’s the team. He would attend games regularly when not coaching while I played until just before high school when I got mad at my coach for not playing me in the city tournament even though I played every game of the season. I regret not playing in high school.
My dad played fast pitch softball in the local industrial league for his employer, the Timken Rock Bit Company. My brother and I would occasionally be the bat boys for the team. When not working as bat boys, we would chase foul balls and home runs. The league paid us a nickel for every foul ball returned to the announcer’s box and a dime for every home run. You had to be fast and lucky because of the competition from other kids. Nickels and dimes were significant amounts of money for kids our age.
Even after my father quit playing, we would go watch the fast pitch softball and still chase balls for nickels and dimes. There used to be an annual fast pitch tournament in town that drew national championship level teams we could watch. After I got married and was working, I would play on the company team, though it was mostly slo-pitch.
I still root for the Cardinals, but I also root for the Colorado Rockies, and really enjoy watching baseball live. I don’t particularly enjoy baseball on TV. It moves very slow.
I enjoy watching football, hockey, and soccer on TV, though I never played organized football or hockey. My dad introduced me to hockey when I was in school. He worked at the Broadmoor World Arena as an usher for the games. That meant we got in for free to watch the CC Tigers play. Later after I went away to college, my brother started working at the arena as an usher so when I was home and after I moved back to town, I still got in free. I love watching hockey and have season tickets to CC. It is fast and physical and entertaining especially when watching live, but even on TV it is a great game. But since, most games are at night, except for weekends, I don’t watch many. Evenings and nights are a time for my wife and I to enjoy our time together. Since she is not a big fan, that means not many sports programs, unless it is the Broncos.
While I was away at college, the school I attended had a very good soccer team. I knew several of the players and watched the games. Eventually I joined an intramural team and learned how to play the game. I really enjoyed it even though I got a late start.
When I was asked to leave the school for academic reasons and moved back to Colorado Springs, I volunteered to coach little league soccer. While coaching I decided I needed to know more about the game and the skills involved, so I joined a team in the local recreational league. I played soccer in the league from the early 1970’s until 1999 when I had knee surgery. I played primarily defense or goalkeeper, though I also played midfield when I got older. We won the division one year when I was the goalkeeper. I played long enough to be on the same team as my son who couldn’t join the league until he turned eighteen. I really like watching him play on the field from the goal.
Today at 70, there are times I think I could still play. But if I go out and try to run or kick the ball around, my knees hurt, my hips hurt, and my back hurts. However, I can watch soccer on TV. This week there was soccer on every day.
My wife and I never had cable TV because of the kids, but several years ago we got a Roku stick and started streaming. We eventually paid for a subscription to Sling TV so we could watch the Broncos on Thursday nights. I soon discovered I could watch the English Premier League on NBCSN. A typical Saturday morning starts with EPL soccer at around 5:30 AM and goes until early afternoon. Later, we subscribed to Paramount Plus so my wife could watch Star Trek Picard. Now Paramount Plus streams the Italian Serie A which occasionally has games early in the afternoons mid-week. It also streams the European Champions League and Europa League games. My son got me a subscription to ESPN plus as a gift. It streams the German Bundesliga, and the Spanish first division.
This week, soccer was on every day. It started on Saturday with the EPL and again on Sunday before church, then again on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday and Wednesday the Champions League games were on mid-day and the Europa league games streamed on Thursday. Today, there is an EPL game on this afternoon. My wife gets tired of soccer. Though many in the United States don’t like watching soccer, I love it. I appreciate the technical skill required and like the broadcast view showing larger portions of the field so you can see the player alignment and team strategy. As I said, I am an odd duck.
