I am wondering why it is that certain sports get me excited and interested, while others leave me cold and unconnected. Last night (perhaps unwisely) I sat up until 1am watching the culmination of the US PGA Championships. I shall leave my thoughts on the sad meltdown of Mito Pereira for another day, and concentrate instead on the fact that I was enthralled by the whole affair, even though I had no real interest in who the eventual winner would be. None of those in contention were people I am particularly fond of, and save for a patriotic feeling of support for the British challenger, Matt Fitzpatrick, I was indifferent and unambivalent as to the outcome. And yet still I sat through six hours of coverage, enjoying the swings and roundabouts and foregoing sleep for the purposes of knowing the result.
As you well know, I often 'pull an overnighter' in Autumn and Winter to keep up to date with happenings in the NFL, and the last round of the US Masters is possibly my highlight of the annual sporting calendar. But yesterday, here in England, we had what I am told was the most exciting finish to a football season in a decade, and I couldn't have given two hoots. Maybe I get swept up in the exaggerated excitement that is inherent in American sports? Maybe I like the garish, over-enthusiastic sense of occasion, rather than the entertainment inherent in the games themselves?
Some of my choices are explainable and understandable (to me, at least). I shall watch the French Open tennis this week, because I love the gladiatorial nature of the one-on-one combat, and the incredible speed of thought and movement that allows each player to control a ball travelling at over 100 mph when they only have a second or so to compute where it's going, make a decision on how to return it, and execute their chosen shot with precision. I shall also watch the tennis - as much as it pains me to admit it, and as much as you might hate me for saying so - because it is pleasing to watch incredibly fit female athletes racing around getting sweaty in the Paris sunshine. So it's not always about the sporting drama itself, it's sometimes about the aesthetics.
But why do some things appeal when others do not?
I suppose it's the same as anything, really. You might love the Marvel films, I find them childish and over-reliant on CGI. Nirvana are seen as one of the best bands of all time, and I haven't heard one song of theirs I can stand. I'm a 49ers fan, 80% of the world seems to view them as a franchise born of the Devil. Passions are individual and never the twain shall meet. We like what we like and we can't always understand why.
Let's put it all down to Life's Rich Mystery and go back to watching Bianca Andreescu against Ysaline Bonaventure.
RC 23-5-22
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