Drat...You mean I stayed up for a sports Friday Five?

But it was still interesting...

How ironic. In the store this evening, the cashier asked me if I were going to watch the game tonight:

Me: Um...no...I take it there's a game tonight? Who's playing?
Him: UK and South Carolina
Me: Why are they playing in the middle of the week? (See, at least I knew it was football season, and that's unusual, as opposed to basketball, when they do it more often.)
Him: ESPN. I guess they're playing then because ESPN gives them money.
Me: Oh. Okay. (sounding both clueless and disinterested). Well...I hope they do well. (I toddle off.)

1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones? I do, but only rarely, usually figure skating, English Premiere football. I rather consider it a badge of honour that I am largely ignorant of anything you might see on ESPN--now, if Quidditch were televised....Oh, and the Olympics always get me, not because of the sports but because they're symbolic of peaceful world competition. Yeah. I know. I subscribe to propaganda and didn't get the scandal memos. But, hey, it's a nice idea. The secret actually is that if I'm in a place where sports is broadcast...say where fans are watching a basketball game, etc., I get sucked into it unless I have no idea how the game works, at which point I'm safe.

2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes? Hmmm...well there are several skaters I like--especially Elvis Stojko and Michelle Kwan, but I can't really say I have any 'teams' per se...when I watch the soccer games, it's generally has to do with how well they're all playing rather than one team over the other. I just like the fact that there's always action, unlike American football or baseball, and it's not all volleying like in tennis. Now, growing up, in my household anyone playing against the Dallas Cowboys was rooted for, and the Oakland Raiders were the team to root for. Beyond that I didn't really understand who was who. And of course, UK basketball is a religion here but I haven't kept up with the schedules since I'm no longer living by the arena and fighting for parking. I'm not sure which is more boring to watch--golf or bowling. That said, I actually like to play sports--I just am not a good athlete.

3. Are there any sports you hate? WWF-style wrestling (give me Greek-style wrestling any day over that).

4. Have you ever been to a sports event? I've been to 3 football games (college) and 3 baseball games (minor league), and actually enjoyed each one.

5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play? The only teams I've been on are for intramural volleyball in college. That was only for a year, but I'm actually not too bad at volleyball. I'm not good at spiking but so long as I adjust for what would otherwise be a wild serve by turning, I serve really, really well. We had a class in high school called 'life sports' that gave us a chance to play several different sports, including tennis and soccer, both of which I liked. In gym, througout my life, I had an unerring ability to get hit in the head by balls. My last day in California I was beamed by a softball. Oddly enough, however, my best sport was dodgeball or war...I guess I could see the big red balls better, and I wasn't afraid of getting hit, and oddly enough, I rarely did. It was the only sport where everyone wanted me on their team--which is one reason I'm upset that it's been phased out in many places as being too 'violent'. Hello, I'd rather them take out their frustrations out with s fairly soft rubber ball than with an automatic weapon, you know? After all, that's what sports are...substitutions for war and other real-life scenarios where you can compete with some chance of not getting killed. Don't believe me? How many people root for 'their' team like they were on the squad? Where do you think polo came from? It didn't used to be a ball, you know. It was originally played with animals...or even perhaps the heads of fallen warriors.