In era of sports Darwinism, it’s easier to watch and, surprisingly, easier to ignore
This conversation actually took place two days ago in the sports department of The Roanoke Times:
Guy 1: “Can’t wait for Game 7, baby.”
Guy 2: “Game 7 of what?”
Guy 1: “Celtics!”
Guy 2: “Game 7, huh? Cool. Who are they playing?”
There’s no way I should admit this, but I was Guy 2. And my ignorance was not feigned. I had zero idea that the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers were engaged in a highly competitive series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
And it got me thinking: How is this possible? How could a guy whose job is to write about sports be so clueless about the happenings of a major American sports league? How could a guy who compiles a daily sports roundup on weekday mornings, who consumes sports media with as much vigor as he does a plate of Mac & Bobs nachos, who spent his youth cheering for Calbert Cheaney and Gheorghe Muresan and the woeful Washington Bullets, not at least know who’s still alive in the NBA playoffs?
The easy answer would be to say that the NBA simply got away from me. My passion for it faded. And because we don’t have a local pro team, I’m not required to cover it. Any posts I used to toss up on my blog about it typically drew an army of crickets. It’s not a huge priority around here.
But there’s more to it than that. Last year, I had the same level of interest in the NBA that I have now, but I knew who was playing. I watched the big games. I could tell you about all the controversies in the news – the blown calls, the wars of words between players, the champs and chokers.
Why? Because I had fewer options.
This is not a column about the quality or lack thereof of the NBA. Millions of people love the league, and I’m glad. The minute folks stop caring about sports is the minute I’m out of a job. Passion – whether it’s directed toward today’s Coca-Cola 600, Indy 500, Orioles-Royals game, Spurs-Thunder game or the final round of the BMW PGA Championship – is terrific.
No, this is a column about sports Darwinism. More than ever, each spectator sport must stand on its own merit. So many of the props I never even considered – but in hindsight, shaped my viewing schedule – are gone.
I am a sports talk radio geek. It drives passengers in my truck crazy. “Can we get some music please?” No. My truck, my rules.
For years, whenever I drove to an assignment, I listened to ESPN Radio. And that wasn’t the only time I did it. Mowing the lawn, walking the dog, grilling out in the back yard – ESPN Radio. I could recite every public service announcement on AM 1240 word for word.
As much as I loved it, ESPN Radio also drove me crazy at times. I would tune in hoping to get the latest baseball scores and instead would find myself sitting through 20 minutes of Mel Kiper Jr. breaking down the next year’s NFL draft prospects.
“IT’S FLIPPIN’ JULY!” I’d scream at nobody in particular. “CAN YOU GET OFF THE NFL HYPE TRAIN FOR TWO SECONDS?!!”
My blood pressure these days is a lot more steady. Now those baseball scores come to my smart phone. Instantly.
Often, I don’t need to look at my phone at all – because I’m listening to the game live on XM.
If there isn’t a game on while I’m driving, I still have options. Oh, so you want to rehash that debate you’ve been having for six weeks on LeBron? Great, I’ll pass. Let me head over to Rivals Radio and hear some SEC football talk, or check in on NASCAR news, or listen to the MLB Network, or see if Yahoo! Sports Radio is discussing a topic more interesting to me.
And this, I now realize, is how it happened. The minute the conversation turned to the NBA, I changed the station. It’s not that I didn’t care at all; it’s that I cared about other things more. Do this over and over again, and all of a sudden, you don’t know who’s playing in a Game 7.
Buffet-style media consumption isn’t limited to radio. We tailor our Twitter accounts to feed us just the sports we love. Phone applications text us when our team takes the lead. ESPN cutting ties to the NHL was a huge deal a few years back; now you can pay to watch any hockey game you want on a variety of platforms.
I’ve watched The Preakness on my phone. I’ve watched Brewers-Padres games on my computer. I’ve watched international soccer on cable.
Given this, the sports landscape has the potential to change drastically over the next 10 years. Nobody’s holding our hands and guiding us to events anymore. It’s our choice, our time.
And if you want to survive as a sport? Well, you’d probably want to keep that in mind.
May 27, 2012 - 9:14 AM
I hate a week without a Q & A. Q; Jason Dufner has won on the PGA tour 2 of last 3 weeks and may very well win today. What do you think if Tiger had done that? A: I think Aaron would know about it. Q: Hey, give Aaron a break. a lot of people don`t follow the NBA `till June. Jason got married too, any chance Tiger ties the old slip knot any time soon? A; Haven`t heard. Would be a big pre-nup for Tiger and some pre-nips for the poor girl, for sure. Q: Any word from Seth? I would like to ask him overall, how did he like his stay at Tech? A: That would be like asking a Titanic survivor “Other then that…..?” Q. What do you think about JJ`s first recruit, Adam Smith? A; Well, if he can`t hit the 3 at least he could help balance the books. Q” Groan…. will you please just leave this up to Aaron from now on? A: After this, I bet he never misses another on.
Even for sports geeks, like me, tastes and interests fluctuate. I watch all four days of the Master’s but not any of the other tournaments. I’ve done this for about as long as they have broadcasted all four days.
I used to look forward to the NBC “Game of the Week” in baseball. Now its 24/7 and I am past saturation. I was a fan of “Soccer Made in Germany” 35 years ago. Now there is a soccer channel. I never cared much for the NBA but am a fan of the Spurs as they are hometown and I have some emotional fan connection to Duncan. I hate the Cowgirls and always will. I was a fan of the NFL Giants, Redskins and 49ers until I got hooked on fantasy football. Now I only care about players.
I’ll care about “I’ll Have Another” if he wins the Belmont. I won’t watch another horse race (until next year’s Derby) or go to the track – never have gone. I enjoyed Chris Moneymaker but couldn’t care less about other pasty looking people holding cards on TV. I care about poker only if I am playing. I am sick to death of the WSOP announcing team.
I have never been excited about car racing. Even when I could hear them at the Hattenheim Ring. A German racecourse adjacent to the Heidelberg Golf Club where I played for 10 years.
Nothing is as boring as pro bowling. Nothing.
Well, maybe billiards.
This is just the way it is. Aaron, you have nothing to be concerned about. You should get concerned when you begin to hate the sports you are paid to cover.
I can’t wait for kickoff…..
I know this has nothing to do with anything here, but I just have to vent. I just watched one of the most enjoyable Indy 500 races that I have seen in my 46 years here on earth. One of the most compelling aspects of this race was Takuma Sato’s bid to win the race, competing heroically from start to finish only to spin out and crash on the final lap attempting to pass winner Dario Franchitti. What is it that bothers me you might ask? Danica Patrick. Aside from the incessant GoDaddy commercials, people (mostly media) always ask why the constant “hate” of Danica?. To me this is the case in point. Tonight and tomorrow we will hear about Franchitti’s push to a 3rd Indy win, and Sato’s heroic but failed attempt to take the flag,but if Danica had been in the field? We would be hearing about how Danica had finished 30th (or whatever) or how she got involved in an unfortunate crash in turn 2, or how she had the bad luck of engine failure (all eclipsing any of the other compelling story lines). I’m admittedly not a NASCAR fan, but I feel for those who follow NASCAR now, you guys and gals have to deal with the circus. Me? I’m happy to have seen an Indy 500 where everyone will get their due and the story lines will be as they should rather than driven by unwarranted hype. Don’t get me wrong, call me sexist or whatever. Someday a woman may become the greatest race car driver to ever sit behind the wheel, and I will be at the forefront congratulating her.. but please don’t force feed me those who are undeserving for political correctness sake.
And another thing.. while I’ve got my dander up as my late father would say.. What’s is up with all this SEC talk for the Hokies? I mean really? What is it about Virginia Tech that just screams SEC and why are so many people so hot on jumping there? I’ve been watching Hokie football since I was knee high to a gnat (about 40 years) and my take on where we fit in has always been Big 10. I mean Smashmouth, strong running game, hard-nosed defense it all just yells out Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State..etc…etc… what exactly does anybody see that makes them think we fit in the SEC other than geography (and that only borderline?) Sure the SEC welcomed Texas A&M and Mizzou into their fold…do ya really think it was because they thought those teams would be competitive or bring something to the table? No it was jockeying for “superconference” position. Do Hokie fans really want to end up in a league where they WILL be perennial also-rans? Do you really want to be another Mississippi State (if we are lucky)? Think about it, if we can compete with any “name” teams in the country it is the Big 10, same style of play, same weather for the most part, same academic structure, same basic recruiting base… SEC? Geeze, be careful what you wish for people, you might just get it!
Loved this column, Aaron. I remember as the different leagues’ premium packages became more common, there were concerns by some teams that this allowed the fans to actually pick the team they would support, instead of being assigned one by zip code. I also used to love ESPN Radio, but it’s fallen behind Yahoo! (Czaban) and Fox (hilarious).
Zman, I suggest you begin watching Golfchannel’s ‘The Big Break’, and that you particularly focus on Zakiya Randall. Once you watch, you’ll find my suggestion self explanatory.
Dan, your frustration in watching Indy racing is what I bear in watching golf. The Cablinasian remains a popular topic, even while irrelevant.
I totally agree. Content delivery for sports has changed as technology has changed to meet our demand for instant gratification. Case in point: my new phone. I just upgraded to an Android-powered Samsung Galaxy S, and it can handle all manner of streaming content: Netflix, Pandora, sports…you name it. No longer are sports fans forced/obligated to watch what the big-3/4 broadcast networks want us to see…we can pick and choose on our own, without being tethered to a set of rabbit ears, or even a coaxial cable.
I have largely ignored almost all basketball, especially the NBA, most forms of racing, and a lot of the other sports I just don’t care to watch like golf, horse racing, boxing, MMA, etc. I follow football, baseball, and hockey…and the big thing that keeps me tied to those sports are the content I can get set through my phone or my blu-ray player, and that I play fantasy sports for all 3.
I’m no longer stuck watching games on TV, and to be perfectly honest, aside from a handful of college football games, the rare Lions broadcast, and playoff NFL/MLB action, I don’t watch hardly anything on TV anyway. My time is limited, and I’d rather check box scores and highlight clips from my phone or computer when I have the time, than to sit idle watching a 3-4 hour game. I’ve simply got too much to do to sit around and do that nowadays.