Why I Love Sports

Or at least my best attempt to write down in words why I love sports. Describing a feeling, especially one as strong as love or hate is something very difficult to describe, especially for an amateur like myself. Describing why you feel this strongly is probably even more difficult to describe. Who really knows why I feel a certain way about something that others couldn't possibly care less about. Especially something as trivial as a game, a game that really won't affect my life in a positive or negative way no matter what the outcome is.

The thing that truly captures my interest is the ability to watch another person performing at a level that no other human being will ever be able to experience. Despite the fact that every professional athlete is actually very good at their profession, my interest lies in the truly great ones. Michael Jordan, Jim Brown, Wilt Chamberlain, Wayne Gretzky, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Babe Ruth, etc.

These very few athletes are the reason I watch games. They're the reason I watch college sports and wait to see the next person do something at a level that I've never seen before. Michael Jordan could do anything he wanted on the basketball court and no one on the opposing team could do anything to stop him. Babe Ruth could drink a keg of beer, eat a dozen hot dogs and then go out and call his shot over the right field wall. Roger Federer can return a tennis ball traveling 100 mph from in-between his legs. There are other incredible athletes, but they'll never be as truly dominant as the true greats.

These types of people aren't only athletes. I'm sure there are surgeons who can operate better than anyone else who's ever picked up a scalpel. I'm sure there are salesmen who can perform at a level that no other salesmen will ever see. That's because the greats get to set the new standard. The greats elevate their field higher than it's ever been before and that's what makes them great. When I was learning to sell at my first job I was told to watch what good salespeople do and mimick them. The greats excel a different way. They have no one to mimick because no one can perform as highly as they can and they know that.

It's one thing to try to act great, but it's another thing to truly know that you will succeed where others have failed and are able to do things that no one else has ever accomplished before. My desire to feel that way for one moment is why I love sports as much as I do.

Imagine looking at a golf course the way Tiger Woods does and to simply know that you're going to sink a putt. I strive to reach that level of confidence. I have a ton of faith in myself and my abilities, but that feeling of invicibility must be incredible. Watching a select few go through this is what draws my attention. Seeing someone else achieve greatness is what pushes me to be better at what I do. Maybe I'll never be able to experience that feeling, but striving to is what keeps me going.