On the All-Day-TV-Smorgasbord

One of the most annoying parts of being a grown-up is that pretty much no matter what, there is always something you should be doing. Taxes, sweeping the floors, getting your oil changed, working out, grocery shopping, cleaning the bathroom, going to a million different kinds of doctors and dentist (my car only needs one kind of mechanic, why do the bones in my mouth need their own separate kind of doctor that needs a separate kind of insurance!?!?). But sometimes, just sometimes, a day arrives when the stars align and you can park yourself in front of the TV and watch a virtual cornucopia of meaningful sporting events, all in one day.

The thing about these special days is they don’t suddenly appear, like a jury summons in your mailbox, they slowly form and grow… like a “to-do list”. The parts gradually fall into place like Tetris pieces as one meaningful game materializes after another. But having games to watch is only half the battle. The other half is your schedule, a fragile, timid thing that can be thrown off so easily by a visiting relative, a rogue baby shower, or a 4:59pm Friday work email.

But, the rarity of these type of days is what makes them so special! Every 2 years you get a few of these with the winter and summer Olympics (but even then, it’s more of a grab bag than a direct dose of Favorite Sports to your brain). If you’re lucky you’ll get one day of this at the end of a long baseball or football season but often times, those games don’t matter.

This year we were #blessed with an absolutely stellar final day of the MLB season: six teams went into the last game of the season fighting for their lives for either a division championship or a chance at a 1-game shot to make the playoffs. Even after 161 games these teams were all so close that 9 innings was all that separated a great season from a good season from a disaster. This is why sports is the best. And days like that Sunday are why being a fan is the best!

At noon sharp, I settled in on my couch with a game on the tv, a game on my laptop, and twitter to check the rest of the scores…and I didn’t move until Sunday night football was over. It was 8 hours of pure sports bliss. I didn’t think about my credit card bill, the laundry I had to do, the essay I needed to write and edit…I just enjoyed the moment, or rather 480 consecutive moments.

And really, I think that’s what it’s all about: so rarely in our lives do we get a chance to fully immerse ourselves in the things we love without the things we have to do intruding on us. It’s that little dessert you treat yourself to after eating your vegetables. It’s a chance to cheer and swear and rejoice and despair over things that don’t matter at all in the grand scheme of life. But I think that’s what draws humans to sports, enjoying the full range of emotions we can feel without the consequences.

So, what about you, any memorable all-day-sports-marathons come to mind? Or if you’re not a sports fan, what’s your equivalent?