Look, by no means am I a fan of sports – they’ve never been my “thing” to cheer for and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
And, even if I was going to pick a sport to root for, I’d have to disappoint everyone and choose videogames.
I mean, I get friendly competition, a little trash talking and sense of camaraderie – it’s important, sure.
But, I’ve never been really invested in highly physical sports outside of being in awe of the feats that some human bodies can accomplish.
Though injuries can also go hand-in-hand there, too.
I played some youth soccer in my teenage years and tapped out when I rolled my ankle far too many times to be comfortable.
Switching gears took me into choir and eventually “Show Choir” in high school – a different kind of movement that required rhythm and breath work more than hand-eye coordination.
Still, I never quite forgot the rude comments from the sidelines.
Sure, you can’t hear that sort of nonsense from the theater stage, but outside in a stadium when there’s a lull in the action and excitement?
Whoa, man, I can hear a lot and I’m still trying to just get my pictures done for the weekly edition.
It honestly seems like football season sometimes brings out the worst in people – everyone is a critic, thinks they know everything, and only a handful have real world experience.
I’m using “real world experience” lightly here because a lot of them haven’t touched a football since their high school career and even less have ever coached before.
Plus, I’m not just talking about the players on the field, I’ve heard some unnecessary comments made about band members and cheer squads, too.
Honestly, I wish those folks would stay home and yell at their TV screens instead of letting their mouths pop off during a high school game.
Between hearing those crusty opinions and comments and trying to follow the ball in play though my camera lens – I never have a chance to see if those loudmouths get escorted out by security or not.
But, boy, I can tell you that I’m keeping my metaphorical fingers crossed that those commenters do get ejected from the game.
Because, at the end of the day, it’s just a game and having some random hater from the stands or sidelines trying to back seat drive plays or players is downright disrespectful.
It gets worse when there are insults thrown around and baseless accusations in the same breath.
I’m not the kind of person that was raised to stay quiet in the face of injustice and bullies, so, it’s a whole other struggle to stick to just doing my job.
In the past I’ve stepped in for people who were clearly being mistreated and uncomfortable and I’m not afraid to do it again if the need arises.
I just don’t think I can scale a fence to get to the offending person.
But, if I ever get superpowers, those are the folks that need to watch out!
In the case of a “fight or flight” instinct, my reflexes are geared more towards fighting than anything else.
