The sports fan who stops and thinks about it for a moment will realize how much sports are part of his daily regimen. Witness this analysis of a random day in the life:
9:20 a.m.: It's Monday, so morning class hangs in the balance. Twisting and turning in his bed, the sports fan hits snooze every four minutes, debating the pros and cons of going to class at 10. Pros: World-renowned teacher retiring at the end of the semester; attending lecture and studiously taking down notes probably correlates strongly with score on final exam; learning is good for you. Cons: Have to get out of bed.
Noon: Having decided to forgo class for another two hours of sleep, the sports fan finally rolls out of bed, sheets and all, onto the smudged rug on his dorm room floor. Crawling and clawing, he makes his way up to his desk chair and swivels to turn on his computer. Double-click on Firefox, then off to the bounteous rewards of ESPN.com for 10 minutes or so. Today's big news: Reggie Bush ran a 4:33 40-yard dash and the baseball season started. Before showering, he might check CNN.com for some less important news.
1:30 p.m.: Precept with a different famed professor, who illuminates the human condition lucidly and laconically. On the sports fan's mind: why intellectuals throughout history have often felt out of place in their home nations, food and the Mets game.
2:25 p.m.: After seminar ends, he rushes to the closest dorm room in which he is welcome and starts searching for the Mets-Nationals game on TV. He flips through each channel about five times before giving up, in a mini-fit of rage. After all, the Red Sox are on ESPN, and their fans are dorks. On the Bottom Line, though, the sports fan sees that the Mets are ahead, 2-1. He flips to The History Channel and for the next hour and a half watches senile sailors wax nostalgic about their World War II battleships.
4:32 p.m.: Now back in his own dorm room, the sports fan sits back in one common room chair as he tosses a football back and forth with his roommate, waiting for dinner time.
"Reggie Bush ran the 40 yesterday."
"Oh yeah? What'd he run?"
"Four-three-three."
"That's stupid fast. That's absurd."
"Yeah, I know."
5:07 p.m.: On ESPN.com for the fourth or fifth time today, he checks on the Mets game. Final score: 3-2. David Wright, wunderkind, big hitter, goofy guy and the underdog Mets' answer to that prima donna Derek Jeter, hit a solo shot. Good stuff. 10:21 p.m.: The sports fan is back to the TV again, this time watching the men's college basketball national title game. After the positively mediocre games on Saturday night, Florida is beating UCLA pretty good, and the game is all-round boring affair. The announcers get excited in the first half because the Florida big man Joakim Noah broke the title game record for blocks. A fairly meaningless event, but one that the sports fan unconsciously files away in the back of his mind for future reference: in 30 years he will drag it out when he watches the 2036 title game with his sons and sees the record broken again.
11:17 p.m.: The other New York baseball team is playing, and the sports fan switches to the game. This other team is up big because the A's curveballer Barry Zito is inexplicably on the downswing of his career at 27. A mixed bag of daily baseball, then, for the sports fan: good guys won, but the sports fan missed the game, and the bad guys are on their way to winning.
2:54 a.m.: After doing schoolwork and aimlessly surfing the internet in equal amounts, the sports fan is back watching TV: this time a documentary on Sebastian Telfair, a Coney Island basketball player who made the leap from high school to the NBA, unprecedented in that he's all of six feet tall. The movie, called "Through the Fire," is in some ways an upbeat response to the seminal basketball documentary, "Hoop Dreams," which depicted young men who didn't make the League. The sports fan notes to himself that while the latter is more socially relevant, watching Telfair play in high school is the equivalent of watching Mike Tyson box that smart-aleck from precept: brutal and merciless, but horribly fun to watch.
3:31 a.m.: With roommates dropping like flies, the sports fan remembers the joys of sleep and rolls back into bed, falls asleep and starts counting baseballs going over the fence.
Read More
No. 7 women’s lacrosse season ends in NCAA quarterfinals against No. 1 UNC
Hayk YengibaryanWith the loss, the career of senior attacker Mackenzie Blake comes to an end. Blake finished her career with a program-best 231 career goals and three first-team All-Ivy selections.
With the loss, the career of senior attacker Mackenzie Blake comes to an end. Blake finished her career with a program-best 231 career goals and three first-team All-Ivy selections.
No. 3 men’s lacrosse season ends in NCAA quarterfinals after 19–18 loss to No. 5 Syracuse
Hayk YengibaryanWith the win, Syracuse advances to the final four for the first time since 2013. For the Tigers, their season ends along with the career of senior standout attacker Coulter Mackesy.
With the win, Syracuse advances to the final four for the first time since 2013. For the Tigers, their season ends along with the career of senior standout attacker Coulter Mackesy.
Preview: No. 3 men’s lacrosse plays No. 5 Syracuse in NCAA quarterfinals
Hayk YengibaryanShould the Tigers beat the Orange, they will advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2022 as they look to win their first national championship since 2001.
Should the Tigers beat the Orange, they will advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2022 as they look to win their first national championship since 2001.