Sports Rankings

Here are the sports I like in order:

1. Football - I like it in general. Only sixteen games (plus playoffs) makes me savor each game. It also makes me appreciate the amount of planning and strategy involved. For example, after the 2005/2006 season ended, the Bears began a whole new workout/diet strategy which was individualized for each player. Granted, there are two significant injuries right now, but for the most part each player is in peak physical condition.

I have found that I prefer watching football on tv instead of in person. It's much easier for me to track the action and for the 70% of useless commentary, there's 30% of information on the tube that I wouldn't get at the game.

2. Baseball - strategy plays as much a role as talent and effort. There are so many aspects of the game that have to be in sync to be successful, and even that might not be enough. The Sox are a perfect example. They had a winning season this past year and would have easily made the NL playoffs. Their division and league was so competitive that what would have been a stellar year five years ago was not enough this time.

I have a hard time watching baseball on tv. This is a sport I like in person much better but for some reason I can also listen to it on the radio.

3. Soccer - it might see a bit of a resurgence in the U.S. with Beckham coming stateside but I doubt it. Soccer's popularity ebbs and flows over the years here. We have such a wealth of sports/entertainment available to us that it takes some heavy marketing to remember soccer even exists. There's not a lot of scoring, but that can be the case with baseball or any sport for that matter. (If football scoring wasn't measured in increments of 3 or 7, you'd see a lot of 2-0 or 3-1 games.)

I played soccer in high school and loved it. I saw the Fire at Soldier Field and loved it. I watch MLS playoffs on tv and I love it. Still, it's missing something. I can watch pickup soccer games and have as much enthusiasm for them.

4. Biathalon - that's where you cross-country ski and shoot guns, right? Don't know much about it but it seems like something I should be doing right now.

5. Hockey - so similar to soccer that I don't understand why hockey is so much more accepted. The biggest difference is the size of the ball, the use of implements and pads. Other than that, it's pretty much the same game.

6. Basketball - other than watching some outstanding athletes make incredible shots, basketball is boring to me. I was excited throughout the Bulls reign because I knew I was witnessing something transcendent of the game itself. Jordan was more than basketball - he was/is the stuff of legend and it was spectacular to see him in action.

Beyond that, it's just a slugfest for 60 minutes and whoever has amassed more points at the end wins. Boring. Sure, there are a couple of cool plays per game, but the rest are the same thing over and over again. I suppose there's strategy involved in that, too, but I just don't care.

What am I forgetting?