A few B words have come into mind...yes, including that one! ha! But I think my choice to use in the month-long challenge for the letter B is Basketball.
In the past, I have never been a big fan of watching basketball. I much prefer football, college and pro. But, this year I picked teams and made a bracket for the NCAA "March Madness" play-offs (my first time filling one out) and found that doing that made it much more fun!! I recently read in the newspaper a study that showed people who root for a team, or a sport in general, are happier people! I think I am a living example of that!
Now, my choices in my bracket will not win me the top awards this year. I tried to pick a few under-dogs but I didn't pick the right ones. I mean, really Harvard? And where did that obscure Florida team come from? But playing along certainly made it fun for me, and gave me a bit of conversation for everyone else involved.
Here's my other thought about basketball: I consider it a very violent sport. I always have...even before Kevin Ware had his leg bone shattered the other night. I have had a hard time watching basketball on TV because the action under the basket gets so rough! Arms and elbows everywhere, jumping up and down on top of each other! With no protection on them!! And, sometimes when they run down court they fly full speed and then fly through the air - not knowing how they will land! Yaw!!! It scares me! I can actually watch football easier because they have helmets and pads and learn how to take a tackle.
As for the Kevin Ware bone break: I heard about it after it happened, and I was thankful that the media outlets decided not to show it at all. Hearing the reactions from the coaches, his fellow players, people on Twitter, etc. made me realize I did NOT want to see it. It sounded so horrible! Then...yesterday, I was just scanning my News Feed on Facebook and there it was! A close up picture of his leg - broken completely in half, with bone sticking out - and the bottom half just dangling there. It's forever in my mind now. I did NOT want to see that. <<<<shiver>>>>
March Madness is not over yet and one of my Championship Game teams is still alive! So, come on Louisville! If they really do make it to the big game, I will be watching!! Who knew? I'm enjoying basketball this year!!
I giggled first, because I live in an area that is considered one of the biggest NCAA-caring places in the country, so much so that when my pastor started his Palm Sunday sermon with our state representing all things that start with "B" I knew he was heading toward basketball and he did not disappoint.
ReplyDeleteThat said, my mother always swore that if she had a son she would not let him play football. While football is dangerous, my feeling has always been that at least players wear pads in football. Most other sports don't include padding, although having watched what happened to Kevin Ware, it seems to be less about the sport and more about a freak injury that could have happened anywhere...