Life with a Sports Junkie

My husband is a wonderful, caring and devoted man. I wouldn't trade him for anyone, nor would I ask for a refund if it were offered. At this point in my life, I am smart enough not to expect change in habits that have been in place for decades, so I never seek them. But that's a subject for another time.

The most significant adjustment that I have had to make is that of an uncompromising dedication to sports. It's not all sports, thankfully. We don't get into soccer or lacrosse or curling. And I don't watch wrestling or boxing matches nor do we watch endless car races, people chasing each other in mutant automobiles.

But everything else is fair game. In the winter, we get hockey plus basketball plus football. But don't kid yourself. Even though major league baseball is on hiatus until cactus league activities in March or April, we still get updates on trades or injuries or unfortunate news stories concerning baseball players. I'm never sure if the sports will overlap. The Super Bowl will be in February, I believe, shortly before baseball season officially begins. But basketball goes on forever, as does hockey.

There is another issue or condition to add to the mix. College sports are as or more important than the professional ones. So at the end of the calendar year, we are dealing with conference championships, league championships, bowl games that never end and national championships that accompany professional football playoffs. What that means is that on any given day, there will be an opportunity for a sports event to appear on our big screen television.

I must clarify a few items here, however. I love football and enjoy hockey. As a product of a Big-Ten university, I also enjoy some of the college football, especially when my rivals are defeated. I also consider myself an avid golfer although I will never see a 300-yard drive or eighteen holes with a score under eighty. During the summer I am always up for a baseball game and consider myself a big fan of our local team. And I don't think that I ever complain about ubiquitous sports telecasts (or radio sports talk shows). If you enjoy watching whatever sport it may be, enjoy it to the fullest. It's not one sports program after another and I get to see my news magazine shows with regularity.

Here's the difference between a fan of sports and a sports junkie. If I have no connection to the team (it's not my alma mater or a home town team), I have no particular concern as to outcome. My husband, on the other hand, will get highly involved in a contest with the college of 4,337 students in Big Hole, Michigan against the teacher's college in West Highway, Arkansas. But each to his own. I'm sure that my clothing habits are at least as challenging.