I have been trying to run for the past few weeks. I'm training for a 5K like some real runners might train for a marathon. Last night I actually ran a full 3/4 of a mile
without stopping to walk. It was quite an accomplishment for me. That's how pathetic I am.I am finding that I'm starting to enjoy running a little bit, but running isn't like an organized sport. Runners pretty much run until they stop running. There's not much else to it than that.
But I live in the South and I was raised in the psuedo-South. Down here, if you aren't into sports, especially college sports, then you might as well pin a scarlet letter to your shirt. People here are going to judge you and condemn you. I know this because I don't really like sports that much. I don't like playing them. I don't like watching them. I've been judged.
Sure, I can get a little excited watching a St. Louis Cards game, but I don't get REALLY excited (or really pay attention to how they're doing) unless they're playing in the World Series. So the last time I got really good and excited about sports was back in 2006 when the Cards won the Series. In the meantime, I've just been mostly oblivious to sports. I've been paying attention to *coughmoreimportantcough* things.
Please don't think I'm being judgmental, because other people really get a kick out of football (oops, was that a pun?) and basketball. Other people enjoy watching sports like I would enjoy watching a really good movie. There's nothing wrong with entertainment. I just don't find sports all that entertaining.
Last weekend, I had to take the girls I watch to their soccer games. This was way out of my comfort zone, let me tell you. One of the girls was six, and it's safe to say that she knows way more about soccer than I ever did. I know the basics. I know there's a ball. I know there are two goals. I know the players kick the balls towards the goals and hope to get it in, while a goalie tries to keep it out. That's pretty much all I know. I hear the coaches screaming about offense and defense, but I don't understand a bit of it.
I don't understand ANY sports, to be honest. All the little rules go right over my head. In fact, there's only one sport I really understand. Quidditch, anyone?
While watching the soccer games, I was more concerned about how messy the six-year-old's pony tail looked (I'm not good at styling hair, either) than how well she was playing.
Also, I'm afraid of balls. While I was watching the six -year-old match, my greatest fear was that the ball would get away from the kids and roll over to where I was sitting. Now, I wasn't afraid the ball would hit me. I got over that fear after working in a gym at a church (a GREAT job for someone who doesn't like sports, right?). I got hit by basketballs all the time there. My fear wasn't that I would get hit by a ball. My fear was that the ball would come to me and I would be expected to kick it back to the players.
...I knew that if this happened, I'd get shown up by a bunch of six-year-olds who can kick better than I ever could.
The ball did come my way. More than once. I pretended I didn't see it and let one of the coaches get it. I'm that kind of a person.
I remember back in high school, I used to play on this "just for fun" volleyball league. The "Just for Fun" league wasn't very much fun. I got yelled at a lot. Eventually, I decided that getting yelled at wasn't a lot of fun, and I stopped playing. That was the last time I ever willingly played an organized sport.
Yeah, I figure I'm going to stick to running and leave the organized sports to people who understand them. I have a feeling that even if I understood sports, I wouldn't do well. See, I just don't play well with others.
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