February's Tough for Sports Fans
How sports fans can keep busy in the year's slowest month
After all the hugs, tears, and heartfelt speeches from Super Bowl XLI concluded, it was official: the worst month in sports had begun.
February is by far the least interesting time of year for even the most obsessive sports enthusiasts. It starts with the NFL hangover; for twenty-one straight weeks there were important football games being played. Now what is there to look forward to on Sundays? Brunch with the family? Walks in the park? Nothing can match the weekly exhiliration of gathering food and beverage at 12:50, applying rear end to couch at 12:55, turning on the television and staying there for the next six hours to watch football. There is a one hour break from this custom, but it concludes with another three hour shift at 8:15.
Some people are getting giddy now because of those three thrilling words: "Pitchers and catchers". Yes, spring training baseball has commenced and most teams have their full compliment of pitchers and catchers down in Florida and Arizona already, with position players arriving at the scene shortly. How exciting is that? Just think how thrilling it must be to know that your favorite players spend their days jogging, soft tossing and getting rubbed down by the training staff. This is right up there with the August and September pennant races! Don't get me wrong. I'm as big a baseball fan as you will find. It is just that instead of getting excited by hearing "pitchers and catchers", I take it more as a tease, knowing the regular season is still a month and a half away.
Otherwise, there is basketball and hockey. The only truly good basketball being played in the NBA right now is in a few select cities, most of which are west of the Mississippi. And the playoffs are still over two months away. The average college basketball fan is starting to watch now with conference play in full swing. But lets be honest, there is a huge contingent who only tune in for the NCAA tournament, which is a month from now. As for the NHL, a lot of people in the U.S. have forgotten about the sport altogether. Like basketball, there is still a ways to go until the playoffs begin and if there is a sport with a more meaningless regular season I would love to see it (actually, I probably wouldn't).
Despite all of this, myself and millions of other sports fans could probably deal with watching a random Louisville-Pitt game on a Monday or a Cavs-Heat game on a Thursday, but if there's ever a time of year where we should devote our energy (whatever energy we have anyway) to other things, this is it. Here are five activities that we should try to stick with...at least until March Madness:
1) Pamper your significant other: It's no mistake that Valentine's Day is in February. After the Super Bowl, it's hard to say there are really any can't-miss games in any sport for quite awhile, so take the time to treat your woman or your man like a princess or prince. Go to that ballet, sit through that artsy movie, spend that weekend with the in-laws. This one month of giving in to his or her every desire makes up for the other eleven when you don't. (If you don't have a significant other, take this month to work on your game, and therefore next February this tip will hopefully apply to you)
2)Join a gym: Since there are a lack of good games to watch, use this time to get yourself in shape. Most gyms have televisions and ESPN is usually on, so at least you won't be missing much. A little suggestion: go for the month-to-month membership.
3)Read a book: Sure, reading can be time consuming, but that's the point here. Start reading The Grapes of Wrath today and by the time you're done Johan Santana will be taking the mound on opening day. If that's asking too much, start out with the sports section of your city's daily paper.
4)Learn to play an instrument: this might go along with #1. The girl or guy in your life will probably think it's sweet that you're trying to play an instrument (especially guitar or piano...might want to stay away from drums though). And again, no special someone? Well, this might help. It might be difficult to become a virtuoso in a month's time, but learning to play Jingle Bells or Three Blind Mice is well within your reach.
5)Go to Cooperstown, Springfield, Canton, or Toronto: This would be a great time to visit one of the four major sports halls of fame. If you're in the northeast U.S. or Eastern Canada, at least one of these should be fairly easy to get to and every sports fan should get a hands-on experience of the history and past great moments in the game. Having been to Cooperstown, NY for baseball and Toronto for hockey, I can say both are well worth the time and effort to get there. Cooperstown isn't a metropolis, but Toronto is a great city that warrants spending the weekend.
These are just a few options of hobbies and activities to pick up while you're waiting for the NCAA tourney and baseball to get going. But if none of these appeal to you, then by all means, sit back and enjoy whatever game happens to be on.
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