Earlier today, I saw a tweet linking to this article at Mashable detailing the NFL’s new policy to not allow players, coaches, personnel , etc. to “tweet” during games, and times 90 minutes before and after.
The article pretty much sums everything up nicely in their asking of the question “WHY?!”. I couldn’t agree with the author more that the NFL should be using social networks like Twitter to connect with their fans on a whole new level. Of course, Twitter HAS to be silenced because these athletes who are having fun interacting with their followers could reflect the league in a bad way, which hasn’thappened muchat all lately.
The NFL for a long time has been touted as the no-fun league because of it’s ridiculous guidelines. Touchdown celebrations are almost non-existent nowadays, for the players fear being fined for doing anything creative (I don’t condone the whole Randy Moss “mooning” type of celebration, but what’s wrong with a little dance?). More fun with fining, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson was fined $5000 earlier this week for wearing an orange chinstrap… $5000 FOR A CHINSTRAP!! IT’S RIDICULOUS!! This attack on social networking by Roger Goodell is, in this humble sports fans opinion, a stupid move that should be immediately scrapped. They’re playing a game, let them have a LITTLE fun.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am an absolute sports nut. I love playing any sport I can, and when sports are on TV, you had better believe that I am going to be tuned in. I love the statistics that accompany sports, and the fun arguments they can inspire, no matter how ridiculous they may be, if you have the statistics, you can back it up. I love fantasy sports, so much so that I over committed myself this year and next year will have to limit the number of fantasy baseball leagues that I play in just because I can’t keep track of them all with all the other stuff I do.
I love sports so much I recently started a blog with my roommate, discussing the Canadian Olympic hockey team in 2010. We discuss anything and everything that has to do with the team. You can find the link on the sidebar or by clicking here. It’s a fun read that we love writing and love feedback, so please check it out when you get some time.
With all of this being said, the thing that I like most of all is the simple power of sport. The way that sports can bring people together and inspire people both playing and spectating. I say all of this because this morning I watched a great tennis match between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. Roddick had only beaten Federer twice in his career, while losing 18 times. However, today, on the biggest stage of them all at Wimbledon, Roddick stepped up to the plate and played Federer hard into the 5th set, playing a record 30 games in the final with Federer prevailing 16-14 at the end. It was tough to see Roddick lose that way, after having not been broken until the eventual championship losing game, but the game was a joy to watch. Unfortunately in sport there’s always going to be a winner and a loser, but this was just an amazing spectacle.
It’s also worth mentionning that this win gave Federer his 15th Grand Slam title of his career, now the most of any professional tennis player, passing Pete Sampras. Federer also stepped up today. Even though he is widely considered the greatest grass player of all time, as well as possibly the greatest player of all time, Roddick had Federer on the ropes in the second set. Roddick, already having won the first set, held an enormous lead in the second set tie-break, a 6 – 2 lead over Roger. Federer however, was able to dig deep, as sport makes us do so often, and found what it took to come back, and won the next 6 points and won the tie-break 8 – 6. That my friends was quite possibly the biggest part of the match, except for maybe the break in the 30th game that won him the title.
It was just an inspiring thing to watch, but one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen coming from sport, is the following video. I posted it on Facebook a while back, but I thought I would share it on my blog as well. The backstory is as follows:
A son asked his father if he would run a marathon with him. The father said yes and they ran a marathon. The son then asked his dad if they could run another marathon. The father said yes, and they ran another marathon. The son then asked his father if he would participate in the Ironman Triathalon with him. The Ironman, in case you don’t know, is one of the most greuling things one can participate in, a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bikeride, finished off with a marathon run of just over 26 miles. The father obliged with his sons request. This is a Youtube video of the race highlights… truly amazing, and if it doesn’t make you believe in the power of sport, nothing will.
One of my favorite things in this world is the game of baseball. I love the game, and I love my team, the Toronto Blue Jays. I was reading one of the many Jays blogs I follow, The Mockingbird, catching up on the posts I’ve missed since I left for Toronto to see some friends and catch a few games this past weekend when I came across this post.
The physics behind baseball (all sports really, but especially baseball) are simply fantastic, and I thought this optical illusion of how a curveball may be even more deceptive due to it’s spin and how the human eye percieves it. Simply facinating and just another thing to love about baseball.