It's Just Sports!

I’m entering my third month of blogging, and I decided to take an account of what I’ve seen to this point.

My writing had previously been limited to newsletters and passionate correspondence with my Congressman and Senators regarding my positions on the issues at hand. In reality, I began writing in earnest over 20 years ago while serving in the U.S. Navy.

My department head was Lt. Bradley A. Bellis, an Annapolis graduate with a sharp intellect and a very even disposition. Bradley has since achieved the rank of Captain, which is the equivalent of a full Colonel in the other branches of the military.

As you gain time and rank in the service, naturally your level of responsibility increases. A big part of the service is its administrative aspects, for as they said, the Navy floated on a sea of paperwork. I began writing contracts, addendums to manuals, and outlines for processes.

As you can imagine, writing in the military is much different than what we commonly write. The structure and format was specific, and you didn’t venture off the prescribed course. Upon completing a document and before it was considered final, I would turn all of my work over to Brad for his review.

We referred to that process as “chopping," which was the Navy’s way of saying edit. The first week’s work was returned to me with more red markings indicating various errors than anything I’d ever written. It was demoralizing, but I took it in stride and paid more attention to detail.

As the weeks progressed, the red markings were becoming fewer. Finally, one day while searching through my box, I came across a document I had given Brad for chopping. It didn’t have any markings on it, and I initially thought he hadn’t reviewed it.

I approached him with the document and asked, “hey man, are you going to chop this or what?" He looked at me and said, “I already have.” I had arrived.

So a few months ago, I decided to delve into the world of blogging with a particular focus on sports. To be honest, I hadn’t read the first sports blog because I became ingrained with the various media outlets reporting the day’s headlines. In doing so, I began to notice the opinions of the writers were beginning to shroud the line between opinion and reality.

If opinion should happen to become reality, fine. But at no time should opinion be reported as reality. For those of you that take the time to read this, the chasm between opinion and reality is wide, and deep. Not unlike the talking heads we see night after night debating issues, it became more apparent the journalism profession was no longer honorable.

If you watch and listen closely, the pseudo-intellectuals will attempt to make you believe they know more than you and I.

Know more about what? That which we already knew? Or that they’ve become legends in their own minds?

I wanted to get away from the incessant ramblings of the elitists pretending to report the news. Sports was the perfect venue, for after all, it’s just sports. Here I could write for sheer enjoyment, discussing a host of topics with fellow sports enthusiasts.

I believed light-hearted banter between and among us would give me respite. After all, it’s just sports. Perhaps I could follow the format of Costas Now or Real Sports, in my mind the two best sports journalism shows on television. I wrote my first article, and a huge contingent of anxious readers descended upon my blog, leaving behind a total of two comments.

I went back to the days of my time in the military, recalling those first documents I’d written, and Brad chopping them mercilessly. Not to be deterred, I continued writing; my next project was a three-part history of Monday Night Football, which incidentally, I consider my best work to date.

Then several weeks ago I hit the jackpot - the hot button issue of the day. I wrote an article on the beliefs of Stephen A. Smith and Bill Conlin, both suggesting that anyone other than a professional journalist doesn’t have a right to present their argument in a public forum.

The article received more comments than any I’d written, and the following day, there was the MoonDog, sitting atop the blogosphere as Blog of the Day at Fox Sports. And do you know the most interesting aspect of that article? It didn’t have a damn thing to do about sports.

There are at least 10 blogs I read every day, all of which you can find in my list of favorites at my website. I may not agree with everything that’s being written, but I respect the view of the writer, and post a comment.

I’ll go back to those blogs and note the other comments being posted and find myself dismayed at the number of people that engage in personal attacks against the writer, and against others who’ve commented. Instead of having a healthy debate, the discussion has turns into a contest of who can put the other guy down.

Opinions and reality are being shrouded – again. Have I misconstrued the intent of writing a sports-related blog? After all, it’s just sports.

I’ve pondered that over the past week and perhaps sports-related articles aren’t my niche. With so many important issues facing our nation, sports wouldn’t sit in my top 100.

Do any of you know what the national debt is? Do you know how much the interest on the debt is for this fiscal year? What percentage of the federal budget was used to pay the interest on the debt? It’s just sports.

I’ve had the opportunity to speak with many of my fellow bloggers through personal e-mail exchanges, and I can honestly say everyone I’ve had a conversation with is a decent, bright, and well-minded person.

I’m hopeful the impressions I’ve left with others have been in the same light, even though I suspect anyone having spoken with me comes away thinking I’m a complete jackass. You’d be correct; I am a complete jackass, although in my defense, I’m an affable jackass.

It is through dialogue that we can begin to understand the views of others. Even if we disagree, rational conversation can present an opportunity that allows us to grow beyond the trivial, even if the topic is just sports.

So perhaps this year we can read a blog without spewing venom at one another. Perhaps we can take the writers opinion into account an offer a valid argument if we should happen to disagree.

So here's some friendly advice - free too, I might add - that you can live by the rest of the year. Before you read the next blog, I want you to sit down, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and repeat after me: It’s just sports.

That’s the reality of my opinion.