Introduction

So, I'm a huge fan of watching sports. The sports I typically watch are basketball and football. I have recently started watching soccer, and last year was my first time watching the NHL playoffs and Stanley Cup Final. I also periodically watch national sports events like the Olympics and Cricket (/Soccer) world cups -- I also do watch the Indian Premier League. I find watching sports to be a more productive use of time than watching shows online because they inspire me to be more physically fit, and also require more mental acuity to process -- being able to catch plays and learn strategies through watching a sports game is a really fun way to work out the brain. It's also just an easy conversation-starter with most men.

I myself play basketball and tennis. I've been trying to play some more soccer becuase I've found that soccer is a very popular sport at UMD but unfortunately, I'm neither athletic nor skilled enough. I play (American) football every now and then (typically just tossing the football around) and did IM 4x4 Flag Football last year. For a very long time I have been interested in pursuing some type of martial arts (specifically Muay Thai or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu), but unfortunately, I never had the chance or time. When I'm older, I might try to invest some effort into that for personal-safety and also just as a fun continuation of sports when my body/joints are too weak to play basketball or football.

Basketball

When it comes to playing basketball, my favorite players to watch are Lebron and Kyrie. I don't enjoy watching 3-point shots if they don't come with some type of flashy move so I find players like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson boring (yes, that is a hot take, I know). I'm a huge fan of smooth finishes at the rim (Kyrie Irving), and thundrous/sheer dominance in the paint (Lebron James). My favorite teams are the Lakers, Wizards, and the Nets. For most sports, I am typically always a fan of at least one DC and NYC sports team, and the team that my favorite player plays on.

When playing basketball, I try to model how I play after a combination of Kyrie Irving and Lebron James (except I'm nowhere near their skill level). Specifically, becuase I am tall and have practiced finishing around the rim for years, if I can get within 5 feet of the basket, I am almost guaranteed to make the shot if my defender isn't taller than me. I also love to pass the ball, but I generally dislike taking any type of "shots" (midranges or threes) unless it's clearly obvious that I'm open -- I feel the same way for other players too. It bothers me when I see players chucking up contested 3's when they could at least try to drive inside the paint to make a higher-percentage basket (but alas, the fad of Steph Curry continues). In general, my main ways to score are through some type of post move (typically a spin move with some type of shot), a reverse layup (I prefer these to regular layups most times), or a midrange shot (on good days, I'm automatic from midrange).

Football (American)

In terms of American Football, I have been a Ravens and Bills fan for a while (as of recently, I've been more of a Ravens fan given the recent failures of the Bills franchise). When it comes to playing football though, I find myself not as interested -- something about playing that type of sport feels a bit weird to me plus it's really hard to involve everybody when teams exceed 5-6 people which can make the game boring for some. I will say, though, that football is more fun than basketball to watch, especially to someone not well versed in basketball terminology and plays. For me specifically, I just know more about basketball than football so I find basketball more fun to watch, but I concede it does get boring to watch in regular season when players aren't trying.

Tennis

I don't follow and play tennis enough to comment enough on it, but all I can say is that I was a huge fan of Djokovic back in the day, and it looks like I'll become a fan of Carlos Alcaraz pretty soon given all the winning he's been doing.

Soccer

I have been adopted by the Real Madrid fanbase as one of their franchises fan despite being a Messi fan as well. In terms of soccer, I view it somewhat differently than I do basketball because I think given the size of the court and how talented and athletic everyone else is (compared to basketball where although everyone is tall, not everyone is equally athletic), I personally find myself enjoying passes over athletic dominance. This is why I enjoy watching players like Messi and KDB more than I enjoy watching players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappe (the irony is that I'm a Real Madrid fan but I'll explain that). For example, because of how big the pitch is, it's not super apparent how much faster one of the players is than the rest unless in very particular circumstances (the average person watching wouldn't really be able to know just how much faster Kylian Mbappe was, for example, compared to the rest of the players on the pitch). That all being said, I'm still a relatively new fan looking forward to watching and learning more this upcoming season. HALA MADRID!

The reason I'm a Real Madrid fan is becuase I think the team is destined for success over the following few years and as a new fan that's more of an incentive to keep up with the sport. Furthermore, the franchise has HUGE infrastructure online so engaging with other fans is easier compared to smaller franchises -- this would make it easier for me to learn and keep up with others. I'm also a ManCity fan becuase I like watching Erling Haaland play -- becuase he's also tall and we both are sort of built similarly (except I'm way less athletic), I see myself in him.

Conclusion

I think everybody should try to follow at least one sport -- it's a huge motivator in terms of going out and playing a sport (watching people playing a sport at such a high level is a huge incentive to start playing yourself). I also think that as a guy, it's significantly easier to connect with others if you have some basic sports knowledge since many people (like myself) watch sports and publicly wear their teams apparel.

Author: Abhiram Kidambi
Written: 08-07-2024
Tags: SPORTS