Monday, July 19, 2004

Tour This!

To the average North American, sports is something to watch, not do. Even worse, the concept of "sport" is typically limited to baseball, hockey, and football.

If you don't believe me, travel to every 'burg on this continent and watch the local newscast at 6 or 11. At precisely 17 minutes past the hour, after the blow-dried talking heads have exhausted their badly-written scripts of fake news (usually shootings, layoffs, and more shootings), they throw the show over to a portly sport-jacket-wearing guy with a bushy moustache for the sports recap. After the mandatory witty banter, the cheesy dance tune fades into the background and the clips of today's "best plays" begin.

My suggestion to you: break out of this media-induced malaise and learn about some real sports. There is a bigger, broader, more exciting world out there.

For example, the Tour de France wraps up this weekend. This monumental event transcends mere sport.

When you're done, dust off your own bike, pop your helmet onto your head and take a spin in your own little part of the world. Your friendly sportscaster probably won't notice you're gone.

2 comments:

Trillian said...

Thanks for the advice, Carmi. We're steering clear of the traditional sports with our little ones - karate, rock climbing, and gymnastics instead. Cycling, I'm ashamed to admit, has been thus far a mode of transportation for us, but I resolve to amend this in the future.

carmilevy said...

You're just far (or close) enough from work to try a commute. Once you get rolling on Egremont, you're home free. :)