Fringe Sports Fan

The term "fringe" sports fan was given to me by the crew I went to lunch with when I was banking in Denver (insert obligatory shout out to AD, CJ, Brant and the Lukkei).

They got a kick out of my interest in sports that seldomly garner widespread media attention (one can debate if "fringe" is the appropriate label). In particular, they were amused with my interest in college hockey and lacrosse, and horse racing. I think they lumped my dogged interest in the PGA tour under that heading along with my uncanny knowledge of college team nicknames. And while I'm not sure how either adds to my fringe sport mystique, it just does. What really confirmed their assessment, however, was when my father and I attended a PBA (yes, as in Pro Bowlers Assn.) event in Denver. I'll add as non-defensively as I can muster it was December and we couldn't golf.

I'd intended to write on this topic during the Winter Olympics, which is really fringe sports heaven. Most sports fans, even a fringe sports fan like me, forget some of these sports even exist until the Winter games come around to remind us every four years. I enjoy all the sliding sports (luge and bobsled, in particular, as I'm not sure I've bought into the skeleton concept just yet), speed skating (especially short track), downhill and cross country skiing, and of course, the biathalon.

Then there's curling. I don't consider myself a big curling fan, but as I think back, I probably watched more curling than any other sport during the Olympics. For one, it was on almost all the time. I'd flip to CNBC or MSNBC to see what was on and think dispassionately, "Oh, more curling" and start to change the channel. But somehow, I wouldn't, and 20 minutes later, I'd still be watching, and telling myself, I'll just watch until the end was finished, to see how many points USA or Canada could get when they had the hammer. I must have enjoyed watching curling, though that's not how I remember it. I suppose I'll be reminded in four years.

Overall, I was glad to see Team USA win so many medals, and frankly was also glad for Canada to have a good showing on their home turf. I was pleased the USA pushed Canada to overtime in the gold medal hockey game, and while it would have been great to see the USA win, the gold probably meant more to Canada than it would have to us.

But all this talk of sports on the fringe doesn't mean I'm not also a mainstream sports fan. I have more than a passing interest in the NFL, as every year I try to remain uninterested in the Minnesota Vikings, the team I've followed since I was a boy, who inevitably suck me in and break my heart as they did again this year. And I enjoy college football and basketball, following the UNC Tar Heels with great interest in both sports.

This year there's been fierce competition for my attention between my fringe and non-fringe sporting interests. My interest in college hockey and lacrosse stems from my dedication to following my alma mater, the Cornell Big Red. My interest in "mainstream" college sports, football and basketball, tends to focus on North Carolina, where I got my graduate degree. And while over the years my support for them has tempered, I also cheer for Syracuse, since the Orange are as close as we got to professional sports in Central NY where I grew up.

This year, however, Cornell has a once in a generation hoop team which I've been following closely and even got to see them play in person twice. North Carolina has struggled mightily in hoops this year, so it's an odd situation where Cornell will be in the NCAA hoop tourney and UNC will not.

So as I plot out my annual visit to the ECAC hockey finals in Albany next weekend to watch Cornell, I'm waiting impatiently to find out where and when the Cornell basketball team will play its first round game. I want to make sure I can watch it, and if by some chance they end up playing in Providence or Buffalo (two of the first round sites), I'm already plotting how I bail out of my work-related obligations to see if I can get to the game in person, while still making it to Albany to meet up with my brothers and nephew for the ECACs.

(Note to the NCAA selection committee: while it would simplify my travel logistics, please don't banish the Big Red to the West, as you've done each of the last two years. Regardless of where you seed them (11), it seems like it would be a fitting reward for a (11) senior dominated 27-4 team to be able (11) to play in front of a few of their fans (11). I'm not going to tell you where you should seed them, but if it's any lower than 12th, I will be disappointed.)

That's not to give Cornell's fringe teams short shrift, as the top 10 hockey team is on track for an NCAA berth and the lacross team is 4-0, hosting number 1 Virginia tomorrow, after coming so, so, so painfully close to winning the national championship against Syracuse last year (lacrosse is the one sport I don't root for the Orange).

So it's a great time of year to be a sports fan, fringe or not. That's also why this is a very long way of saying that I'll probably be writing about some of these topics (in addition to golf) going forward. It may mean a name change for the blog (plus I found out someone else already had a 20th hole blog). And this may come as a shock, but my new blog title may have something to do with fringe sports -- stay tuned.