signalnoise

There are lots of things I don't know how to fully appreciate: wine, jazz, classical music, art, and coffee just to name a few. I don't have a *grudge* against any of these things, and I *enjoy* many of them. I can distinguish *some* differences between "good" and "bad" in these areas, but only with the broadest brush strokes. Hence, I am also fully aware that there are nuances within these categories of experience that elude me completely. To this list I would like to add: sports.

I don't understand plays or the flows of games or the strategy of it. Not at all. But I really wish I did. In fact, while I don't like sports, I love to read about sports or listen to sports commentary. I don't do it so much anymore, but in college I had a roommate who was a big sports fan. And we'd often spend afternoons watching ESPN. Part of the allure, I'm sure, is that sports commentary deploys statistics, anecdotes, and fiery language all in pursuit of an argument. I love that, and since I don't have a horse in the race - it's sort of fun to just let it all wash over me. But there's obviously also a poetry to sports - to the motion, to the dedication of the player, the intensity of competition, and a real beauty in last minute successes (or blinding failures). That appeals to me. But it all feels very *beyond* me too at this point in my life. Like learning what makes Miles Davis great, I think I'm just too far gone in life to start picking up whole new cognitive skills and referents, especially ones so alien.