Playing for the crowd

I’m not sure where to start, or if it even matters anymore. For those of you keeping track, the Stanley Cup playoffs are on the air. The NBA is playing their games in Florida. They will be entering the playoffs soon but since I haven’t been paying that much attention to it as usual…oh well.

The NFL is getting ready to gear up and start practicing but then a fair amount of players have decided to be safe and take a year off. So what would you do with a year off? Depending on the state you live in, going to the gym to lift weights is out of the question because of a whole lot of stuff. For example, in this state you need to stay 17 feet away from another person but if you are looking at purchasing a weight bench at Walmart you only need to be six feet apart.

So I assume these athletes taking a hiatus will most likely have their own gym in their Man Cave with HD TV and videos to help them keep buff. They can always go for a jog or ride a bike. Since their personal trainer will be restricted from coming over to the house, they can keep in touch with the latest video technology. I’m sure taking a year off can only help, especially if there is an injury that needs to heal.

It will be interesting to see if fans will be allowed in the football stadiums. In Seattle, the 12th man should not be a cardboard cutout. Piped in-noise won’t be the same.

Speaking of cardboard cutouts, have you notice how many of the new fans have been showing up at T-Mobile Park? It almost looks as if the Mariners are trying to set an attendance record for cardboard fans. They seem to be all over the park. I also noticed that the roof was utilized for a couple of games this past weekend. Which makes me wonder, is it really raining or does the Seattle Mariner organization fear that any water that hits these new fans might be detrimental to their well-being? I can’t wait for them to figure out how they can get the cutouts to do the wave!

The Major League season is a quarter of the way done, and by the end of the week it will be a third of the way finished. A couple of teams are separating themselves from the pack. Seattle is not one of them. The M’s are battling the Angels for last place. On opening day the Mariners were the youngest team in baseball, with the hope that they will grow into their talent and experience and start winning in a couple of years.

As difficult as losing is, this maybe the easiest managerial season for Scott Servais since he isn’t expected to win and he has the opportunity to scout his team and see how they react to all kinds of situations. And I think the fans understand it. For instance, the Mariners lost to Colorado on Saturday night and managed only one hit, yet not one fan left T-Mobile Park!

As TV viewing fans, we really should be excited with any sport that is being televised. I know it is weird that we don’t see a fan get unruly with a call on the field or the court or ice arena, but we get to see athletes play to win and maybe fans aren’t as important to their performance as we might think. And truthfully that is a good thing. Does an athlete perform better in front of a sellout crowd or when a couple of thousand people show up? I think we are seeing that they can play just fine when no one is there, hoping that a TV viewing audience appreciates their efforts.

So yeah, maybe we think that a game is not a game unless fans are in the stands. But for great athletes, just playing the game is as important as playing for the crowd.