Team Sports? I Just Don't Get It.

At my health club, there’s an indoor track that I use. It’s on the upper level of the place and circles around and above the basketball court. Eleven times around equals one mile.

Yesterday, I ran/walked two miles which meant that I circled the basketball court 22 times. Each time, I’d glance down there to watch some guys playing a game of basketball.

I just don’t “get” competitive team sports.

In basketball, the moment you obtain the ball, everyone on the opposing team tries to get it away from you. How on earth can that be enjoyable?

I’d watch this one poor fellow. Someone would throw the ball to him and, immediately, some other guys would lunge toward him trying to get the ball away. Eventually, they would and everyone on his own team would be mad at him for losing the ball.

As I trotted by, I thought, “People participate in this activity on purpose??? That’s just . . .well. . . stupid!”

I spend most of my waking hours trying to avoid anyone being mad at me. Yet, there are guys at my gym who purposely seek out an activity in which they repeatedly avail themselves to the anger and disappointment of others.

It’s just beyond me.

Sometimes, a player would get the ball through a hoop, thus scoring points for their team. For some reason completely unknown to me, getting a basketball to go through a hoop is valued quite highly. I have absolutely no idea what intrinsic value there is in that activity, but apparently, there is.

That’s not to say I might not enjoy playing basketball.

I might enjoy playing with a basketball on the basketball court if no one else was there to bother me. I might actually enjoy the challenge of learning how to dribble the ball, run about on the shiny wooden floor and try to throw the ball through the hoop - - - by myself!

But doing that with a bunch of other guys? No way.

That’s why I’m up there on the indoor track, running by with my little iPod Shuffle.

Alone.