The season of spring is one that means rebirth. Warm weather brings trees to bud, grass to grow and flowers to bloom. Birds begin to lay eggs again; the sun is out longer - just in general, it's a very enjoyable time of the year. That is, if you forget about all the slush and random winter-like days that come around to and fro in April.
Spring makes me happy. It reminds me that summer is very much near. With that, it means baseball. And golf. And the NHL and NBA playoffs. Spring means March Madness for college basketball. All of them make me happy.
Then this year we just had the Olympics. I know not everyone is down for the biggest sporting event in the world, but I am. The Olympics is a bonding experience, a peaceful exchange of rivalry, competition and respect for one another. And this year's Winter Games furthered that love in me.
The U.S. Women's Hockey gold medal game against Canada? A classic - especially that game-winning shootout goal by Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson in which she savagely deked the Canadian goalie. That was filthy and nasty and arguably the best sporting move I've seen in recent memory.
Then there was the U.S. Men's Curling team, coming back from the dead and getting into the gold-medal game against the heavily favored Swedes. John Schuster, the "skip" who had made a name for himself by failing in the biggest moments over the years, played his best curling ever. A 5-spot in the eighth end basically sealed a storybook ending for the gentlemen from Duluth and Madison.
It made me think, which Olympic sport could I compete in? Well, I know the answer is none, but if new sports were created and entered the Olympic world, where would I rank?
I could probably dust off my flip-cup skills, where I was basically the uncontested champion in college. Forty-nine of 50 first flips in one night? Skillz that thrillz.
Retro video-gaming is a passion of mine, but I know there are so many players better than me. I've traveled around the country playing in Tecmo Super Bowl tournaments for the original Nintendo the past several years and found that, despite being arguably the best player of the bunch in my high school and in the dorms at UW-Milwaukee, my skill level at traveling tournaments is very much in the "average" range.
I took my fiancée with me to play at the 10th annual Tomczak Bowl in Dubuque this weekend, and I went 2-2 - winning both games by a total of 17 points and losing the other two by 8 points. It was a fun-filled weekend that reminded me that I love the atmosphere more than the game itself. The world championships in Madison are coming up in April, and I will again try to make it out of pool play and earn a place into the top 64 in the world. If I don't, it's all right, because it is my favorite event every year - again, just for the atmosphere.
Even if I did make it through pool play, top-64 is not Olympic-level status, and I know that. I'd like to show off my NHL '94 skills, but again, I know I am not nuanced enough to play those games. Let's not even get into RPG or Madden games for new consoles.
Is binge-streaming movies and old TV shows a sport? That's another talent I have.
If you think about it, none of my skills and talents are terribly good traits to have - for an athlete or even an everyday adult. I'm very average. Maybe my best talent is realizing how average I am and accepting that fate. Or maybe that is why I fail, as a Jedi Master would suggest to their young Padawan.
Either way, spring is upon us, and the world is starting to wake up from its dreary, cold, dark, wintery slumber. It makes me smile with a rejuvenated spirit.
And on that note, "A new smile: Part 3" is scheduled for Father's Day weekend, which is sort of perfect.
- Adam Krebs is a reporter for the Monroe Times and could contend for a medal in collective averageness. Possibly. He can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
Spring makes me happy. It reminds me that summer is very much near. With that, it means baseball. And golf. And the NHL and NBA playoffs. Spring means March Madness for college basketball. All of them make me happy.
Then this year we just had the Olympics. I know not everyone is down for the biggest sporting event in the world, but I am. The Olympics is a bonding experience, a peaceful exchange of rivalry, competition and respect for one another. And this year's Winter Games furthered that love in me.
The U.S. Women's Hockey gold medal game against Canada? A classic - especially that game-winning shootout goal by Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson in which she savagely deked the Canadian goalie. That was filthy and nasty and arguably the best sporting move I've seen in recent memory.
Then there was the U.S. Men's Curling team, coming back from the dead and getting into the gold-medal game against the heavily favored Swedes. John Schuster, the "skip" who had made a name for himself by failing in the biggest moments over the years, played his best curling ever. A 5-spot in the eighth end basically sealed a storybook ending for the gentlemen from Duluth and Madison.
It made me think, which Olympic sport could I compete in? Well, I know the answer is none, but if new sports were created and entered the Olympic world, where would I rank?
I could probably dust off my flip-cup skills, where I was basically the uncontested champion in college. Forty-nine of 50 first flips in one night? Skillz that thrillz.
Retro video-gaming is a passion of mine, but I know there are so many players better than me. I've traveled around the country playing in Tecmo Super Bowl tournaments for the original Nintendo the past several years and found that, despite being arguably the best player of the bunch in my high school and in the dorms at UW-Milwaukee, my skill level at traveling tournaments is very much in the "average" range.
I took my fiancée with me to play at the 10th annual Tomczak Bowl in Dubuque this weekend, and I went 2-2 - winning both games by a total of 17 points and losing the other two by 8 points. It was a fun-filled weekend that reminded me that I love the atmosphere more than the game itself. The world championships in Madison are coming up in April, and I will again try to make it out of pool play and earn a place into the top 64 in the world. If I don't, it's all right, because it is my favorite event every year - again, just for the atmosphere.
Even if I did make it through pool play, top-64 is not Olympic-level status, and I know that. I'd like to show off my NHL '94 skills, but again, I know I am not nuanced enough to play those games. Let's not even get into RPG or Madden games for new consoles.
Is binge-streaming movies and old TV shows a sport? That's another talent I have.
If you think about it, none of my skills and talents are terribly good traits to have - for an athlete or even an everyday adult. I'm very average. Maybe my best talent is realizing how average I am and accepting that fate. Or maybe that is why I fail, as a Jedi Master would suggest to their young Padawan.
Either way, spring is upon us, and the world is starting to wake up from its dreary, cold, dark, wintery slumber. It makes me smile with a rejuvenated spirit.
And on that note, "A new smile: Part 3" is scheduled for Father's Day weekend, which is sort of perfect.
- Adam Krebs is a reporter for the Monroe Times and could contend for a medal in collective averageness. Possibly. He can be reached at akrebs@themonroetimes.net.
