It’s a brand new year, folks, and while the rest of you are counting calories, swearing less, and otherwise changing your lives with 2018 resolutions, I’m over here (on the bench) thinking about more important things.
I’m tackling big questions this year, you know, like how can I be a better sports fan? Should I be spending less time browsing NBA Twitter on my phone? Is it even ethical to watch the NFL anymore?
As I think most athletes and sports fans would agree with, our day-to-day habits both playing and consuming sports these days are pretty quirky. With the 24/7, hyper-saturated culture, there’s a lot to point out, poke fun at, and sincerely improve on to get more out of this year as a fan than last.
Here’s my list of my five sports resolutions for 2018. Maybe they’ll resonate with you. If they don’t, well what do I know? I’m just a benchwarmer.
1. Spend less time on sports Twitter
Sports fandom is inherently social. When your team hits the game-winning shot or blows the big lead, your first instinct is to find someone to talk to about it. “Can you believe this?” “Who’s paying off these refs?” “What was our coach thinking?!”
Before social media came along, you’d usually either try to have a friend over for the game, go out to a bar, or, if left in solitude, call up a buddy after the final buzzer. Absent any of those options, there was always your dog to talk to. Sharing the moment is part and parcel to being a fan.
In 2018, apps like Twitter put social sports fandom on steroids and speed. For every game—and every play—you have fans from across the world spitting aggressive “hot takes” that often lead to pathetic cyber brawls. Even sports journalists get in on the action, tweeting their professional analysis and then fending off the angry fans who disagree.
Despite its toxicity, I’m as glued to sports Twitter as anybody. It scratches that social itch in a powerful way. Unfortunately, I end up spending less time watching the actual game since my attention is constantly diverted to my Twitter feed. Not only that, but I also find myself substituting tweeting for the old-school post-game phone call to a real friend or for the effort of inviting a friend over to watch. This is sad news, and something I’m going to consciously change this year.
2. Turn off SportsCenter and read more long-form stories
Have you noticed how lame ESPN SportsCenter is these days? They seem to have forgotten that a punchy, fast-paced, highlight-driven show was entertaining.
Now they’ve got an odd new model starring a long-winded Scott Van Pelt, hosting the show like he’s Glenn Beck. I think it’s a knee-jerk shift by ESPN toward an industry-wide trend emphasizing media personality and bravado over substance. I’m not a fan.
On the other hand, the web has become a cornucopia of great sports journalism. Long-form pieces by excellent writers and reporters for ESPN.com, The Ringer, Bleacher Reporter, and other outlets are more plentiful and interesting than ever. Sure, it takes more time and brainpower to turn off the TV and delve into a 2,500-word profile of Lonzo Ball, but you get so much more from that experience as a consumer. Reading more of these gems is high up on my 2018 sports resolutions list.
3. Quit the stats obsession
With every conceivable statistic at our fingertips these days, it’s easy as a fan to obsess over the numbers and what they mean. Why was Stephen Curry shooting under 40 percent on three-point shots this season? Jimmy Garappolo’s quarterback rating is worse than Colin Kaepernick’s if you compare their last five games. Does that mean Kaepernick should still be the 49ers’ quarterback?
You can get lost in the weeds overthinking this stuff, and I’m guilty of it. Excessive number crunching can take away from the experience of enjoying a game, and it can also deceive you into not trusting what you plainly see happening on the court if the numbers don’t back it up. “Advanced analytics” is a popular but complex and data-driven way to interpret basketball these days, for example. But I think it can detract from basic human intuition and observation. I plan on doing more simple viewing as a fan and less fancy stat-chasing in 2018.
4. Watch the NFL with a guilty conscience
There’s no denying it. Football players develop CTE, a degenerative brain disease, at an alarming clip compared to the rest of us. The sport is violent and causes brain trauma, which makes it fundamentally unsafe, especially for players who reach the college level and beyond.
But the reality is, football is an American pastime and the NFL is a cash cow. Is the sport in trouble long-term as more research is done about its impacts? Yes. Are most fans right now either still in denial about CTE or can’t muster the moral fortitude to quit watching? Definitely. I put myself in the latter camp, but I also refuse to rationalize away my guilt associated with that. If I choose to flip on the NFL every Sunday, I’m going to be fully aware of the broader consequences. Maybe someday that will poison the experience enough to compel me to find a new league to support.
5. Take off the FitBit and play more
It’s been a few years since I participated in competitive sports, and now I just wear a FitBit that buzzes at me to take steps and exercise more. It’s helpful—I do more walks, hikes, and runs because of it—but I miss playing my favorite sports like soccer and basketball. In 2018, I plan to join some adult leagues and take more spontaneous trips to the park with friends for pickup games. It’s not just good for my body, but for my mental and emotional well-being too.
Sports contributor Peter Johnson can be reached at pjohnson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jan 18-25, 2018.