Watching Sports, Aging, and Priorities

Wow, I must be getting old… I’ve always been a big sports fan — mostly college and pro football, as well as college basketball — and not that long ago I couldn’t imagine there being a time when I wasn’t at least vaguely aware of what was going on in the wonderful world of sports. But now it’s happened, although it started somewhat gradually over the past few years…

While I still managed to keep up (sort of) with the playoffs, major bowl games, etc., I began to lose track of what went on during the regular season of (insert pretty much any sport here). And then it happened… On my way to work this morning, I heard on the radio that the Florida Gators beat UCLA last night to win the NCAA Basketball Championship. In other words, I somehow managed to forget that one of the most exciting sporting events of the year was going on. More than getting old, I think that this is largely a matter of changing priorities. As each year goes by, my professional obligations grow, and I have less and less ‘free’ time. On top of that, our family life gets increasingly complex, what with everything from a toddler to a second grader (and seemingly everything in between) running around the house. Nowadays, whenever I’m presented with a bit of free time along with a choice between things like hiking with our boys (or even mowing the lawn) and spending a Sunday afternoon keeping up with the NFL, the former wins hands down.