Sports Nerd?

I am a sports junkie. I love to watch American football. I also love to watch tennis, world cup soccer, le Tour d'France, and ice skating (amongst other things). But there are some oddities to why I love to watch these sports. I hated American football when I was growing up - I didn't understand the game and it just seemed silly to me. That was before a booking agent named Angel Gomez took the time to teach me the rules, and I grew to appreciate the simple pleasures of watching dozens of grown men run around in Lycra spandex pants.

My Dad has been a huge tennis player since I was a child. When I was growing up, if he was in the country he would pack a tuna salad sandwich and an apple for lunch in a brown paper bag. He ate this lunch at his desk because he would be playing tennis every day during his lunch hour. Every day, and sometimes on Saturdays. If he was travelling, he had a special bag made which could hold the numerous racquets he would be carrying depending on his destinations. There used to be a real science to what kind of gut was used to string these racquets, depending on the surface upon which one would be playing, the humidity and the altitude. I wanted to be a professional tennis player like those girls my Dad admired playing in the major tournaments on television. Unfortunately, due to a childhood injury, I could never master the serve toss.

I love to watch le Tour d'France because I get to see many of the parts of Europe that I love. And, again it is grown men wearing Lycra spandex, only this time they are shorts. Ice skating can be tremendously aesthetic. The combination of music, athleticism and artistry amaze me. I get dizzy on a merry-go-round. How can they spin around like that and not just fall over when they are done? I do okay on skates - I can go backward pretty well, but I cannot fathom how these skaters can jump up in the air, spin around a bunch of times, land on a sheet of ice and not end up in a heap on the ice. And sometimes, the men wear - guess what - yes Lycra spandex!

World cup soccer is a lot of fun - a combination of geography and high level soccer with a lot of drama thrown in just for fun. (And I don't mind the lack of Lycra spandex becuase sometimes they run around and tear their shirts off after they score.) Okay so here is the really strange part of all this... even raising four boys, I usually end up watching sports by myself. None of the boys in my family really like to watch sports. Danny used to watch with me occasionally, but I am pretty sure that was just because he loves me and knew I wanted someone to watch with me. Every once in a while Larry will sit with me for a bit while I am watching something, but his is just being kind.

So this weekend I have been in sports heaven - US Figure Skating Championships, the Australian Open Tennis Tournament and the Football championships. I will be unavailable for a lot of February as I plan to watch as much of the Winter Olympics as I can. So this all begs the question... what I really don't understand is.... what kind of nerd am I? Is there such a thing as a sports nerd?