Behind the Mic

Watching Big Sporting Events

Posted by: Brian Barnhart

Thursday, May 28, 2009 12:10 PM

Some people are really into watching golf on television.  I have several friends who watch every round of every major (or not-so-major tournament) and can give you the Top 10 money winning list without much trouble ...and can remember which golfer used which club and which way the wind was blowing on a particular hole. 

Other friends of mine can plop down in front of a big-sceen TV and spend several hours watching a NASCAR or IndyCar Race.  They can give you every driver...who their main sponsor is....who is leading in the Sprint Cup Challenge and which driver is good friends with (or enemies of) other drivers..

Other friends are into NHL Hockey and still more really follow the NBA Playoffs down to the bitter end in late June (do the playoffs really have to go on that long?).  Then of course...there is the Kentucky Derby as well as the French Open and Wimbledon Tennis Tournaments. 

 Each sporting event  has its own "diehard" fans and I enjoy talking to them about their particular  favorite sport on the air or in person. Everybody has a passion for their favorite sport(s) and that is great.

I consider myself more of a "buffet" viewer of sports.  I do watch the last 9 holes of the Masters on Sunday.  I do watch the NBA playoffs, but rarely watch an entire game or a series (Bull-Celtics being the exception recently).  If the Stanley Cup Finals are in a 7th game...I will probably tune in and watch.  I also make an appointment to watch the Kentucky Derby and Preakness each year..but if there is no chance at the Triple Crown, I am not watching the Belmont.  I also catch the preliminary events leading up to the Indianapolis 500 and the first 2 laps and the last 2 laps of that great race...but never watch the whole race.

I love baseball.  I have broadcast roughly 1,500 baseball games in my lifetime.  I grew up a White Sox fan...but my passion for any one team cooled over the years.  I enjoy following the Cubs, Cardinals, and White Sox... but I hardly ever watch an entire game start to finish.

The Chicago Bears are my favorite NFL team....but even with the Bears, I dont watch their games as much as I used to. I stopped watching Monday Night Football years ago.

I guess my strongest passion for sports would come in the areas I am the most involved with: college football and college basketball....especially University of Illinois football and basketball.  Obviously,I grew up here and I get paid to go to the Illini games ...but I  still watch a lot of other college games during the fall and winter months and those are the sports I am more likely to devote a couple of hours to on a weeknight or weekend.

So I look forward to taking a "peek" at all of the major sporting events over the summer (US Open and British Open Golf....NBA Finals...Wimbledon.....Major Leage Baseball races.)  But I will be excited to get back to my real sports passions...college football and college basketball....about the time the leaves start to turn this fall.

 

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