A man without a season – until baseball

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, guys (and you can thank me for reminding you the next time you see me), and unfortunately with the holiday created to celebrate love just around the corner, I'm going through a separation from a loved one.

No, not from my wife, who accepts my frequent absences during the evenings as being part of my job, but me and my television set have not been spending as much time together.

With the Green Bay Packers winning the Super Bowl, the NFL season came to a close; and for me, so did my watching professional sports on TV. I am now lost in the limbo that exists between the end of football and the beginning of baseball season.

Sure, I could try watching NBA basketball, but I've never gotten into the pro game. I was never a basketball player in school, even though once I reached the magic 6-foot mark, everyone figured I automatically would be.

It wasn't a matter of desire — it was the realization that I did not posses even the most basic skills. I never mastered dribbling without watching the ball, much like how to this day I still must watch my fingers on the keyboard even though I've been typing for 30 years.

The pro hoops season just lasts too long, with the games only mattering when seeding begins for the playoffs, which seemingly last just as long as the regular season.

There's always hockey. At least that sport I played as a kid — but during an Iowa winter, you have to find some way to fend off cabin fever. And we didn't play organized hockey — we played pad-less at the outdoor neighborhood rink.

But much like basketball, the regular season games mean next to nothing, given that you pretty much qualify for the playoffs simply by lacing up your skates. Sixteen of the NHL's 30 teams qualify for the playoffs, regardless of won-loss records.

There are even some who will tell me I can look forward to the NASCAR season kicking off soon, but I already know how to execute a left turn.

So here I am, a man without a season and a rapid-fire TV remote finger, searching aimlessly for something to watch.

The only other professional leagues in existence in North America are the Arena Football League, Canadian Football League, Major League Soccer, the Women's National Basketball Association, and, believe it or not, the National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse.

Until my ears once again feast on the sound of "pitchers and catchers report," here I sit, a man alone with his thoughts, and in my case that can be pretty scary.

Contact Craig Purcell at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com