What Do We Do Now?

Well sports fans….welcome to the worst time of the sports year.  

From the day after the Super Bowl ends to the day the NCAA tournament begins, this is where sports fans enter sports “no mans land”.  It is a yearly purgatory that we sports fans have to suffer through each and every year.

This year, this hellish period was mercifully shortened by two weeks though.  That’s the good news.  The Sochi Winter Olympic games eased us into this period, providing much needed excitement of something to watch, follow and cheer for.  Now that the closing ceremonies have come and gone though, things are looking mighty bleak.

Pitchers and catchers are just starting to report.  The NBA and NHL are at their boring midpoints, as teams begin to gear up for the stretch run.  The NFL draft is still months away, and when the combine makes for big news–you KNOW it’s a slow time of year.

So, until March Madness kicks off in a few weeks, it is my job to try to give all of you sports fans some alternatives.  We need some ways to pass the time, and now is the perfect time of the year to get those things done.  Some of you need some ideas, so I will do what I can to help.  Lord knows it won’t be long before the NCAA tourney kicks off, baseball’s regular season starts, and the NBA and NHL playoffs begin and we can all return to our mancaves, so if you are in need…here are seven sure fire ideas:

1.  Talk to our wives or significant others.  Yeah, I know guys.  This is a tough one.  I know most of you don’t care about her excitement over her new nail polish or that new blouse she bought, but this is the time to actually act like you do.  Give her that little extra attention that women all need.  Have a “date night” or two.  Romance her!  Bring her flowers “just because”.  Who knows–it may actually lead to a little bonus time in the boudoire, which is always a nice thing.  Besides, what else are you going to do?  Watch the key college hoops game between Saint Mary’s and Pepperdine?  

2.  Volunteer for a local charitable organization.  There are plenty of great organizations out there to choose from that need your help.  Big brothers and big sisters is a good one.  You get to pass the time with a local underpriveleged kid that you can regale with all of your high school sports exploits.  Do some shopping for the old folks in your neighborhood.  Instead of cheering for the Wildcats, go help out the local animal shelter with their wild cats.  Even if it’s just helping out at the local soup kitchen for the homeless, any of these things will get you through until Final Four weekend at least.

3.  Clean up around the house.  If you are anything like me, many of the rooms in your house haven’t been vacuumed since late August, so get out that Eureka and hit it.  Straighten out your closets, and purge them of all those things you never wear anymore.  Take them to Goodwill or the Salvation Army or even Savers.  Someone out there may want that old bowling shirt that you used to wear in your mens league in the 90’s.

4.  Clean out the garage.  Sure, it’s still going to be pretty cold, but you know you aren’t going to want to do it when the weather gets nicer.  Admit it, right now, you moved things around and scrunched them into every possible crevice in order to get at least one car into your two car garage last fall.  Now is the best time to get rid of a lot of it, and gussy up the remaining space.  Don’t be wistful either.  I know there are many memories associated with that rickety wooden step ladder, but it’s time has passed.  Put all the unneeded crap out on the curb for all the people driving by that want more unneeded crap.

5. Get together with friends.  Everyone has dozens of friends that they rarely see anymore.  Some of whom they probably don’t even like.  Well, your friends are your friends–like ’em or not–and now is the best time to call them up and invite them over to “catch up”.  Of course, you are going to want to tackle #3 on this list before you do, and possibly even #4.  Have a dinner party for a number of these friends if you want to get it all out of the way in one fell swoop.  Pretend that you care about their lives.  Play some gin rummy or pinocle.  Just don’t let Bob bring his famous taco dip, since it made you sick last time.

6.  Start taking your dog for walks again.  Admit it, you haven’t been a great friend to your best friend during football season.  You can’t take the dog on a walk when the Niners are playing the Packers.  Make it up to Fido now by taking him for a nice walk a few times a week.  His out of shape ass needs the workout even more than you do.  Get that pooch in shape again now, because you know you aren’t going to want to do it during those NBA and NHL playoff games.

7.  Take up a new hobby.  If you’ve never whittled a wooden horse or pipe or some other small object, you’d be surprised how relaxing it is.  I haven’t either, but that’s what I’ve been told.  Try needlepoint or macrame, but of course, don’t tell your friends.  Once you get the hang of it, it’s amazing how quickly you can put together a quilt or an afghan that you can use next football season on those cold fall days.  Or you can get into building model trains.  I know people who build such elaborate trains and settings for them, that it is like a little world inside their real world.  This will also give you something to break when your favorite college or pro football team loses next fall!

Well, you get the idea folks.  Hopefully that will get you off on the right track.  With a little imagination and thought, I am sure many of you can think of some other things to help get you through this trying time.  

Just remember, you are not alone.  We are all in this together, and with a little help, we CAN get through this.  Good luck!