Have you ever loved or wanted something so much that you would do anything to pursue it? If so, I think we can all agree it is a blessing and a curse. For me, that thing was and always has been sports. Whether it was growing up playing hockey, setting my work schedule around when certain games were happening, knowing every stat imaginable, collecting any memorabilia I could get my hands on, constantly discussing what's going around different leagues with people in my inner circle, or what I am doing now, trying to make a name for myself by writing about sports and consistently sharing my articles online. Sports for a long have been the central force that has shaped my life, as it is pretty much all the content I take in on a daily basis.
However, lately I’ve started to wonder, should it scare me how much my world revolves around them? I wouldn't say it is a question that has ever kept me up at night, but as I get older, it is definitely something I find myself at times thinking about.
For example, is it good for my mental health that I have one passion that consumes so much of my time, and energy? Do I enjoy being known as "the sports guy" by my friends even though I never played or covered anything at an extremely high level that gives me the creditability you may be looking for in a sports writer? Or lastly, have I officially crossed the line from super passionate to very obsessed? Or have I been over that line all these years?
Some people may be wondering why I love sports so much. I have many reasons, but I think the main one is competition. I have always been a passionate and competitive person when I am doing or chasing something I care about. Sure, I played hockey a ton growing up, but even then, when I wasn't on the ice, a lot of the time, I found myself needing some type of competition to be going around me, even if I wasn't participating. Maybe that is why I love debating sports so much. My friends and I could be discussing the latest games or giving takes, maybe that was considered an outlet for me to get some sense of competition in, especially after I stopped playing hockey consistently. However, as I said earlier, I also enjoy watching or listening to others do that very same thing. A lot of the time, I find myself constantly watching or listening to others debate sports, or just watching the best athletes go head-to-head. I need competition in some form to feel truly engaged or simply avoiding boredom.
To continue, does this obsession or passion for competition and sports worry me? Well, I believe the answer is a two-parter.
When it comes to the people already in my life, like my friends and family who have known me for years, I like to think that they understand how much sports mean to me and how they are a big part of who I am. I don’t feel like they’d ever shun me out for this, but I would get it if it could be a bit much for them at times. That being said, the concern does somewhat start to kick in when I think about the future, one example being, if or when I eventually have a partner in my life.
Truthfully, I do have some concerns about how they might feel about my love of sports and how much they matter to me. Would it be weird for them? Would they be overwhelmed? If I ever had kids, would I pressure them into loving sports? Would those new people in my future life understand that keeping up with or watching sports is not just a hobby for me? As I've said before, I want to be one of, if not the biggest sports media personalities in Canada, so sports will forever be a huge part of my life and covering them is something I want my life's work to be. I would hope they could understand that this was my first love and I will do anything to chase my dream, I do know eventually that I will need to find a way of compromising it for the right person when they come into my life.
So to answer the titled question, "Does it scare me how much my life revolves around sports?", Not yet, but does it worry me that I have trouble turning off that "off-switch" when it comes to it? Yes.
Also, it does somewhat bother me that I am not passionate about anything like I am with sports besides maybe fitness or being active (which is somewhat related). I do sometimes wonder how I could develop other interests or find new outlets for myself if sports ever went away somehow. But I do recognize that sports will forever be a big part of who I am. Sports and competition are not just a passing interest for me, at this point, the love of it is in my DNA. So I realize that I do struggle with finding balance or turning off that previously stated "off-switch", but, I do think that having a passion for anything, in this form, is rare, so in that form people may consider me lucky. Hell, some people go their whole lives not knowing what they want to do or searching to be as passionate about something like I am for sports, so at the end of the day, while it may be frustrating not just me, but for hose around me, I think we can all also agree, that maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all, as this love has allowed me to stay on a narrow path and having something to chase every day.
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