Bill OBoyle: Family and friends are the sure things in life
Oct. 8—Where would we be without sports?
I don't want to know.
Sports are there when we need to get away from everything else. And even though our favorite teams and players don't always come through for us, we still watch. We want to see what they will do next.
And we will deal with the disappointment. But we will savor the victories too.
My friend Scooter, like me, is a Yankee fan. But Scooter takes it to the next level.
Get this, I am certain that Scooter will watch a Yankee game from first pitch to last and when they lose — which lately has been all too often — he will watch the replay later that same day and root again as if the Yanks have a chance to win.
That's what being a fan is all about.
But I wont dwell on the Yankees of today. I choose to hop in the Way Back Machine and return to those glory years of the '50s and '60s, when legends like Mantle, Berra, Maris, Ford, Howard, Richardson, Kubek, Boyer, Skowern, Turley, Blanchard, and more donned the pinstripes. And Casey Stengel double-talked his way to the World Series year after year.
It was great to be a Yankee fan when we played Strat-O-Matic on my front porch — talk about domination!
But here we are in 2023 and the Yankees have gone home and we are left to watch the National Pastime as teams like the Orioles, Phillies, Braves, Dodgers, Rangers, Astros, Twins and Diamondbacks battle for the big prize.
That's OK. We will watch and we will enjoy.
And as if it's not bad enough to be a Yankee fan, how 'bout dem Giants? Imagine that the New York Football Giants are the worst team in the NFL. No question about that. they have failed in every aspect of the game, making it extremely painful to watch the games. And we can't watch the game highlights because, well, there are never any Giants' highlights.
So with the absence if real football to enjoy, we turn to our Fantasy Football teams and we root for our rostered players to score. We don't care who they play for or who they play against. We don't even care if their NFL teams win or lose. We only care that they score points for our fantasy teams.
As sad and as disturbing as all that is, it sure is fun. And for fans like me and Scooter, it's really all we got these days.
And no, I did not forget about college football. Penn State is having a great season — so far. If they can get by Michigan and Ohio State, the Nittany Lions could be in the Final Four. They should handle Ohio State, who has a coach who likes to beat up on guys like former Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz, who is 86 years old. Holtz handled it well, though, saying that Ryan Day calling him out didn't really matter. He pointed out that OSU still has to beat Michigan, going right to the heart of the matter.
So that leaves Michigan for Penn State to be most concerned about. Let's hope PSU brings its A-game to that one.
And for true sports fans, we have PGA golf back every week and the NHL and NBA are in pre-season games. College basketball is not that far away either. And the WNBA finals are underway with New York Liberty facing the Las Vegas Aces.
All these sports are available for us to enjoy.
But accept them for what they are and realize they are there when you want them — but you don't need them.
This past weekend I again found the importance of family and friends, Hundreds of Happy Birthday wishes truly warmed my heart. And there were cards and voice messages — my pal Bob "The Shiv" Shivy again called to sing Happy Birthday to me — all very special moments.
And there were cakes and dinners and laughs and more memories that will, seriously, stay with me forever.
There was not a second wasted to check any scores on my phone — the focus was on the reality that true friends and family win out every time.
The point is that, yes, while we should root, root, root for the home team, we must always value what we have in our families and friends.
Unlike rooting for your favorite teams, celebrating the meaningful people in your life is a guaranteed sure thing.
Where would we be without sports?
It doesn't really matter.
Realizing we would be nowhere without our friends and family — that's what really matters.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
