Sports and the World Traveler

My sister joined the Air Force at about the age of 20, and as soon as was possible requested an assignment overseas, and she's been overseas ever since - first in England, then in Japan, and now in Germany. (She met her husband in England, and the story of their meeting, separation, re-unification and marriage has always struck me as the perfect plot for a romance novel, but since this article is about me, and not them, I won't share it with you.)

My sister has been kind enough to invite me to visit her on a regular basis, and since I live with her it cuts down drastically on such things as food and hotel bills, so I can afford to stay for months. Thus, I have the leisure time to sit around and relax, reading books and watching television if I feel like it, which is a luxury that the harried tourist who has only a couple of weeks in which to pack everything in, does not possess.

One thing I watch is sports.

I've always been in to sports - I played softball as a kid, still play tennis, and of course I bike everywhere that it is possible to bike. I refuse to support millionaire players by buying tickets to games, but I watch plenty of professional baseball, football, and to a lesser extent basketball, on TV.

When I first visited England, my goal was to see a lot of plays in the West End, and visit lots of historical sites - such as any site that had a connection to Richard III (a particular favorite of mine). But there was some kind of ‘Test Match' happening while I was there - the British and the Australians were dueling it out in the game of cricket, and it caught my interest. I won't say I ever understood the complexities of the game…or that it was especially fun to watch, but it was fascinating to watch…basically because of the "bowlers" - the equivalent of the pitcher in baseball.