Milestones keep interest alive

I don’t pretend to show interest in sports that aren’t for me.

As much as I like covering all of these sports in the county, I enjoy watching football the most.

But one thing that will always have me hooked are milestones, regardless of sport.

On Saturday, I turned my TV to the Belmont Stakes to see if American Pharoah (yes, that’s the way the owner spelled the name) can become the first horse since 1978 to sweep the Triple Crown races.

I watched and American Pharoah absolutely dominated. It was amazing to watch. There was no chance that any horse was going to beat American Pharoah. About a minute after it was done, I sent a text to my best friend Billy and my brother Josh.

“K. Done with horse racing for another year lol”

Billy’s reply?

“Yup”

Having the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years pulled me in for the entirety of one race. But does it make me interested in watching horse racing for the rest of the year? Not at all.

But let’s say next year there’s another horse that’s vying for the Triple Crown sweep. Would I come back and watch the Belmont Stakes?

You bet, milestones are awesome to watch.

Another example of this is baseball.

Milestones, or rather, records, are what makes baseball interesting.

I played little league baseball up until I was 12, then I stopped. My dad and two brothers are bigger baseball fans than I am. Sure, I can turn on a game and watch a few innings, maybe even an entire game. But it’s very unlikely without having some sort of interest to it.

I don’t even watch the World Series unless something historical is happening.

But perfect games or no hitters? That’s where you got me hooked. Record-breaking games as well.

When Alex Rodriguez gets close to that home run record, I’ll be watching.

Again, it’s the milestone thing that gets me hooked.

There’s something about an athlete doing something only a few have been able to do that makes me want to sit there, watch it happen and then retell the story later.

When someone asks you, “where were you when this happened?” it’s fun having that answer and retelling the story.

I wasn’t into soccer until my college years. Now I love it. So when news broke that Gonzales was adding a soccer program, I was ecstatic. After all, that was another milestone that I got to witness.

Everybody wants to be a part of something. Watching a sport that doesn’t necessarily interest you, but has something awesome happening can be fun.

That’s why it’s important to pay attention to milestones, regardless of sport. Doesn’t have to be football.

Maybe this upcoming year, a record will be broken, a milestone will be reached or better, maybe a championship? I’ll be paying attention. Hopefully, the community does too.