Changing Tastes

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I'm watching the MLS All-Star game on the DVR. I'm surprised by how little I care. It's not the format or the fact that it's an exhibition. I used to get very excited about these all-star games, especially since the MLS all-stars began playing against foreign clubs instead of each other. I just don't care as much about soccer as I once did. Sometimes I watch out of a sense of obligation - I'm a soccer fan, so I should see such and such game. Or maybe it's habit.

I used to soak up every moment of a soccer game, starting days earlier with the pre-game predictions and analysis. National team and DC United games were must-see. I'd watch the pregame (if there was one), the half-time show, and all the highlights several times. I saved tapes of exciting games and watched them over and over. I kept tapes of the 2002 World Cup for years, until they were soaked in a flooded basement. Early in my relationship with Betsy, I told her that, one way or another, I was going to go to Germany for the 2006 tournament, which we did together.

Now? I skip more United games than I watch. I sometimes even skip national team games, or else fast-forward to see the goals. Maybe I'm growing up, or maybe it's that I'm a dad and have a demanding job. Maybe I'm realizing that it doesn't make a lot of sense to invest emotional energy in an event where I have no control over the outcome.

Of course, I am awake at 1 a.m. watching the end of the game... on a work night. Maybe I still have some growing up to do.

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