Spring Break
Deadest Day hits home
Opinion
David A. Lucio
Issue date: 7/17/08 Section: SPORTS
The beating heart of the American pastime lies in sports. And like any good sports fan, our sports theology had a very special holiday occur Wednesday. It's known as 'The Deadest Day in Sports,' a day when almost the entire sports world stands still.
Monday played host to the homerun Derby, won 5-3 by Minnesota Twins' Justin Morneau in the final round against Texas Ranger's Josh Hamilton, who hit a record 28 homers in the first round. Tuesday was the MLB All-Star Game, won by the American League team 3-4 after a recordsetting 15 innings.
But Wednesday, the 'Deadest Day,' is the day the All-Stars had to return home. It's the day before the start of the British Open in golf and sits in a break between the completed NBA finals and the start of the Team USA Basketball Training for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Speaking of the Olympics, the opening ceremony doesn't even start until August 8, and the qualifying period for most events ended on Tuesday. Nothing Olympics-related happened Wednesday, and if it had it would be news to me.
Soccer, a sport renowned for never taking a breather, still had some international games going on. However, according to FIFA, the official Beach Soccer World Cup being held in Marseille, France, doesn't start until Thursday.
With the NFL and NHL in off-season, there's very little going on for American fans in the sports world. In fact, the WNBA hosted only two games Wednesday: Chicago at Detroit and Atlanta at Indiana.
The 21-stage Tour de France is still going on with the latest results sitting at Stage 11, but an endurance race like that has to be held over an extended period of time. To call it a single event would be like calling Homer's "Odyssey" just a poem.
So we boil it down to a select few international sporting events on Wednesday, very few of which involve any American athletes. The Deadest Day in Sports has been challenged, questioned and deteriorated over time; new emerging professional and minor league sports test the sanctity of our holiday.
So why is it a holiday? It was the veritable Easter of sporting events: an annual siesta where fans and athletes alike could catch a breath, maybe go to the park with the family, and have a nice relaxing evening.
But for those of us in the sports broadcasting community, it means almost no timely coverage, and the need to come up with completely obscure story ideas…like, perhaps, a story about The Deadest Day in Sports.
David Lucio is a senior computer science major. He can be reached at david.a.lucio@gmail.com.
Monday played host to the homerun Derby, won 5-3 by Minnesota Twins' Justin Morneau in the final round against Texas Ranger's Josh Hamilton, who hit a record 28 homers in the first round. Tuesday was the MLB All-Star Game, won by the American League team 3-4 after a recordsetting 15 innings.
But Wednesday, the 'Deadest Day,' is the day the All-Stars had to return home. It's the day before the start of the British Open in golf and sits in a break between the completed NBA finals and the start of the Team USA Basketball Training for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Speaking of the Olympics, the opening ceremony doesn't even start until August 8, and the qualifying period for most events ended on Tuesday. Nothing Olympics-related happened Wednesday, and if it had it would be news to me.
Soccer, a sport renowned for never taking a breather, still had some international games going on. However, according to FIFA, the official Beach Soccer World Cup being held in Marseille, France, doesn't start until Thursday.
With the NFL and NHL in off-season, there's very little going on for American fans in the sports world. In fact, the WNBA hosted only two games Wednesday: Chicago at Detroit and Atlanta at Indiana.
The 21-stage Tour de France is still going on with the latest results sitting at Stage 11, but an endurance race like that has to be held over an extended period of time. To call it a single event would be like calling Homer's "Odyssey" just a poem.
So we boil it down to a select few international sporting events on Wednesday, very few of which involve any American athletes. The Deadest Day in Sports has been challenged, questioned and deteriorated over time; new emerging professional and minor league sports test the sanctity of our holiday.
So why is it a holiday? It was the veritable Easter of sporting events: an annual siesta where fans and athletes alike could catch a breath, maybe go to the park with the family, and have a nice relaxing evening.
But for those of us in the sports broadcasting community, it means almost no timely coverage, and the need to come up with completely obscure story ideas…like, perhaps, a story about The Deadest Day in Sports.
David Lucio is a senior computer science major. He can be reached at david.a.lucio@gmail.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
Chas
posted 7/17/08 @ 10:19 AM CST
Wooo, the US Open golf tournament starts today? I had this weird dream about a month ago that Tiger Woods, on a busted leg, beat underdog Rocco Mediate in an eighteen hole playoff. (Continued…)
Stacey Gardner
posted 7/17/08 @ 11:13 PM CST
Man, yesterday was horrible. I started to watch Sportscenter this morning and had to shut it off. The hosts were almost pleading "Don't turn the TV off! We have a new development in the Brett Favre story! Favre! Brett! Please don't turn it off!"
mick
posted 7/18/08 @ 12:18 AM CST
wow referencing homer and home run in the same article,, why not bring up the mexican holiday of the dia de muertos (day of the dead, the day after holloween)that would have been cool. (Continued…)
Missa
posted 7/18/08 @ 9:31 AM CST
Great play on words. I liked the article. Good sign of an honest writer to admit when he has made a mistake...an honest error. Keep the articles coming!
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