1 of 2: I love sports

I woke up at 5am this morning. By choice. I know, I know... I'm crazy. A friend needed a ride to the airport so Matt and I drove him to Sacramento at 6am. Before going to pick him up, Matt and I watched the very end of the Federer vs. Nadal final of the Australian Open. I have to say, I wasn't a fan of tennis until my brother started playing. Apparently for me to like something I have to feel like I'm involved, so there you go. Anyway I've never exactly been a fan of Nadal, but Roger Federer has seriously grown on me. I could never put my finger on why that is, until this morning. Federer lost the match this morning in 5 sets and he was a very very good loser. He congratulated Nadal for a well played match, that he deserved to win. All of this, of course, came in his second speech as the first one didn't go well. He couldn't stop tearing up and trying to catch his breath. This is when I realized why I like Roger Federer, and sports in general.

I couldn't tell why Federer was crying. He was obviously sad about losing the match, but Nadal wasn't crying with happy tears over winning. Then I figured it out: passion. I love sports because it involves passion and those who play for money and not passion do not get, nor do they deserve, my support. Roger Federer could not contain his emotion after a very difficult match and yet couldn't stop congratulating Federer. Now there's an athlete I can support. I now realize that this is why I love any sport. I love my A's because they've always been a fun-loving team. They make it fun for the fans and they have no problem making a fool of themselves to make the catch in a game or make a commercial that leaves me laughing (the dobermans were my favorite). I like Roger Federer because he can show emotion and compassion at the end of a very long week of tough matches. Even when he loses he has nothing but nice things to say about his opponent, and you can tell he really means it. I don't see that from Nadal.

So thank you, Roger Federer, for making things so clear to me. I really hope I get to see you play live one year, and you better believe I will scream until I get your autograph. Because I'm that cool.

So how about that Super Bowl today, huh? WOW.