Author Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist
One of the joys of this sports writing job is having the ability to travel far and wide over the years, meeting fans from all over the world.
The more you do, the more you realize that those of us who love sports are often cut from the same cloth.
Of course, the languages and pronunciation of the actual games we follow may be different. Yes, American fans are used to paying high prices that would make those from abroad swoon. Indeed, many from these shores will not have their heads around cricket, just as many Belgians or South Africans are confused by the movements of the gridiron.
But know that we beat the same songs, the same frustrations, we crave the same results, and we are moved by the same emotional issues, whether we are an American basketball fan, a Brazilian soccer fan, a German auto racing fan, a New Zealand rugby diehard, a baseball connoisseur. Japanese baseball, etc.
What happens, is that we work to a very different calendar, which is brought home by the stability of American sports.
Over the years, the events here are endless and sometimes overwhelming. There is a lot of overlap, but from September to the middle of each year, I always feel that something very important is happening.
The football season is short enough that each NFL game week brings several games that are important to the entire campaign schedule. From the Super Bowl, sports attention turns to the Daytona 500 and the NBA All-Star Game. From there it’s a short jump to March and all the crazy college hoops that happens. And then to Opening Day and the Masters, then the long NBA and NHL seasons.
Since the Golden State Warriors (Jun. 16) and the Colorado Avalanche (Jun. 26) have raised their pieces of silver, however, they have been sleeping a little in domestic events. The NBA Summer League has some fun, but this one only focuses on the top prospects.
The MLB All-Star entertainment offers you the opportunity to welcome, with the special beauty of Shohei Ohtani, the undisputed show on Tuesday (8 pm ET on FOX and the FOX Sports program), including well-known talent such as Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, and good choices. Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera.
Once Tuesday night is over, however, the start of NFL training camp will be days away, leaving seven empty Sundays on the way to the latest level of football heartbreak.
While it may seem quiet in the US, it’s not like that everywhere. Think about what the European fan has been through in the last few weeks. In tennis, the French Open went quickly to Wimbledon, respectively won by the men’s legends (Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) and the famous and surprising on the women’s side (Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina).
In Europe, they carry it in the summer.
Last weekend brought the Open Championship of golf to its famous place and spiritual home, St. Andrews in Scotland. It was a reminder that sometimes the story is unexpected. A final round that looked like a clash between the likes of Rory McIlroy and rising star Viktor Hovland turned into the best Australian pro Cam Smith, who rolled in birdie after birdie to shoot 64 and claim his first major.
If Smith makes a quick transition to LIV Golf, as appears to be the case, then the league will have a new star to add to its already strong roster.
The end of the Tour de France, the most famous cycling race in most of the central European countries, is where the great battle between the reigning champion Tadej Pogacar and the current leader Jonas Vingegaard is coming to an end.
A week after this, football will be in full swing again, with the start of the English Premier League and the German Bundesliga on Aug. 5, followed a week later by Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A.
In fact, geography is very important in sports. The phenomenon of television and streaming means that if there is a game going on somewhere in the world, you can find a way to watch it without difficulty.
However, it is a well-established fact that viewers prefer to watch what is happening in their own country. The UFC found this out a few years back, when their pay-per-view shows in the US were much bigger than what was happening overseas, even though they were made to coincide with the American prime time. He could not understand why.
There is no counting what sports fans do in the name of what they love. It is a type of disease that, fortunately, has no known cure.
When the game happens, everything makes sense. When there is a quiet period, like the one happening in the US right now and for a while, things seem to be going well. We find ourselves doing weird things, like talking about the weather or buying things we don’t want, or doing chores that never get done.
The good news is that the busiest time is ahead. It’s something to be thankful for, and I’m happy to remind you, but an apology is also in order. This episode started out with the intention of giving an answer to the dead time, but we see nothing.
Unless you want the NBA playoffs to be discussed but not available to play in July? Either the NFL season is extended three weeks (good luck getting this from the Players Association) or NASCAR drastically shortens its regular season and starts the playoffs now, nothing will work.
Mission failed there. I’m sorry for that, only the following as an excuse.
It’s the quiet days of summer. When the games go away, we all go away from our games.
Martin Rogers is a reporter for FOX Sports and a columnist for FOX Sports Insider. Yyou can subscribe to the daily newsletter here.
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