There’s a lot to miss about sports

There is an old saying that you don’t know what you have until you don’t have it. 

That certainly applies to the world of sports during these difficult times without them. We’d love to have the things that we love to grouse about in sports right now.

There are obvious things that we miss like electric crowds and bellying up to the bar with multiple games on multiple TVs and Florida vs. Georgia in any sport.

But, right now, we miss everything, the good AND the bad. 

Or maybe that’s just me, someone who makes a living being a sports junkie.

For example:

I miss road trips to Missouri, with its awful press box that has hooks that leave you with arm bruises as you navigate your way to your seat.

I miss the way-too-long playoff reveal shows and a Heisman Trophy presentation that is about 50 minutes too long.

I miss Danny Kanell.

I miss putting out fires because of bad message board rumors.

I miss trying to figure out what is targeting and what is a catch.

I miss mound visits and pitching changes with one out to go in a blowout.

I miss throws to first when the runner is standing on the bag.

I miss FSU’s fight song, cowbells and the rooster crow at South Carolina.

I miss PGA tournaments where there is nobody I’ve heard of within three shots of the lead.

I miss strike zones that change as a game progresses.

I miss extra innings and overtime games that take you past the deadline.

I miss rain delays.

I miss TV announcers making a huge deal out of the 42nd game of a 162-game baseball season.

I miss block/charge calls.

I miss flopping in soccer and basketball.

I miss replay reviews that take forever.

I miss people telling me what they need on Monday night to win THEIR fantasy football games.

I miss people telling me about the quality of umpiring in their Little League games.

I miss three-putts, shanks, lip-outs, bad bounces and skulled chip shots.

I miss the possession arrow giving the other team the ball after your team made a great defensive play.

I miss players having to take time outs because they can’t get the ball in bounds.

I miss sportswriters complaining about free food.

I miss PA systems turned up way too loud.

I miss diva wide receivers.

I miss players pointing for first downs when they actually came up a yard short.

I miss three-yard passes on third-and-10.

I miss the three-man pass rush on Hail Marys.

I miss national talk show hosts talking about college football like they know what they are talking about.

I miss ridiculously bad calls.

I miss multiple shots of Jerry Jones in his skybox sipping Johnny Walker Blue.

I miss a hole-by-hole account of your golf round.

I miss phantom penalties.

I miss Ed Orgeron’s news conferences.

Heck, I miss Jim McElwain’s news conferences.

I miss 9.95s in gymnastics that should have been 10s.

I miss cliches coming from the mouths of student-athletes.

I miss unrealistic fan expectations and complaints about games their team won.

I miss basketball refs who think we came to the game to see them perform.

I miss polls that don’t make sense.

I missed dropped passes, air balls, errors on routine grounders, volleyball serves that never have a chance to be in, chanting from softball dugouts, dumb personal fouls, false starts, missed extra points, missed traveling violations, double faults and the tying run thrown out at the plate because a player ran through the stop sign.

I miss players being in the wrong defense.

I miss press parking in a different zip code than the stadium. And it’s raining.

I miss trying to navigate through crowds to get to the field after a game.

I miss everything about sports. I hope I remember all of this when we start back up again.

Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at pat.dooley@gvillesun.com. And follow at Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley.