Of games and gaming

My friend Babs has asked me to try and write some about video games (those of you who know Babs will not be surprised by this). I don't really consider myself much of an authority on the subject. Back in junior high/high school/college I used to play a lot of Warcraft (I and II), Starcraft and several EA Sports games (soccer, basketball, football, etc.). When I was killing time by myself in college I'd sometimes play Snood. When a bunch of us were killing time, we'd often play Bomberman. I didn't particularly enjoy Bomberman, but it was a four-player game and kind of a social outlet.

Since college ended I'm not really much into gaming, though. I'll play the occasional round of Guitar Hero (yes, it's possible, even with my finger limitations) or take the mic for a song on Rock Band. But I've avoided the World of Warcraft time vacuum. I'm not about to judge anybody who spends hours a week gaming, though. I typically spend hours a week watching sports on TV, which is similarly unproductive. You can complete a quest on Warcraft, or watch your favorite baseball team win a game, but your life is not going to change substantially in either case.

Babs has said that he doesn't understand why it's generally more socially acceptable to sit in front of a TV screen watching football for nine hours on a Sunday than it is to sit in front of a computer screen playing WoW for nine hours. I have to agree with him. Both are pretty much time wasters. And neither is usually a good way to meet women. When I think back on the amount of time I spent both watching sports and playing video games in college, I can't help but think, "Maybe that's why I didn't get many girls." Of course, there may be several other reasons, but that one's easier on the ego.

Yes, in the grand scheme of things, sports are not nearly as important as our society makes them out to be. The money involved in pro and major college sports has gotten absolutely obscene. I understand that and yet, I can't be too cynical about sports because they probably saved my life. If not for my interest in pro sports, I wouldn't have started playing them myself and I wouldn't have been nearly as active. I've never been in great physical condition, but playing sports has helped keep me reasonably healthy, especially in my heart and lungs.

I needed every bit of that cardiovascular health in the weeks following my hospitalization with bacterial meningitis. The toxins that ran through my body while I was unconscious really did a number on my internal organs. My respiration and heart rates were off the charts. It was as if I was jogging for days at a time, non-stop. Some of the nurses actually told my parents they had never seen someone keep up those rates for as long as I did. There's no way I could have done it without all those marathon sessions of pick-up basketball that I played in college. Three hours was about the average, but four or five was not unusual, especially on nights when the competition was good.

Could I have gotten the same cardiovascular benefit from going out and jogging on my own? Yes, and I probably could have gotten it in much less time. But I wouldn't have done it. I've never been much into exercise just for the sake of exercise. But if it's exercise for a competitive purpose, it's much more appealing to me. And it has been for a long time. That's one reason I still watch sports, write about sports and love sports.

I don't get the same thrill from the competitive aspect of video games. I don't know why, but I don't. So don't expect too many gaming blogs from me (sorry Babs).