Booking Through Thursday--On Your Mark, Get Set....GO!

You, um, may have noticed that the Olympics are going on right now, so that’s the genesis of this week’s question, in two parts:

First:

• Do you or have you ever read books about the Olympics? About sports in general?
• Fictional ones? Or non-fiction? Or both?

And, Second:

• Do you consider yourself a sports fan?
• Because, of course, if you’re a rabid fan and read about sports constantly, there’s a logic there; if you hate sports and never read anything sports-related, that, too … but you don’t have to love sports to enjoy a good sports story.
• (Or a good sports movie, for that matter. Feel free to expand this into a discussion about “Friday Night Lights” or “The Natural” or whatever…)

During my misspent youth, I loved to play volleyball and basketball. I also loved to watch horse racing and remember fondly the times I went to the Illinois State Fair and watched harness racing in the afternoon and the horse show in the evening. A man from my small farm town was one of the farriers for the Budweiser Clydesdales. (I know, not a sport, but it's horse-related!) I can still tell you where I was when Secretariat won the Belmont, and the Triple Crown, in 1973. When I got a bit older and blew out both knees playing basketball, I became more of an armchair sports fan. I still watched horse racing, but I added figure skating to the mix. When Torvill and Dean came to Phoenix, I had a front row seat. Until I moved away, I'd spend several Sunday afternoons laying on the grass and listening to Cubs games on the radio with my grandfather. When I got a computer, something had to give because there weren't enough hours in the day to do everything. I seldom watch sports anymore, except for Phoenix Suns basketball. As for the Olympics, I stopped watching them when they started allowing pros to participate. That really went against my grain.

As for reading about sports, I have to say that I've never read any books about the Olympics. They've just never interested me. The only sports books I do read are about horse racing, both fiction and non-fiction. Lauren Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit is a marvelous book, and for once I can say the movie is just as good. (That's a rare occurrence!) I also enjoy a good sports movie like Seabiscuit or Chariots of Fire, and there's one coming out soon called The Express that sounds good.