I can only compare my own experiences from the past and the present, which feels kind of limited or subjective.
The weirdest thing may be how, until maybe the age of when your friends start playing Little League, I had hardly any exposure to sports or knowledge about them. My dad might have been watching the Super Bowl games, but it was by himself, or he didn't include me. We weren't going outside to catch a baseball or throw a football. Prior to maybe 1994, I wasn't following the World Cup. Any time before 1996, it's hard to remember watching the Olympics on TV (but maybe they weren't broadcasting all of the events?).
Even though I didn't play in Little League, summer would come, and I'd somehow pick a sports camp as an activity, if that makes sense. They knew my position: right field.
Around middle school, I can remember seeing enough games to try to debate with classmates whether Patrick Ewing was a top 3 center in the NBA. Looking back now, I don't know how you put anybody ahead of Shaq. During that same era, there was Hakeem Olajuwon, who was about 7 feet, but moved like a ballet dancer, and could steal the ball or block a shot on defense. I didn't see as much of David Robinson as Ewing, but it would be close between those two.
Also, in middle school, it might have been a coincidence, but our area's local teams started competing for championships. The Knicks made the Finals twice in the 1990s (but lost, and haven't been close in the past 15 years). The Rangers got their first Stanley Cup in something like 54 seasons (and only one Finals loss since that time). I didn't like the Devils, but they hit their peak in my early 20s. I KNEW these players, at least by name. Now I could turn a game on and be asking, "Who is Wojtek Wolski?"
I was trying to think of how or why things have changed in the major sports leagues over my lifetime. I may not have realized it back in the 1990s, but not all of the teams existed yet in MLB, the NBA, the NFL, or the NHL. Is the talent more "diluted" across all these expansion teams?
At some point, sports started to cross over into video games. You know you're going to hold my attention if you convert something into a video game - and at least some of those franchises were high quality or fun. I mean, with "NBA Jam," I didn't need to live in Minnesota to be aware of Tom Gugliotta. There were maybe 50 total players in the game (or less than 100 in the "sequels"), which could be easier to memorize.
If you take just one sport, like baseball, I used to "hoard" (I mean collect) the cards. So, that kind of became something social I could do with friends (although I rarely wanted to give up a Mike Piazza rookie card in a trade). If I were thinking about the current set of players in Major League Baseball, I might ask, "Who is the 2016 version of Ken Griffey, Jr.?" Then I'd draw a blank. It's kind of like, if there was anyone even close to Griffey playing baseball right now, would that cheapen the uniqueness of his career or how he played the game? I didn't just see him on a field. There was a baseball movie where he made a cameo. He kept wearing his cap backwards in the home run derby, and wasn't swinging hard at all. There was just an "uppercut" motion to his swing.
When I think of someone playing shortstop, it basically has to be Cal Ripken, Jr. or Alex Rodriguez (who may have played more total games at third base than at SS as his career progressed). They're about my height (I'm at least 6'4", but haven't measured in a while to verify), probably a larger build, and that's somewhat strange for shortstops. I think they're supposed to be more compact guys who can cover the whole "gap" between second and third base, while not always hitting 30 home runs as a batter. I guess the best SS in MLB now is named Troy Tulowitzki? I still wouldn't put him at the Ripken or A-Rod level.
So, a bunch of ideas there. In terms of the NFL, what I wonder is how much the actual game itself has changed. It may have happened in baseball, too, now that teams can keep records of where a batter usually hits the ball, or if he's able to reach pitches on a certain part of the plate. With football, I don't remember watching a ton of it in middle school or high school, but just in looking at the stats, they seem totally different.
You know how the 49ers or Bill Walsh are credited with developing the "West Coast offense"? It feels like EVERY NFL team can run that offense now, on both coasts or no coast at all. How is Blake Bortles around the same level in fantasy value as a Tom Brady or an Aaron Rodgers? Those other two guys have played longer, but they also have playoff wins and Super Bowl rings. Cam Newton got credit for 45 total TDs last (regular) season (I'm not sure about more in the playoffs), and it didn't translate into a Super Bowl title.
Basically, is the game changing just to get more people excited about fantasy, or even taking away the skill of playing in fantasy leagues? Who is the best running back you can draft? Currently, they won't let most of these guys run with the ball more than 200 times in a season. That almost guarantees that you might not see a lot more 2,000 yard seasons (unless somebody averages 10 yards per carry). The magic age seems to be 30 as a running back, and then you start to decline. I guess I saw that, even from someone like a Ladainian Tomlinson or a Marshall Faulk. Somehow, not Emmitt Smith (they say he rarely got touched or tackled), and Barry Sanders retired near his peak.
I don't know the exact figures, but when I was looking up QBs with 30 TDs for fantasy rankings or a draft strategy, it's almost easier to ask who DIDN'T throw 30 TD passes last year?!! That doesn't seem "normal" over the history of the NFL. I forget if Andy Dalton missed any games, but for him to "only" have 25 or 26 seems weird. At some point, if 30% or 40% of the guys in the league can throw 600 times for 4,000 yards, what is a Pro Bowl season?
I forget if those were all the observations. There are sports where I'm not as knowledgeable: pro wrestling. It just seems like their popularity is down, or the characters aren't as memorable? There's one guy, "CM Punk," who is trying to transition to UFC. It sounded weird to me when a reporter kept referring to that wrestler as "Punk" in an interview. I do watch some UFC, which surprises me, because I'm not really into beating the crap out of another human. I'm mostly trying to figure out how you can tell who is a "good" fighter in that sport. There can be rounds where it just looks like a stalemate of them dancing around and hugging against the fences of the ring. Then, you'll see someone suddenly win with one kick that doesn't get blocked.
How can I sum all of that up? The factors that I thought were helpful in me starting to like sports:
Other kids were talking about them
(Now: I'm probably done with education, so it would have to be coworkers or other social contacts talking about them.)
The local teams were playing well
(Now: The Nets are bad. The Knicks are mediocre or bad. The Mets just lost a World Series. The Rangers lost a recent Stanley Cup. The Giants are still trying to get back to the playoffs.)
I watched the games, or there was good TV coverage
(Now: I still get the channels which show the local games, but rarely tune in.)
I knew player names
(Now: Who plays second base for the Mets?)
The leagues were smaller
(Now: Unless you're talking about the WNBA or MLS, these leagues are huge.)
The teams and players were in video games
(Now: Madden gets accused of releasing an unpolished game just because nobody else can use the NFL license. I still play the "NBA Jam" reboot sometimes. Other than that, I rarely play an NHL game, or "The Show" [but I do plan to, since I have the PS4 game].)
I used to collect the cards
(Now: Which stores sell the cards?)
Ideas about why I'm starting to lose interest:
"Once-in-a-lifetime" players eventually retire
(Then, when will you ever see them play at that level again? )
The game is played differently, because of "analytics." Here's a weird example from basketball. You can get more possessions by trying to shoot the ball in 10 seconds or less. Never mind if that's ugly to watch or looks like chucking shots for no reason. Somehow, the more possessions you get, the higher your number of points per 100 possessions. Also, a three-pointer is worth more "points-per-possession," even if you're only able to score them 40% of the time. Out of five possessions, let's say two 3-point shots go in, and three others miss. You scored 6 total points, and had the ball five times (1.2 points/possession). Unless another team can make three two-point shots out of every five possessions (60% field goals), they will fall behind in the score. Even when you're wide open practicing, it's hard to score 60% of your shots besides lay ups, free throws, or dunks, so imagine if someone was actually guarding you on defense.
And then, I wonder if the NFL stats are based on the popularity of fantasy football. After a while, it seems to take away the "skill" of playing fantasy (assuming there was much skill when the league had a higher run to pass ratio).
Yikes! I just saw how I've been typing for at least an hour.
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WWE 2K18 ROSTER & MATCH TYPES | ||||
If you see multiple of the same name, it just means different versions that can be in the ring together. Names highlighted in blue are Cruiserweights | ||||
1 Up Man Adam Cole Aerostar Aiden English AJ Styles Akam Akira Tozawa Albert Aleister Black Alexander Wolfe Andrade "Cien" Almas Andre The Giant Angelo Dawkins Animal Apollo Crews Ariya Daivari Arnold T101 Austin Aries B Brian Blair Bam Bam Bigelow Baron Corbin Barron Blade Batista '10 Beautiful Bobby Eaton Big Boss Man '91 Big Boss Man '99 Big Cass Big E Big Show Big Show '00 Bo Dallas Bobby Fish Bobby Roode Booker T Braun Strowman Bray Wyatt Bret Hart '97 Bret Hart '98 Brian Kendrick British Bulldog Brock Lesnar Brutus Beefcake Bryan Danielson Buddy Roberts Butch Cactus Jack '92 Cactus Jack '98 Captain Jobber Cedric Alexander Cesaro Chad Gable Chris Jericho |
Chris Jericho '00 Christian Col Sanders Cole Quinn Curt Hawkins Curtis Axel Daniel Bryan Dark Link Darren Young Dash Wilder DDP '92 DDP '98 Dean Ambrose Dennis Condrey Diesel Doc Louis Dolph Ziggler Donatello Drago Drew Gulak Drew McIntyre Dude Love Dusty Rhodes Earthquake Eddie Guerrero Edge El Mago Elias Enzo Amore Epico Colon Eric Young Erick Rowan Fandango Finn Balor Finn Balor Demon The Godfather Goldberg Goldust Gorgeous George Gran Metalik Greg Valentine Hawk Heath Slater Hideo Itami Hurricane Jack Gallagher Jake Roberts Jason Jordan JBL Jeff Hardy Jey Uso Jim Brunzell |
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Neville Nick Miller No Way Jose Noam Dar Noob Saibot Oney Locan Optimus Prime Otis Dozovic Papa Shango Pentagon Jr Pete Dunne Primo Colon Prince Puma R-Truth Randy Orton Randy Savage Raphael Razor Ramon Reptile Retro Rick Rey Fenix Rey Mysterio Rezar Rhyno Ric Flair '88 Ric Flair '91 Rich Swann Rick Martel Rick Rude Ricky Morton Ricky Steamboat '91 Ricky Steamboat '94 Rikishi Rob Van Dam '06 Robert Gibson The Rock The Rock '01 Roddy Piper Roderick Strong Roman Reigns Rusev Sami Zayn Samoa Joe Sawyer Fulton Scorpion Scott Dawson Scott Hall Seth Rollins Shane McMahon Shane Thorne Shao Khan Shawn Michaels '97 |
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Bobby Heenan Lana |
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SUPER SMASH BROS. ROSTER & SETTINGS | |||
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BATTLE TYPES TIME BATTLE: All characters battle for a set amount of time scoring one point per KO and LOSING one point each time they are KO'ed. STOCK BATTLE: All characters have a set number of lives and when they run out, they're done. When combined with a time limit whomever has more lives left when time runs out wins. COIN BATTLE: For 2-4 characters ONLY! Coins are knocked out of characters as they battle. After a fixed time limit whomever has the most coins wins. SETTINGS TIME LIMIT: Can be from 1 to 15 minutes. |