One down, fifty-one to go...

Greetings, friends & family.

As many of you already know, my 2008 New Year's Resolution was to stop following sports completely. Cold turkey for one year.

And since one of my motivations for this improbable experiment is to write about it, I have decided to maintain a regular blog that chronicles my progress. Hopefully I can keep it interesting for you all.

The ground rules of the resolution are pretty strict. Obviously, I'm not allowed to watch any live or televised sporting events. Nor am I allowed to watch Sportscenter or any other TV sports news program. The radio is off limits, too. And finally, I'm not allowed to surf any sports related web sites or read any sports magazines.

As you all know, these are major, major changes in lifestyle for me. Following sports is pretty much my favorite leisure activity; I try to fit it in anytime I can. And not surprisingly, it takes most of my free time. I would estimate that during 2007 (like most every other year of my life) I spent an average of 10 hours per week following sports. And during football season, when I was simultaneously managing my NFL fantasy team and religiously following the Bears, I'd say it was between 20 - 25 hours per week. Living without it will be a whole new reality for me.

So in the interest of maintaining a modicum of normalcy, I have decided it's okay to talk about sports with coworkers, friends, & family. And I have accepted (enthusiastically, I might add) that some sports-related information will reach me via passive channels that are beyond my control. For example, Saturday I was at the liquor store and the clerk behind the counter had an NFL playoff game on the radio. We chatted briefly about the game while my credit card was processing. (Cheryl will probably notice me taking more frequent trips to the liquor store during the next few months....)

Considering the magnitude of the change, I would have to say that overall my first week has been very successful. I resisted the temptation to watch any of the New Year's Day and BCS football games, including my favorite, the Rose Bowl, plus last night's BCS championship game, the entire first round of the NFL playoffs, and most importantly, two Cal basketball home games against #22 USC and #5 UCLA. And I did not watch any Sportscenter or visit any of my usual sports websites. I also got a new issue of ESPN Magazine delivered to my house that I have not opened (though I did see that Dwayne Wade is on the cover).

As expected, by far the biggest test of my willpower was skipping the two Cal basketball home games. I honestly cannot recall the last time I missed Cal vs. UCLA in Berkeley. I may have missed a Trojan game over the years, but Cal vs. UCLA is sacred. Over the years our games against the Bruins (both home and away) have provided me some of the most memorable rooting experiences of my entire life.

With that as my excuse, I have to confess that I already violated the rules of the resolution a little. I allowed myself to read the Chronicle's recap of both Cal basketball games this week. I knew the outcome of both games at the time, so I figured I could just quickly dash through the articles and it would be okay. But in retrospect I know I cheated, and hopefully I can avoid that in the future.

Still, during a fabulously sports-rich week that included two of my favorite sporting events of the entire year (Rose Bowl, Cal vs. UCLA) I spent a grand total of 10 minutes being a sportsfan. Last year I probably spent 20 hours of my free time following all these same events. So overall I'd say I'm off to a solid start. It's not perfect, but I still have another 51 weeks to work out the kinks.

Until next time,
Chris