Why We Are Here

This was the first column I wrote for the UW-L Racquet almost two years ago. Most of the items discussed in this column still apply today and some don't. I will post the column in its original form and then write the few changes I would make to have it apply today. I know it is weak of me to reprint a column I wrote for something else, but fear not, this is just something to get all of you by until I post a new column later on this afternoon. Until then, enjoy.


The other day I was sitting in my room watching TV. I wasn’t really paying attention to what was on, and my mind started wandering.

I started pondering the question, “Why are we here?” Well, here’s what I came up with:

We’re here to watch Michael Jordan lace his shoes up for the last time and hope he gives us a chill once more, to root for the Cubs every April and say, “Wait until next year” every June.

Most of us are here to hate the Yankees, Duke, the Red Wings, Vikings, and NASCAR.

We’re here to hope Brett stays one more season so we can watch him do something we will never see again.

To watch an American win France’s national event for a 5th and 6th straight time before he lets anyone else even have a chance.

We’re here to have one game winning opportunity and fail, to cheer for the underdog every March, even though we don’t know where Creighton is or what a Saluki is.

We’re here to watch a 65 yard Hail Mary get tipped and caught in the end zone for the win.

We’re here to watch on Sundays in the summer and wait for Tiger to hit a shot like only Tiger can, and watch Phil choke like only Phil can.

To watch football on Sundays in the fall and wait for FOX and CBS to update the other games so we know how our fantasy team is doing.

We’re here to finally realize that what we did in sports in high school only matters to ourselves, to watch the Trailblazers fade every April, to pass judgment on players we don’t even know just based on what we see on Sportscenter.

We’re here to witness the joy on Serena’s face as she overpowers everyone else, and witness the defeat on Venus’ face as she overpowers everyone but Serena.

To see Barry break Hank’s record, to see Kobe and T-Mac go head to head like Larry and Magic, and to lose at least $100 on a game.

We’re here to quietly watch the heroes we had as children get old, out of their prime, give us one more moment of magic, and then retire. To celebrate when a team we haven’t cheered for all year wins the Super Bowl.

We’re here to watch “The Red River Shootout”, Duke/UNC in basketball, Boston/New York in anything, Gonzaga/Pepperdine in basketball, and Michigan/Ohio State in football.

We’re here for 7 overtimes, a 2nd string quarterback beating the number one team in the nation, a 20 K game, a reliever come in and blow two straight World Series games, 4th and 20 in the fourth quarter and they’re going for it, game 7, a 15 foot double breaker for the Master’s, bottom 9- 2 out- perfect game, the Final Four.

We’re here for all of this, but above all; to remember it and get that feeling we had back when we saw it all for the first time.



There it is. I would obviously forget the Jordan reference as well as Phil choking, Tiger's shots, and Serena and Venus. Here is what I would add today for those sections...

We are here to watch a young man mature and see if he will eventually replace Michael Jordan as the best basketball player ever. To watch in the summer as Phil gets cheered like no one else and Tiger trys to regain his shot and dominate again like no one else. We're here to see Serena and Venus take their defeats and come back to beat the young Russians and dominate the rest of the women's tour again, and to watch LeBron and Carmelo go head to head like Bird and Magic.

That's what I would write now, and may not even write anything about the Williams sisters. It's the Sharapova era now, let's all bask in it. Like I said, this is just to tide all of you over until this afternoon.

-Until next time...