Maybe not so much these days, but I enjoy watching sports.
The only reason I don't do as much of it these days is simply because it takes a lot for me to get hyped about certain sporting events.
Since I don't have a favorite NBA team, nor do I consider myself a college basketball fanatic, there's a lot that needs to be done to get me psyched up for an individual game.
This will change in the coming weeks.
I love the frenzy of March Madness. I am a baseball junkie.
Big events -- the Masters, the Kentucky Derby, the Final Four -- will have me riveted.
I've been reading a lot these last few days about the so-called "politicization" of sports television, this knee-jerk reaction to sports personalities supposedly interjecting their opinions on social matters or topics of discussion that might not be relevant for us supposed sports fans.
People don't like it when they feel like "their stupid" is being infringed upon.
"I like sports. I don't want to hear about politics or anything else for that matter while I'm watching sports."
This seems to be the growing sentiment I hear more and more regarding cable television networks that primarily air sports programming.
Namely ESPN.
It's been rumored for months, but word officially came down this week that ESPN was going to be announcing massive layoffs of "on-air talent" in the coming weeks.
No one likes to see anyone lose a job. When I hear of layoffs, I remember a great quote from a former colleague of mine, "I don't want it to happen to anybody, but if it has to be anybody, let it be anybody other than me."
I'm quite certain most people feel the same way about layoffs. No one wants to hear about them or think about the ramifications of them.
But what I read yesterday in many of the comment sections - always a good place to get the most rational reactions to most things - about these layoffs was that these people deserved to be laid off.
I read a "glowing" dissertation about a recent ESPN: The Magazine article in which the commenter rails on and on about Black Lives Matter, white privilege and cop-killers.
I read the same article this commenter was referencing, and there's no mention of any of those things in said article.
And then came this gem, from another unhappy consumer:
When ESPN became the face of political correctness in sports, they didn't just lose me, they lost millions of viewers, I'm glad to see them suffering the consequences of their actions.
The reality is this.... If I want to watch a basketball game, a baseball game, a football game, I want to enjoy myself. I don't want to be reminded of a civics lesson I was first introduced to in college, nor do I want the murky world of politics and political correctness invading my ability to enjoy my "stupid".
ESPN is not laying off on-air talent who have an opinion. They're making a series of calculated business moves that reflect the changing scope of how we consume stupid.
The ability to watch games on multiple platforms, be it Sling TV, Twitter and the like have made it easier for fans to splinter themselves off and watch only what they want.
But that's not helping the overall cause. We can isolate ourselves all we want from the outside world. We can choose to be complacent, only wanting the "facts" we want to hear, the "news" we want to take in or the "opinions" which best reflect our own.
But mass media doesn't work that way.
It's been a big business for a long time, and people are clearly spiraling off into every direction available to them so they can remain safely inside their own protected bubble.
And while that may be great for you as a consumer, it doesn't help the overall view of a world that is ever-changing, ever-expanding and in more need than ever for dissenting, smart opinions and intelligent dialogue.
The business of mass media is changing, and clearly not for the better.
This is a topic that isn't going away anytime soon, and one we hope to cover more of in the coming days and weeks to come.