“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
– Roald Dahl
We’re slipping back into that spot in the sports calendar where things start drying up for the casual or “major leagues” sports fan. When the third week of June kicks in, you’d better like baseball – which can be a tough ask around these parts – or be open to trying something new for your sporting experience. While the NFL, NBA, and all-too-soon NHL will all be into their offseasons and between camps, there is a lot of drama coming this summer, locally, nationally, and internationally to keep the drama of sport with you all summer.
Baseball
Hear me out… The Rockies have shown some signs of life in the last month they’ve been playing, including very nearly splitting four with the Dodgers this last week. And I get it, while “very nearly” counts for “very little” in the long term of the season and history, you can see several members of this team being long-term and capable major leaguers, and baseball has been more fun to watch with the purple players of late, if you’ve been weathering the storm.
Beyond that, most other leagues around you are reaching the apexes of their seasons RIGHT NOW. If you’ve missed some of the action of this years’ College World Series, you’re missing some big drama out of Omaha, and that same sensibility trickles down to a tourney I’d bet is somewhere near you.
WNBA
There’s been enough coverage from all angles this season to realize the WNBA has taken a step forward in their coverage and attention, including a record spike in viewership over 3 million during this week’s Chicago Sky/Indiana Fever contest. Rookie sensations and Conference foes Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark played their second of three games for the season, with Indiana now up in the rivalry 2-0. Beyond that one matchup, there has been a spike in viewership across the board that very much seems to be sticking. If you are a hoops fan who hasn’t at least given the WNBA a try, there’s never been a better moment to check it out.
The Other Football
Soccer is also enjoying another spike in popularity in the United States with the arrival of Lionel Messi to MLS – though he’s currently off kicking ass in the Copa América tourney, which is also running concurrently to the Euros being played in Germany. Some of the world’s finest teams competing in both events, with some high stakes outcomes still to come as both are in their early going. If you saw the highlights of Messi going head-to-head with France’s Kylian Mbappé two years ago, that’s now the drama both are generating in separate tourneys from opposite sides of the pond this time, with Mbappé already dealing with a broken nose and Messi pulling the strings on a first-round thumping of Canada. Euro tourney host Germany is looking like world beaters., which means their games are full-on rocking. There will be some of the best soccer in the world being played in the next month, one of those not-to-be-missed moments.
Golf
If you missed this last week’s US Open, you missed some of the highest drama in the sport in years, and golf’s season is truly only just beginning. While I’ll admit to not getting the allure of watching in my youth, I’d had too many friends who loved the game to not at least give it a watch. And while the hushed tones and high brow attire can make for great satire a la Happy Gilmore, it also wraps itself around one of the more dramatic sporting efforts an individual can undertake. If you approached it like me, a proud putt-putt occasional champion, you’re missing out on a skill that the very best make look effortless and still amazing. One of the most graceful games, and one that can be just as tense as a fourth-and-goal standoff.
Auto Racing
Though the ever-dramatic 24 Hours of LeMans as just passed, the full slate of four-wheels-and-go-like-hell is just getting revved up for the summer with IndyCar, NASCAR, F1, and more running in series all summer long. If you need to know if stuff like this does anything for you, there are even local events to Colorado of both a series and drag race nature that can tell you if a little vroom vroom gets your heart pumping. Dismiss it if you will, but when you need the headphones and feel the thrumming in your bones, tell me if your heart doesn’t thrill at least a little bit.
Tennis
While a terrific French Open has just recently passed us, there is so much more drama to come for long-distance pickleball this summer, including Wimbledon, the U.S Open, and…
The Olympics
Oh, yeah. Might have buried that lead. In and amongst the usual suspects for summer glory there’s a pretty big diamond in the crown of 2024, and that’s the upcoming Summer Olympics, kicking off in just over a month in Paris. With nearly three weeks of competitions and over 320 medal events, more than 10,000 athletes will compete to be amongst a very few names in their sport, and in Olympic history. Basketball, soccer, swimming, gymnastics, track, and… tennis, amongst dozens of others, bringing thousands of games. Some of sports’ greatest historic moments bubble up from these contests, and sometimes in events you had no idea you’d care about. There’s not much greater spectacle than an Olympics, and Paris is hosting their first in exactly 100 years, also becoming the second city to ever host the Games three times. Even wilder, the opening ceremonies will not be in a stadium for the first time ever, but hosted on the river Seine. Gotta catch that one, right?
(By the way, July 28th is the 2nd day of Men’s Basketball, highlighted by Serbia vs the USA. First game of the games for both teams. Joker and crew vs. LeBron, Steph, KD, Ant, AD, Book, Jrue, and Tatum. It’s like a Bruce Lee flick, but in Serbian. Tarantino should film it. I’m giddy.)
If football, basketball, and hockey are three of the four on your Sports Rushmore, then odds are good we are at least distantly related. But while some summers can be a metaphorical desert to cross in terms of diversion dopamine, I’m telling you this one looks to leapfrog its way nicely all the way back to pigskin and pucks. We’ll make it back to the land of all that is familiar, but along the way, there are some strange stops that will pack a lot of punch. In addition to the too-short list above, there are a multitude of others from rodeos to extreme sports to kayaking. Go. Explore. This summer, there are games abounding. If you’re open to a risk or three, this is going to be a long, fun sight to see.
