Without a doubt, football reigns supreme as the most popular sport in America today. In the last month, the “grand finales” of both the college football and NFL seasons ran their course, providing us with a crowned champion in each respective league. But now that football, the supreme king of American sports today, is over, many football fans will unfortunately have to deal with their own symptoms of “football withdrawal.” Each fan will be counting down the days until the next significant football event, the NFL Draft, before eventually salivating over the idea of football returning this fall.
Luckily, there are plenty of sporting options not only immediately available, but also coming in the near future.
After a lengthy, dreadful lockout, the NBA season is finally in full swing. The NBA All-Star Game will take place on Feb. 26 and will likely be the highlight of the All-Star break. There are plenty of story lines this season to draw your interest as well. Will Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard or New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams be traded before the trade deadline? If so, where to? Can LeBron James finally win his first NBA championship in year two with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami? A lot of questions are yet to be answered, and better yet, a lot of basketball is yet to be played.
The NHL, despite receiving no love from ESPN, is also in mid-season form. Many fans, especially those in Pittsburgh, are wondering whether we’ll see the return of Sidney Crosby this season again following his latest concussion. Time will also tell whether the New York Rangers can stay on their hot streak and make a run towards the Stanley Cup at the seasons end. Better yet, can the Boston Bruins repeat as back-to-back champions?
Lastly, as far as professional sports go, baseball season is right around the corner. It might seem early to start mentioning the word “baseball” to most sports fans, but considering the fact that spring training starts as early as Feb. 18 for some teams, baseball season really is closer than it seems.
You see? There is hope, football fans. We’re all surrounded by sports on a daily basis, so jump off the diving board and delve into a new sport to hold you over for a few months until football returns.
However, if you’re just a football fiend and none of those other sports interest you, you’re just out of luck. Plain and simple. The only good news for you is, at least the warm weather returns soon, right?
