Water Polo Experts

It's funny how we all become experts in the most random of sports every four years.

Olympics time is awesome because we get to watch sports that are never on except for during the Olympics: water polo, kayaking, synchronized swimming. Okay, maybe not synchronized swimming.

What is not quite as awesome is how we all become experts in each of these sports. I can remember over the years having conversations with others about results in these various sports. During these conversations, we suddenly become experts in the respective sports, noting how and why certain athletes finished the way they did.

I thought about this as I saw a poll on TV the other day, asking viewers to text in what they think Jon Daniels  (Texas Rangers General Manager) should do at the trade deadline: whether he should get a pitcher, a position player, do nothing, etc.

Seeing that got me to thinking: JD has done a pretty darn good job during his tenure to help make the Rangers the team they are today. He has pulled off some moves that no one could have seen coming. And his success has translated into unprecedented success. Who are we, as fans, to suddenly be the expert in what needs to happen to the team?

I understand what was going on: the TV poll was simply a way to get viewers to interact and to buy in to what they were watching. But things like this can easily lead us to believe that we really are experts. And when we carry that to other things, like watching the Olympics, we know everything about every sport. And then, when we make the simple connection to the way we live our lives, we become the experts on everything: not only sports and news stories . . . but also the way others live their lives.

We would do well to put a break on our expertise of things like water polo. Let's just sit back and watch . . . and enjoy.