To all the haters: Sport is still one of the top three things this world has to offer, trailing only great food and greater women.

You can talk about your politics, talk about your entertainment, chastise sports for its pettiness and inconsequential nature in the grand scheme of things.

But give me my sports.

I bring this up because there are plenty of people in this world who belittle sports, say people like me put way too much importance in it. In my farewell column as a sports staffer at The Daily Orange, I’d like to defend the arena of life I’ve spent two years covering here and 18 years beforehand following as a fan.

See, sports is a microcosm of life. Life is about emotion: joy, sadness, triumph, defeat, suspense, intrigue, pride, drive. You can get those all in most any sporting event. What may take years to experience in life can come in 60 minutes of sports.

Just last week, I covered the Syracuse-Manhattan men’s basketball game and got to see huge comebacks by both teams, a frantic rally by the home squad in the last minute and the kinds of clutch baskets they put on highlight films.

Granted, the game should’ve been a blowout, and it was at times pathetic to see a far superior Syracuse team stumble, but still, you pay ticket money as a fan to live those moments.

Because how often do you get to experience the type of joy in life that a Syracuse fan felt, for example, when Hakim Warrick blocked a desperation 3-pointer in the 2003 national championship? Or if as a Red Sox fan the elation and relief coursing through your veins after the 2004 World Series?

Life gives you its equivalents in things like love and births and marriages and graduations. Those can take decades to realize, if ever. Invest yourself in sports and you experience minor versions of those feelings every day.

And sports make you feel like you belong to something bigger than you, like you’re an important cog in something whose grasp you can’t begin to comprehend – same reason people believe in a religion. When a Mets fan meets a Mets fan in a bar, boom! Instant connection. Hugging a complete stranger and spilling beer all over yourself after a home run may not sound appealing, but it can damn well be enjoyable.

‘But you’re cheering for grown men who play little kids’ games and make inordinate amounts of money for doing nothing meaningful,’ you’ll say.

I say I’d rather cheer for Lebron James than Brad Pitt.

‘But sports causes trite arguments among people; people die because of sports!’ former D.O. sports editor Scott Lieber would say.

What’s caused more turmoil, Ohio St.-Michigan or Israel-Pakistan?

I mean not to preach or to convert any sports nay-sayers or condone the dark underbelly of sport that often involves drugs and corruption. I just want to defend my belief in the games we watch.

It’s happened to many a predecessor of mine at The D.O. and many other sports outlets across the country that after they’re done covering it, they can’t stand it. And I can’t blame them; there have been many times when I cursed having to cover sports and I can definitely see how a person’s soul can get sucked dry if following sports becomes a job instead of a passion.

Luckily, as my time here comes to an end I can happily say that’s not the case for me. I still get goosebumps after big buzzer beaters, still admire what Reggie Bush can do on a football field, still love grabbing a couple drinks and wings with friends for the big game.

So maybe I’m done writing about this stuff, but I’m sure not done following it. Well, maybe not the SU football team.

But I still love sports.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Mike Janela is an assistant sports editor emeritus at The Daily Orange, where his columns will no longer appear. You can e-mail him at [email protected].

Published on December 9, 2005 at 12:00 pm