Last Sunday afternoon, I turned on ESPN, which was airing a professional bowling tournament.

Hmmmm, I thought. If ESPN is showing bowling, what's on ESPN2?

Answer: The Killerspin Extreme Table Tennis Championship from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. I watched, totally engrossed, as Grecian Kalinikos Kreanga crushed Korean Kim Taek Soo 11-6, 11-9, 11-7. This ain't the ping-pong you played in your grandparents' basement. World-class table tennis features blistering action, with players smashing the ball from fifteen feet behind the table; amazing athletes displaying unbelievable reflexes in close-up action; and hot chicks.

I like unusual sports. I hold a season ticket for the Colorado Mammoth, a professional lacrosse team. During my flight to London last December, I eagerly watched highlights from the Rugby World Cup in Australia. While the rest of America watches gymnastics and basketball during the Athens Olympics this summer, I'll be searching for team handball and badminton coverage. I love watching people who have trained their entire lives to excel in some obscure activity.

(I realize, by the way, that some of these sports are popular elsewhere and are "unusual" only to Americans. Well, fine -- I'm an American, and rugby and badminton are unusual to me, and you can kiss my ass.)

+posted by Lawrence @ 3/13/2004 11:00:00 PM