Could I Have Scripted A Better Day?

Thursday morning, 8:39 a.m., my cell phone rang:

Eric: "Hey Neil, can you take tomorrow morning off?"

Neil: "Wow, I'd sure like to but I've been busy at work, so probably not. What's going on?"

Eric: "I just won tickets to go see Mike and Mike In The Morning."

Neil: "What time should I meet you?"


We were told we had to be at the Texas Motor Speedway by 4:30 am. It takes about 45 minutes to drive there from Eric's house. It takes me about 1:15 to drive from my house to Eric's house. It takes me about 25 minutes to get dressed in the morning. After factoring in extra drive-time, I set the alarm for 1:30 am.

At 9:30, I went to bed. At 10, everybody in the world decided to call me.

I have never had a problem with going to sleep. Generally, I can get in bed, turn on the tv, and within 30 minutes or so be sound asleep.

The problem for the past 15 years or so is waking up and falling back asleep. I didn't fall asleep until almost 11 after watching the Louisville/West Virginia game.

For the past couple of years, I've watched Mike and Mike while getting dressed. More often than not, however, I'll watch SportsCenter to catch up all the games from the previous night.

The two Mikes (Golic and Greenberg) are different in every respect, save one.

Golic is a Notre Dame alum and former professional football player. He wears jeans and comfortable shirts. He's tall, has dark hair, is a monstrous person, and doesn't talk a lot. He's a Man's Man.

Greenberg is a journalist. He wears button-down shirts and trousers. He's short, has light hair, is of normal build, and cannot stop talking to save his life. He's a metrosexual.

Both men, however, love sports. They love discussing, dissecting, and above all, debating sports.

For the past 10 years or so, I've thought about what would be the coolest profession in the world. For the longest time, my two options were golfer or baseball pitcher.

I've added a third - sports radio talk show host.

Where else can one get paid to talk for four hours every day about sports, be opinionated, and make fun of your co-host? This is a life, as Greenberg wrote, "investing everything into something that means absolutely nothing."

Where else can one get paid quite handsomely, I'm sure, to talk to Peter Gammons and Mel Kiper every morning?

That's exactly what I want.

For four hours, the Mikes debated about whether Peyton Manning is a better quarterback than Tom Brady, whether an undefeated Rutgers team gets to the BCS Championship game before a one-loss Florida, and whether one can Man Up and get a pedicure at the same time.

I have strong opinions about all three; all three debates mean absolutely nothing.

After the show and after playing baseball with Ethan in the backyard, I met Brian at his Longhorn Lunch Bunch for enchiladas and more football debate.

After getting home and taking a quick nap, Melissa and I finished the night with an early celebration of our anniversary at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant where all three courses are served raw, then dipped into a hot bowl of cheese, bouillon broth, or chocolate. It is truly culinary gluttony.

Sports, sports, and food.

Investing everything into something that means absolutely nothing.