In terms of being a great time of year for sports, maybe it doesn’t hit the tape at the same time as other seasons. It’s not the weekly grind of football season or the Masters/Final Four/Opening Day troika.
But there’s just something about summer.
Every season has its own charm but give me summer every single time. Life is so much better/easier/relaxing/ when the days get longer and collective blood pressure goes down.
There may not be that must-see sports event that other times of the year have, but there is plenty to keep us occupied.
From the College World Series to the U.S. Open.
From Wimbledon to World Cup (this year).
From the NBA Finals to the MLB All-Star game.
You may not love all of them, but there is a little something for everyone.
(It should be noted that any discussion of the NFL is deliberately being ignored. The relentless coverage of OTAs, Hall of Fame Game and the charade of pre-season games do nothing to move the needle, but that doesn’t stop ESPN from daily “breaking news.”)
But summer’s real joy isn’t about big events to watch on TV. It’s more about what to do when you are not watching TV.
Think about all the things you can do in the summer that you typically can’t do during other times of the year. And by the way, major shout out to Daylight Saving Time, which substantially adds to the vibe. Though I wouldn’t be opposed to the year-round DST, in some ways that might take away the specialness of it. Not sure if we really need much daylight at 6:30 on a January night. Seems like a waste.
Sure, the temperature might feel like it’s 147 degrees in July, but is that any worse than -5 and not being able to get out of your driveway?
Nobody is busting out the Slip-N-Slide in February.
But it’s the other three seasons that make summer great. No way I’d sign up for Arizona or Florida and endless days that all seems the same. I need those little indicators that summer is upon us. Sporting events like the Indianapolis 500 and the Kentucky Derby, but also things such as golf course fairways turning from brown to green or the morning dew.
There’s no doubt that having a seasonal job adds to the love of summer. Teachers, for example, who get a chance to get away from the grind and reset. You can give me all the reasons in the world why year-round school is a good idea, but there’s a whole lot of education (re: life experiences) that go on during the summer than far exceed LEAP scores.
Algebra and July simply don’t mix. Little League baseball and June do.
We are in the early days of Summer ’26. The weather is still tolerable, the cicadas are chirping, and almost every MLB team still has a shot.
Take it one day at a time, but more importantly, appreciate it one day at a time. It’s 90 to 100 days (depending on how you measure it) where there’s always another adventure awaiting, whether it’s a golf course you’ve never played before, a trip to see your favorite baseball team or deciding to get involved with an activity you’ve never done before.
Summer was made to be enjoyed.
So go enjoy it.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com