Okay, so, I tried to do an athlete crossword puzzle today. Let me tell you, it was quite the experience. I figured, “Hey, I watch sports sometimes, I bet I know some athlete names, this’ll be a breeze.” Boy, was I wrong.
I started by printing out the crossword. It looked innocent enough, just a grid of blank squares, waiting to be filled with letters. I grabbed a pen, feeling confident, and scanned the first clue. “Famous basketball player,” it read. “Easy,” I thought, and I wrote down a name I was pretty sure was correct.
- I moved on to the next clue, and then the next. Some were easy, some were trickier. I found myself racking my brain, trying to remember the names of athletes I’d only heard in passing.
- There was this one clue, “Legendary football quarterback,” and I swear I spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure it out. I googled a bit – don’t judge, everyone cheats a little, right? – but even then, there were so many possibilities.
- Eventually, I managed to fill in a decent amount of the puzzle.
But let me tell you, those empty squares were staring back at me, mocking my lack of sports knowledge. I realized I’m not as big of a sports buff as I thought I was.
A humbling experience
This whole crossword thing really humbled me. It’s one thing to watch a game on TV, it’s a whole other thing to recall the name of some obscure golfer or tennis player. I ended up giving up, with a half-filled crossword and a newfound respect for those who can actually complete these things. Maybe I’ll stick to easier puzzles, or maybe I’ll start paying more attention during sports games. We’ll see. Either way, it was a fun, albeit challenging, way to spend an afternoon.
