Waking up at ridiculous hours

What is it about waking up in the middle of the night to watch sports on the other side of the world? I love doing this, though I admit it's crazy. Quite often, you have to watch alone. There's no party atmosphere, no beer. Does tea just make sports more enjoyable? I don't think so.

I was pulling for Andy Murray today in the Australian Open 2010 Final, and though he lost in straight sets, I'm glad I got up at 4am to watch it. I even woke up before my alarm went off, fearing I'd wake my 19-month old and have a distraction to consider as I tried to watch. I had to tiptoe around the kitchen not to wake anyone up making tea, and watched some good tennis, enjoying chatting with folks similarly obsessed on a blog.

When you wake up in the middle of the night to watch a sporting event, you are doing it because you love the event. There's no "I'm just hanging out with friends for the party of it" like you have at other events. No one proposes playing Scrabble during a break in the action, much less during the action (this has happened during Super Bowls I've watched, and the board game actually materialized for those bored with the game).

I have many memories of waking up early - often the World Cup and sometimes the Australian Open. Glad to add another one today. It's especially good when you have to bike or walk through an eerily quiet town to watch the match, but today is too snowy for that.

I enjoyed the banter on a Craig Hickman's excellent tennis blog with other people crazy enough to wake up so early to watch this match.