What To Leave Behind In 2015

It’s been a solid year in 2015, sports fans, but we all could benefit from leaving some things behind when the year closes out.

When we look back at the different decades, we laugh. The ‘60’s had hippies, the ‘70’s danced the night away under a disco ball, the ‘80’s had hair, and the ‘90’s had…whatever you call a bunch of neon and windbreaker. How will we remember this era? Hopefully, by forgetting some of our embarrassing tendencies.

For starters, let’s address the issue with stadium music. I know it’s not the biggest matter in the world, but that means it should be easy to fix. There’s no reason why we should still be playing “Turn Down For What” or “Sandstorm” in 2016. I won’t take any excuses. How hard is it to get some new jams in the PA system? The answer is not hard at all. There has to be a hungry DJ in town ready to mix up the set list a little bit. Find him.

While we’re on the topic of at-the-game-experiences, can we all agree to at least try to stay off our cell phones?

I know it’s probably too much to ask, and it really won’t bother me if you decide to keep checking your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram over and over again courtside or in the stands. It just kills me to watch people that paid good money to attend a game spend the entire time with their eyes on a tiny screen. The occasional picture to commemorate the event? Sure. Live tweeting? Too far. Think of it this way: would you pay for a fancy dinner just to eat a bite? Didn’t think so. Your Buzzfeed articles and status updates can wait.

Speaking of status updates and social media, how about we all agree to stop sending threats to athletes over the internet? I’m sure Brandon Harris is used to seeing idiots wishing death upon him after LSU games, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Stay under your bridge, internet trolls. Nobody needs you in 2016.

This isn’t all about the fans though. The athletes in the sports we love need to pick it up in a few areas as well. Celebrations, media interaction, clothing…it all needs evaluation.

Dabbing has to stop. If you want to call it a dance, fine, but it’s not. As a celebration, all they’re doing is putting their forearm in front of their face. I’m not too worried about this trend lasting into 2016 though, after Andy Reid performed the oldest, whitest dab possible in the world to kill it.

When it comes to dealing with the media, athletes need to leave their attitude behind in 2015.

The recent trend, a la Marshawn Lynch, is to refuse to interact with the men and women behind the microphones. While it’s their right to exercise silence, a simple “no comment” will suffice. Others like Greg Hardy, who skirted questions about his character with flatout rude responses, make a conscious decision to disrespect the journalists doing their jobs. You don’t have to like talking to the media, but it’s part of your job. Also, ever heard of the phrase, “don’t shoot the messenger?” It’s not our fault you played bad, we just happen to be the one asking the question.

Now that we have the press interaction out of the way, what about that press conference attire? You can never go wrong with a simple suit jacket. Being GQ is always important for athletes, but I’ll be honest, some of these looks just don’t fit them right. I’m not sure who decided it’s acceptable for jeans to cut off way above the ankle like capris, but leave it to the male models and people in Europe. Conor McGregor is probably the ONLY athlete that can pull that off, and again, he’s European. In summary, feel free to stay on the cutting edge of fashion, but acknowledge that not every piece of clothing is designed to look good on people that are 6’4”-247 lbs. Take note from Steph Curry, who has an endorsement deal with Express. Your life might be a circus, but you don’t need to wear a clown suit.

I understand this is all probably wishful thinking, but last year I wished for Iggy Azalea to go away and look what happened. Wish granted. I don’t think I’m asking too much. These are doable New Years Resolutions.

It’s not like I’m asking Bill Walton to stop rambling, Lee Corso to stop putting on stupid, sweaty mascot helmets, or Gregg Popovich to give paragraph long responses during in-game interviews.

While I’m getting greedy though, I might as well tack on a few extra requests to leave behind with 2015: everything related to First Take (Stephen A Smith, Skip Bayless, their trollish opinions), Floyd Mayweather Jr. (for obvious social reasons), the Washington Redskins’ name, insanely overpriced concessions (I don’t want to take out a mortgage for a nice day at the stadium), FanDuel and Draft Kings, TMZ, and for the love of all things holy…the Kardashians.

Let’s make sure 2016 is better than 2015. Let’s leave some of this stuff in the past where it belongs.