The Pleasure of Fishing: Forget soccer

It has dominated both the print and electronic media these past weeks. You can hardly click on the set or turn to the sports section without SOCCER jumping out at you. It seems the whole world has stopped to hear news about international matches laced with rhetoric about the universality of the sport.

World journalists taunt the United States as being a laggard in our adoption of the sport that tantalizes the rest of the world. And we fire back, with great determination, how our "new world" culture has adopted differentiated sports with fast-moving action and high offensive potential like football, baseball and basketball.

There is certainly a universality to soccer and to the millions of fans both in the U.S., but mainly throughout the rest of the world. Its attraction, it seems to me, is the availability of the equipment, a ball and its adaptable field of play, a flat surface and rather simple rules. They say it's truly the world's sport.

I don't think so. Personal partiality aside, I believe the world sport is fishing! Journey with me, then, as we impart some substance to that premise, enhanced with some little tales to help illustrate the point.

Fishing knows no limits to age or physical ability. It spans all generations, giving no special regard to any one group. It treats women and men exactly the same, allowing room for lots of luck with just a dash of outright skill. Time and time again it energizes and thrills all of those that trot into the fishing arena ready for action. Be that on a quiet lake in the Colorado mountains, the pounding surf on a coastal beach or the cockpit of a sportfisherman in heavy seas. It's all the same passion.

This past summer one of my regular customers, and quite a fishermen in his own right, asked if I might accommodate his 88-year-old uncle to a half day of fishing. He explained that "Uncle Ed," in his heyday, was a W.W.II Navy Corsair fighter pilot and, later, a minor league baseball player. He ran his own business in the Midwest and found time to also be a scratch golfer. And through all those twists and turns, his No. 1 passion had always been fishing.

Well, the years had taken their toll on Ed and the skill to beat out a grounder or drive a 300-yard green was taken away by the ravages of age. But it had not dimmed that passion for fishing, nor had it eroded his capability to handle himself with a rod and reel.

So we made the trip — my good customer, Ed, and his adult son.

Once on the boat, the only noticeable problem Ed had was his stability. That was quickly solved by finding a great seat where he could partake full bore without having to worry about his wheels. He was like a kid as soon as we started fishing. Even catching a small snapper was an exciting thrill and he would recount again and again the anatomy of each strike and catch.

The highlight of the trip was Ed handling and landing a nice 18-inch juvenile permit on light tackle all by his lonesome. Every time I would reach in to help, he would admonish me with, "Leave me be, I can do it."

He was like the proverbial Cheshire Cat after the photos were taken. He was still smiling a half hour later when we arrived at the dock.

Ed promised to be back with a sly grin and a "God willing" as he departed that day. Couldn't help thinking, where can an ex-athlete bumping the upper-age limits get such a thrill as that afforded by the great sport of fishing?

The flip side of that event occurred just a few weeks later when the very same customer asked if I could take a 4-year-old fishing. His son and his family would be here and the little guy had never been fishing before. The answer was affirmative and here we were just a few weeks after Uncle Ed, catering to a fisher some 80-plus years younger.

We did some of the same things. Get the little guy seated and have Dad hook the fish and finish with tumultuous ovations as the little guy rolled in his first fish. It didn't make any difference as to the size of the fish or the species. It was simply a fish and this youngster was achieving things on his own.

Now consider, what else a little guy of 4 years old can achieve on his own in the world of sports. He is even a couple of years away from T-ball. Fishing scores again.

The other dimension of sport that you would have to consider is the geographic universality of fishing. Is it as popular in Europe or faraway places like Southeast Asia as it is here?

One of the great advantages of being a charter captain in a great place like Southwest Florida is that you get to meet folks on holiday from all over the world. No matter where they are from, there is an absolute common denominator in fishing, even if language is a barrier.

Like the time I had a great Korean family from Seoul as customers on a summer morning a few years back. We had some language barriers, but could communicate fluently when it came to fishing. They knew the equipment inside and out and, they said, they should, since most of it is manufactured in their country.

They marveled at the size and variety of fish we caught and were thrilled with everything. Only one problem: In Korea, you keep everything you catch; we had to go over the Fish and Wildlife rules several times and had to plead for them to release the dreaded catfish.

And finally, I remember an Irish couple, here on their honeymoon, who had sunned on the beach the morning before and looked like two red lobsters.

They fished the lakes of County Mayo at home and were "keen" on char and grayling. They had to spend the day under the bimini top, lathered in sunscreen, but still managed a great day of catching pompano and trout. As we concluded the trip they both expressed the "sameness" in fishing techniques and skills (and luck) that is the same as back home.

So whether it be age, gender or geography, fishing demonstrates its ability to be the world's sporting common denominator.

What do you have to say to that, soccer?