getting in shape or running up medical bills?

I have been toying around with the idea of getting back into some sort of sport to help stay in shape. Seeing as I'm not as young as I once was (and I have crappy health insurance), there are certain sports that I am a bit leery of. I was all set to start up skateboarding again, and the town that we live in even has a professionally constructed skateboard park made out of concrete bowls and such. I custom ordered my new deck on the internet, picked up my helmet and some pads and was ready to roll. Then I hear about a fellow "old schooler" who just recently cracked his head open on the bowls. This guy was in his early thirties, like myself. I immediately began to visualize the medical bills I would accrue in such a situation. So am I being chicken here, or just frugal? What can I say? Bills frighten me.

What bothers me even more is that this guy is a much more experienced skater than me. I haven't stood on a deck for years, more than a decade. And even then, I have never tried concrete bowls before. Maybe I need to find a safer sport...

The problem of me is that the "safe" sports all seem pretty boring. I'd rather try my hand at hardcore mountain biking, or hockey or even roller derby. Sometimes I think that a good game of baseball might be the answer, although I'm not so sure how much exercise I would get. Unless I played outfield and chased down frequent home runs, I don't think it would give me much of a cardiovascular workout.

I guess that you're just expected to take it easier when you get above thirty. You're supposed to spend more time watching other athletes than being one yourself. I was never much of a jock back in high school. In fact, I was one of those "alternative" kids. Bit I used to play baseball and soccer when I was younger. I guess that some former athletes who can no longer play get their fix by watching others, which makers perfect sense. It's like reliving one's past, like me listening to old live recordings from when I was eighteen and in a band.

So what do you do if there isn't a professional sports team that performs your sport of choice? Move? What if you live in a small town? When I lived in Omaha, the entire state of Nebraska followed the Cornhuskers, though few could physically make it to the games. I guess that is where the internet comes in. Whether you're following your alma mater, your old hometown heroes, or just your favorite team, there's an online forum for you.

For example, let's say you're into hockey, and you want to follow the 2007 NHL draft, but you live in the sticks and don't have cable TV. So you check out a site like HockeysFuture.com. Soon enough, you're connecting with fellow fans in the chatroom or forum, or you're gleaning trade rumors. Heck, they've even got their own web radio station strictly dedicated to ice hockey news.

In a nutshell, the web is making it possible for niche fans to still follow their interests regardless of their age or where they live. You could live in a subterranean vault two hundred feet below the earth's surface and you'd still be on top of the latest hockey news as long as you've got your internet connection. And with the lack of sunlight, you'd probably start to look like a Canadian hockey player after a while, too!