What on Earth would possess me to watch a Tampa Bay-Oakland baseball game Thursday afternoon?

Baseball.

It’s the same reason people will watch World Cup matches between two countries they’ve never heard of. Or watch a Tuesday night college football game between Akron and Northern Illinois.

Some would say it’s the same reason people actually watch the NBA Finals, but that’s another story.

When you love a sport — or sports — it doesn’t matter who is playing. And we don’t have to defend our viewing habits. “How could you watch that?” often gets said by the great unwashed.

There are plenty of sports that I don’t care much about, but I’ll watch just about anything. Everybody loves the big events, but to me, the best part of sports are the Tampa Bay vs. Oakland games, even in May.

Everybody loves to passionately root for their team, but it’s the sport that makes you a true sports fan.

Do you think I am ever going to remember a single thing from Thursday’s Rays-Athletics game. I hope not. (Oakland won 7-3 but pitcher Daniel Mengden’s scoreless streak ended in the ninth inning. See, I told you.)

We watch these otherwise meaningless games because you never know when something might happen that you’ve never seen before. It’s why Golf Channel shows the first round of a tournament, even if Tiger Woods isn’t in it.

Not every sporting event has to be about a championship or a milestone. Sometimes, it’s just meant to be watched and enjoyed on a purely pedestrian level.