Mike Morin

Stats, stats, everywhere are stats. And I love it. I’m such a stats geek that the first thing I do when I get up in the morning is check my Fitbit to see what my sleep score was. Later in the day I keep an eye on my daily goal of walking 11,000 steps. One night I jumped in bed and noticed I was sitting at 10,889 steps, needing 111 more to get my goal for the day.

Sometimes, I get up and walk around my family room for two laps – 11,000 steps. Boom! Other times, I wave my left arm around in bed, since Fitbit walking statistics are generated by arm movements. I discontinued that method when I accidentally whacked Lady Baba in the nose, which resulted in a bloody nose. There is no Fitbit category for consecutive nights sleeping in the guest bedroom.

This stat caught my eye as the 2020 Olympics came to a close last week. Here is a laughable number: Forty percent of people asked said they believed they could hold their own in a summer or winter Olympic event. Seriously, people? And that includes basketball, swimming and soccer. Keep in mind 42.4% of Americans are considered clinically obese, according to the CDC.

I’ve always thought the Body Mass Index (BMI) chart is a bit strict when it comes to classifying what is overweight. So, that brings me to more stats about myself. At about five-feet nine and 160 pounds, I consider myself pretty lean. Would you agree? Well, with a BMI of 23.63, I am just 1.37 points away from being overweight. Whaaaat? I have people constantly asking, “Are you OK? Have you lost weight?” I am frequent being skinny shamed. If I have one too many cheesecake slices this weekend, I could cross the 25 BMI overweight threshold.

If you know me, you realize I am a stick. In full disclosure, my waist is no longer 30-inches like it was in high school. My Levis are straining to contain my 33-inch midsection. At least for now, I remain in the “normal” BMI category. By the way, a BMI reading of 30 or higher puts you in the obese category.

Back to the Olympics survey. Sports that people would like to see added to the summer games include MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), where combatants pretty much pulverize one another. So, 40% of you reading this think you could whoop Ronda Rousey or Chuck Liddell? Hold my beer. I’m heading to Draft Kings to bet against you.

Next on the games wish list is bowling. OK, I’ll concede you’ve got a shot at holding your own as an Olympian on the lanes. Even with a BMI of 36, you’re never out of the game. Lacrosse and cricket are also possible future sports for the next Olympic games.

If you want to get former Gov. John Lynch’s attention, tell him pickleball will be played in the 2024 games in Paris, France. That’ll make his day. Trust me.

Contact Mike Morin at mike morinmedia@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @MikeMorinMedia. His column runs the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month.