How much do you miss watching live sports?

It may be the most rhetorical question of this decade, as it becomes more difficult to find the proper response with each passing day.

The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball championships would have been crowned, baseball would still be in its early stages, basketball and hockey would be in playoff mode, and the green jacket at the Masters would have been awarded.

You can pass the time on eBay and Amazon, surfing and probably buying items, most of them you really don’t need.

You can reminisce over old baseball cards, Sport Illustrated or even your high school yearbook, thinking about that special person again.

Yet, there is still hope.

Watch closely a baseball, basketball, football or hockey game from the 1960s through the 1990s and examine the differences between those games and the present ones. You will get your fill and once again appreciate broadcast sports for what it once was.

The NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL networks have been broadcasting an array of them, and YouTube is an easy outlet.

If you’re a child of the late 60s and 70s like me, it was a time when sports were truly pure. If you’re not, take a look. You won’t regret it.

It was a time when the All-Star games and playoff games were a must watch. Afternoon playoff baseball was the closest thing to heaven. However, it wasn’t just playoff baseball ... don’t forget Saturday’s Game of the Week.

Remember how Curt Gowdy could keep your full attention with the call of a baseball or football game? Joe Garagiola had a hometown spin, and there weren’t many better tandems than Tom Brookshier and Pat Summerall, and later Summerall and John Madden.

Those were the times when you heard announcers do their jobs and concentrate on the teams and players.

Legends like Harry Kalas knew when to speak during Phillies’ broadcasts and allow you to hear the sounds of the game and ballpark even on the radio.

There wasn’t any high definition, there were no scores and stats rolling at the bottom of the screen, there weren’t side panels of countless stats, trajectories of home runs, third-down efficiencies, home and away records, and the list goes on.

You saw a full screen of action from the pitcher’s mound or behind the plate, along the sidelines, at courtside or from the hockey boards.

The screens weren’t cluttered and reduced. You got a real feel for the game, notably in baseball when you hear and see umpire’s strike calls from behind the plate.

Panned crowd shots were a rarity as directors did their best to bring you the game. You didn’t need to see the roaming shots of someone eating a large meal, couples kissing, someone asleep, or children and adults trying the latest gimmicks. You saw the crowds when it was necessary and timely.

Yes, we can sometimes appreciate the statistical onslaughts we see on the screens, but we often forget our past. Do yourself a favor and watch an old game.

Our current state of this pandemic house arrest can remind us that there was once a broadcast purity that helped bring us to our current love and crazed state of sport.