Well, sports fans... The season is nearly upon us, both college football and pro. I am primarily a college football fan, but I have gotten more interested in the NFL when I moved to Bronco Country and when I started playing fantasy football. Speaking of fantasy football, by some miraculous twist of fate, I have both Shaun Alexander and Larry Johnson on my team (For those who don't know - I didn't a year ago - they are both really good running backs).
My main two college football teams are also schools I have attended, the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Texas Longhorns. It is convenient that a team I like also won the national championship last year (Texas of course). Unfortunately, OSU has quite a way to go.
It is nice to be passionate about something that isn't so meshed with politics (with the exception of public funding of stadiums). For the longest time I really never understood how someone could be so passionate about sports, how they would always have to see their team play on Saturday or Sunday. I wouldn't say I am as crazy as some other fans, but I have developed a stronger passion for the sport of football.
I guess it first started while attending OSU, my alma mater. Before then, I felt like I never really had a team for which to root. As I attended the games, I became more involved and more passionate about the outcome. I began to make an emotional investment in the game. The bigger the opponent, and the higher the stakes, the larger the investment.
Sometimes, this emotional investment can take an ugly turn. When OSU had a string of three good years, I got to the point of expecting my team to win. Instead of being in the situation where I was "happy if they win, sad if they lose", I got to the point where I was "mad if they lose, relieved if they win." That is no way to be emotionally involved in a team. I think I have gotten better recently. I was a little bit grumpy when I thought Texas was going to lose the national championship game (when where was about 4 minutes left and they were 12 points behind), but I don't think I would have been as upset as I would have been previously had they actually lost.
Some may think being so emotionally involved in a sport is a little bit ridiculous. I think one should still have sports in perspective to other things, but for me, I enjoy being passionate about something that is, a little bit frivolous. There is something emotionally uplifting about team spirit and rooting for your team, provided it does not get ugly as I mentioned earlier.
For me, it is great to have the memories with my wife (then my girlfriend) when Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma U. twice during our shared college years. The first time I was not with her, but we were both watching the game on TV. I called her on the phone as soon as the game was over, expressing our shock that one of the worst college teams beat their rival, OU. The second time we were both actually at the game together watching the upset happen again. Those are memories we will have together for the rest of our lives.
College football, and really any college sport, is especially uplifting, because of the inequality among the teams, and that there are so many teams (there are no political connotations here, I promise). As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, it is exhilarating to see your team, who no one thought had a chance, pull a major upset of a national power. The suspense is overwhelming knowing that your team is reaching the Final Four, knowing that this is their chance, maybe their only chance in a hundred years, or ever, to reach the top.
Rooting for a team can also unite fans. It doesn't matter if you are Republican, Democrat, whatever... You can be on the same team when it comes to rooting for a common goal.
Again, being passionate about your team, as long as it is kept in perspective, can be a positive experience.
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4 comments:
"Rooting for a team can also unite fans. It doesn't matter if you are Republican, Democrat, whatever... You can be on the same team when it comes to rooting for a common goal."
That is SOO true. But its kind of sad that all us Florida State alumni and fans won't be able to fellowship with Gators in heaven. Everyone knows Florida Gators don't go to heaven. (I did hear about a Gator asking Moses if some beggar would give them a taste of GatorAid in the midst of the fire, but I didn't hear the answer.)
Ha! Wow, that's a deep rivalry there! My brother-in-law is an FSU alum, so I tend to root for them if I happen to see them play.
Lol @ Michael.
Chance, looks like OSU may beat the Sooners this year, especially without Rhett Bomar as their starting QB. Did you hear the controversy?
Looks like the Cowboys won't play the Broncos this year. Maybe in the Super Bowl? We can only dream.
Well, I do stick up for Gators sometime. When someone tried to spread the rumor that the Gator players were higher paid than U of Florida English teachers, this Seminole said that was a vicious lie. The English teachers do make more since their raise last year.
Seriously, I tried to be a universalist, but try as I might, I just couldn't imagine a Gator in heaven. Then again, if Catholics turn out to be right, maybe Gainesville is purgatory.
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