I find it funny that my last couple of entries have been all about lamenting or cursing and even a rare complaint (HA!). And while that fuels the passion for my writing, I feel like I should try and lean towards the lighter side of life.
But that ain’t happening today. Sike!
Instead, today I would like to talk about how to tell the difference between a sports fan and someone who watches sports. It might sound very simple: for example, some might believe a sports fan is one who watches every game, keeps track of stats and may even throw in a chest bump or two following an impossible catch out in center field. On the other hand, someone who watches sports is the person who just watches for the social aspect of sports, doesn’t know a touchdown from a free throw or why people laugh when talking about Plaxico Burress and the gun safety class he facilitates for community service.
And while those are all good and valid points, both types of spectators have their weak links, or those people that really irritate you after a bad loss. We’ve all heard the infamous, “Hey, it’s just a game.”
Boom.
And that’s what separates the two. Never will you hear a real hockey fan say “Hey it’s just a game” when with 15 seconds left to go in the championship game, their underdog rated team loses the game by hitting the puck into their own net.
Never will that phrase be uttered when in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs, your all star closer gives up a walk off homer to give the other team a World Series ring.
Never to a real fan will it ever be “just a game.” Nor should it be.
If there’s one thing that has become evident to me in the past year, I have noticed that you have to have one thing when you consider yourself to be a fan: You have to be willing and open to having your heart broken.
It’s far too easy to be one of those spectators that has no investment in a team, you know, someone who doesn’t care if you win or lose as long as it’s entertaining. That certainly has its time and place, but ultimately, even if they win the championship at the end of the year, there is no real fulfillment or complete satisfaction. We call those people “band wagon fans” for a reason.
On the other hand, you look at the Flyers in the Stanley Cup finals down 3-0 in a game seven series. Game four, you bet those athletes weren’t saying “Ah well, it’s just a game,” and they also weren’t saying “we will give it our best shot.” They WERE going to win the game. They could not have a doubt in their mind to overcome the setback they put themselves in.
Fans are the same way. If you are going to celebrate at the end of the season and have it mean more than just a championship in the home town, you have to put your heart out on the line and believe 100% you can win. You can’t have it be “just a game,” and “see what happens.”
Perhaps that’s why you see so many jaded sports fans. There are so many people who DO live and bleed for their team, and when they are not vindicated, they become senile and tainted. But, then comes that one year when everything changes and that one championship comes and suddenly all the hurt and pain from all those empty seasons is released and THAT is something every sports fan longs to feel.
So, which fan will you be? Will you watch sports waiting for your team to lose another season, or knowing your team will win it all this year?
But that ain’t happening today. Sike!
Instead, today I would like to talk about how to tell the difference between a sports fan and someone who watches sports. It might sound very simple: for example, some might believe a sports fan is one who watches every game, keeps track of stats and may even throw in a chest bump or two following an impossible catch out in center field. On the other hand, someone who watches sports is the person who just watches for the social aspect of sports, doesn’t know a touchdown from a free throw or why people laugh when talking about Plaxico Burress and the gun safety class he facilitates for community service.
And while those are all good and valid points, both types of spectators have their weak links, or those people that really irritate you after a bad loss. We’ve all heard the infamous, “Hey, it’s just a game.”
Boom.
And that’s what separates the two. Never will you hear a real hockey fan say “Hey it’s just a game” when with 15 seconds left to go in the championship game, their underdog rated team loses the game by hitting the puck into their own net.
Never will that phrase be uttered when in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs, your all star closer gives up a walk off homer to give the other team a World Series ring.
Never to a real fan will it ever be “just a game.” Nor should it be.
If there’s one thing that has become evident to me in the past year, I have noticed that you have to have one thing when you consider yourself to be a fan: You have to be willing and open to having your heart broken.
It’s far too easy to be one of those spectators that has no investment in a team, you know, someone who doesn’t care if you win or lose as long as it’s entertaining. That certainly has its time and place, but ultimately, even if they win the championship at the end of the year, there is no real fulfillment or complete satisfaction. We call those people “band wagon fans” for a reason.
On the other hand, you look at the Flyers in the Stanley Cup finals down 3-0 in a game seven series. Game four, you bet those athletes weren’t saying “Ah well, it’s just a game,” and they also weren’t saying “we will give it our best shot.” They WERE going to win the game. They could not have a doubt in their mind to overcome the setback they put themselves in.
Fans are the same way. If you are going to celebrate at the end of the season and have it mean more than just a championship in the home town, you have to put your heart out on the line and believe 100% you can win. You can’t have it be “just a game,” and “see what happens.”
Perhaps that’s why you see so many jaded sports fans. There are so many people who DO live and bleed for their team, and when they are not vindicated, they become senile and tainted. But, then comes that one year when everything changes and that one championship comes and suddenly all the hurt and pain from all those empty seasons is released and THAT is something every sports fan longs to feel.
So, which fan will you be? Will you watch sports waiting for your team to lose another season, or knowing your team will win it all this year?
Go sox. Go cows. 2010. The year to be here.
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