There come moments in our lives when we have to choose between sports and something else, and that something else can be a wedding, a funeral or any other committment. For those that are more than just casual fans, these are the moments that you can't help but feel conflicted. One side of you thinks, "This is just a game." Then again the other side is probably saying, "This game could be one of the defining sports moments of my generation." How do you reduce this conflict? I think there are two ways to mitigate these feelings and it comes with understanding why we value the things we do and then how to balance those things.
Sports are important and become more than just a game when they become symbols. Our sports represent a part of us, it can be a childhood memory or our college experience. We cheer for our home town teams because they remind us of our roots and family. We cheer for our college teams because they represent a common bond that we uniquely share with others that went to that school. We cheer for our national teams and watch as sports transcend our individual differences and unite us as a country. If you think this is an exaggeration, look at men's swimming in the Beijing Olympics and the "Proud to be an American moment" when the relay team beat the French for gold. This American victory comes at a time when as a country we are struggling to find our identity in a world filled with anti-American protests and a stumbling economy. In a way the teams we cheer for and the sports we love define a part of who we are and it's hard to turn your back on sport and say "it's just a game" because in a way that's like turning your back on a part of yourself.
However, it's dangerous to only find your definition as a person in sports. Some fans can become excessively fanatical (I'm talking about Raiders fans that think everyday is Halloween and like to throw batteries at any opposing player with a helmet off, Latin American soccer fans chasing a referee off the pitch for making a bad call or those t-ball parents that forget they aren't watching the World Series). Moderation is the key to equilibrium and I'm pretty sure the sun will come up on Sunday if I miss the ND football game on Saturday because I'm attending a funeral.
There is a lot more to life than just sports, but that doesn't mean that sports aren't still an important part of life. What is important is finding the balance between emphasizing the role of sports in our lives and balancing that role with our relationships and other responsibilities (something I really learned this weekend).
On a closing side note, girls - don't plan weddings for Super Bowl Weekend (unless your soon to be husband is a Browns fan, then it won't matter), March Madness, or really any Saturday between the end of August and mid January.
2 comments:
Other excessively fanatical fans and various things that annoy me:
1) Eagles fans ALSO are known for throwing batteries
2) European soccer fans who CONTINUE, in this day and age, you yell racial epitaphs and disrespect some of he athletes (see ESPN article about football in France)
3) Cowboy's management
4) COMCAST cable television. I can NEVER get the games I want, not to mention the fact that service cuts out ever 5 minutes (isn't this the reason people usually get cable over a dish?)
5) The Red Sox getting BLOWN OUT at Fenway 2 nights in a row.
6) People who choose to go to grad school and then complain it takes up too much of their time. Honestly, does that REALLY come as a surprise, and p.s. You chose to do this
7) Redheads...they just scare me. No souls, small hands, reak of cabbabge
Make that three nights in a row. And satellite will cut out in bad weather.
Also, it's Cowboys' management
And as I type this, it's now 7-4. Whoops
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