Friggin Sports

What is it about team sports? Win or lose, our team can totally control our emotions. From high school to professional, they make such an impact on us. Why is that? Is it that they represent us? They belong to us emotionally? They build us up and let us down? I don't know. I think it may have to do with expectations. If you live in a bad sports town, where the teams continually lose, you don't expect much, and you don't get disappointed. However, once good year can make you believe that there should be other good years and the expectations go up. When the next year isn't so good, there's disappointment. When you grow up loving sports, and you marry the local teams, you live and die by what they do. When they win, you're great. When they lose, it's the pits. The Padres have a play-in game today. It was a season of ups and downs. They don't have the best team, by far, but they've played well for the most part. It's hard to love a team like that 'cause you never know what you're going to get. You don't want to get too excited because you figure they'll let you down at some point. This weekend, they only had to win one of two games. They lost them both. Now, they have to win tonight or they don't make the playoffs. The Chargers...supposed to have some of the best talent in the league. Finished 14 and 2 last year and expectations were huge. Super Bowl huge. What do we have? 1 and 3 so far this year and they are looking horrible.

Did you hear about the Oklahoma fan who about killed a Texas fan for wearing a Texas shirt into the bar in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma fan, a 56 year old minister no less and not even an alumni, tore into this guys crotch and caused him to get about 60 stitches to close the wounds. The stories go on and on, about parents berating the coaches, parents beating up other parents, fights in the stands, etc. What is it?

I guess if you go deep, it's like protecting your country's flag, your city's honor. I will fight as long as my team is fighting. If my team fights no more, than the heck with them, and I'll let them know that they've disappointed me. I'll boo, I'll stop going to the games, I'll stop tuning in. That'll show them. But wait, they've won a game, maybe, just maybe that'll turn it around for them. Maybe I'll be able to hold up my head and support my team, support my city again. The expectations...Friggin sports.