JasonM
Member
In the wake of an abysmal showing by the Cowboys last week (and uninspired play for a good time longer than that), I'm reminded of something that I once heard regarding sports and sports fans:
Being a fan of any sport or team is the only thing in life that can make you feel the same emotions whether you're 7, 47, or 77. It will make you laugh, cry, shout, curse, and laugh. Often all in a single game, always within a single season. You can follow and root for several teams, but you can only have one team in each given sport that can be YOUR team. And once you have declared allegiance to them, you have taken on a great responsibility. You can not take it back or change it. It is a lifetime appointment - like the Supreme Court.
But with the responsibility comes several rights. You are allowed to refer to them as if they were friends and family. You can share the prestige when "WE won!" and still remain aloof when THEY do something wrong. You can yell and curse, or laugh and cheer while jumping around like a fool and be given a free pass for it because you're a fan. You have the right to confidently feel that in all matters you know more than any of the players and coaches and publicly voice your opinions about them - whether in agreement or in contrast to their most recent performance.
You have signed on for a commitment that GUARANTEES that the majority of seasons will end in disappointment. You have jumped into a system where there are people who have lived their entire life without seeing their team win a championship.
But you'll always be back for the next game and the next season. Partially because of the responsibility. Partially because the excitement and the emotion outweigh the disappointment. Partially because the POSSIBILITY of what will happen next is infinitely more interesting that what happened before. But mostly because you're just a little bit twisted and you love it and wouldn't trade it for the world.
--
Cowboys have a bye week this week. So I'll leave the blue jersey on the hanger while watching the MLB postseason wearing red and cheering on my Cardinals (yeah, I know. Living in Texas, I'm probably opening myself up for some shots there as well). But the following week, I'll be in my blue jersey cheering and yelling at the TV again.
=)
Being a fan of any sport or team is the only thing in life that can make you feel the same emotions whether you're 7, 47, or 77. It will make you laugh, cry, shout, curse, and laugh. Often all in a single game, always within a single season. You can follow and root for several teams, but you can only have one team in each given sport that can be YOUR team. And once you have declared allegiance to them, you have taken on a great responsibility. You can not take it back or change it. It is a lifetime appointment - like the Supreme Court.
But with the responsibility comes several rights. You are allowed to refer to them as if they were friends and family. You can share the prestige when "WE won!" and still remain aloof when THEY do something wrong. You can yell and curse, or laugh and cheer while jumping around like a fool and be given a free pass for it because you're a fan. You have the right to confidently feel that in all matters you know more than any of the players and coaches and publicly voice your opinions about them - whether in agreement or in contrast to their most recent performance.
You have signed on for a commitment that GUARANTEES that the majority of seasons will end in disappointment. You have jumped into a system where there are people who have lived their entire life without seeing their team win a championship.
But you'll always be back for the next game and the next season. Partially because of the responsibility. Partially because the excitement and the emotion outweigh the disappointment. Partially because the POSSIBILITY of what will happen next is infinitely more interesting that what happened before. But mostly because you're just a little bit twisted and you love it and wouldn't trade it for the world.
--
Cowboys have a bye week this week. So I'll leave the blue jersey on the hanger while watching the MLB postseason wearing red and cheering on my Cardinals (yeah, I know. Living in Texas, I'm probably opening myself up for some shots there as well). But the following week, I'll be in my blue jersey cheering and yelling at the TV again.
=)
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