Growing up, I was never really athletic. I have exercise induced asthma, which limits my athletic pursuits. I did enjoy playing sports though, mainly tennis and basketball. However, endurance would never be one of my strong suits. I am average height (just under 6' tall), and never muscle bound. I never played organized football (unless you count soccer, lol). Which brings me to my original question, and it revolves around my love for a brutal sport where players try to knock each other's heads off.
As a youngster, I watched many Detroit Lions road games, because they didn't sell games out very much. Sure, I watched other teams, but the Lions were my home team and I wanted them to win. When I was really young (from about 5-7 years old), they did make the playoffs a couple of times, only to experience disappointment. Then they were terrible for a number of years (following the loss of star RB Billy Sims for that matter), before I reached high school and they drafted Barry Sanders. In High School and College, Barry Sanders was the player to watch, and I went to numerous games at the old Pontiac Silverdome. It was fun, but it too again ended with a lot of disappointment.
OK, I wish this wasn't so damn depressing. Barry was as good as it got, and he was a favorite of mine for many years. I did hold a grudge when he retired out of nowhere in 1999, but it was how he retired more than the fact he retired. I got over it, and he deserved better than the Detroit Lions.
The peak of my Lions fandom was in 1991 when they reached the NFC Championship Game, which followed the only Lions playoff win in my lifetime. However, they proceeded to get smacked up side the head by the Washington Redskin juggernaut.
OK, so that is the NFL, did have any success in watching football? Well, if you count the Michigan Wolverines, then there was some success. However, most of it occurred in the 1990s when they ruined Ohio State seasons and won a share of the 1997 National Championship. There were also many Big Ten titles and some Rose Bowl wins during my lifetime, but today they are trying to rebuild to get back to that level. I like the new coach, but this isn't what we are talking about today.
"Too make a long story short..."
"Too late"
I moved to Arizona in 1999, and actually had season tickets to the Cardinals and the oven that is Sun Devil Stadium. I learned I could root for the Cardinals, but they would never be my team. I had already hit myself in the face enough times with the Lions. The Cardinals even had some success during the Kurt Warner era, but I don't jump on bandwagons.
So, have I got the real part of the story yet? Of course not, because I speak only of loyalty to my favorite teams. I still watch and gut it out every week, but when disappointment strikes, I seem to know it was going to happen. That takes some of the fun out of sports. It is when they surprise me, that is when I get a smile on my face.
Fantasy Football was a different story, yes, the alternate reality where I am a commissioner and owner of my own team of real players. I remember when hard work and knowledge was a part of the game, alas now, millions of experts give even Football idiots a way to win games. In the first 6 years that I played, I won 4 times. Albeit, two were in very small leagues, but it still was a testament to my knowledge of the players and game. Now, I simply lose more than I win. I recently decided to quit this Fantasy game in a couple of years (15 years sounded like a good place to stop), because it has been long enough. It truly becomes a headache, when it shouldn't be.
This brings us to the core of the question, why do I subject myself to the disappointment football has given me over the years. Sure, I have rooted for friends teams and enjoyed their enjoyment, but when does it come to the point, you have no horse in the race, should I really care? If you try to enjoy banging your head against the wall, would you do it even though it hurts a lot? I would certainly hope not.
In the end, I can only think of one quote that sums it all up...
"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."
Dwell on that one for awhile.
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