Heff's post on the trouble with sports on DVR (which, for the sake of basketball in general, I'm sad for you guys, but for the sake of the outcome? Ugh. Better left unwatched. Still too sad over here . . .) reminded me of another part of my conflicted sports philosophy: I have a really hard time watching someone lose. (Well, except Duke, but that goes without saying.) Like, in the midst of cheering and being so happy in the Smith Center for most of the games this year I would have this horrible moment where I would look over at the bench of the losing team and I always felt kind of overwhelmingly bad. Clearly the broadcasters of sports events want people to feel the entirety of the drama, because they always get that shot panning down the bench, lingering on the ones whose hands are on their face or whoever looks the most stricken. It's terrible.
But again, it's part of the thing, part of why it's emotional, and if it doesn't end up that way, then what's the point, right? It's not YMCA basketball here. And the truth is, there's always another year, another set of players who give you the buzzer-beaters or break your heart, the losses fade, so do the wins, and you keep your loyalty because, in the end, it really is a lot more fun than not caring.
Right Now I Am
10 years ago
2 comments:
That is sooo me! I always end up switching sides and cheering for the losing team just cos I feel bad for them. I always call them the underdog so I say I cheer for the underdog. Then, of course, Trav will say no, they're ranked higher or whatever. And I say, the underdog is just whoever's losing. :)
That presenting the "entirety of the drama" includes the press conference afterwards where they ask the losing team questions like, "so what happened when you missed those two crucial free throws?", I'm with you on feeling for the losing team. How horrible is it to have to explain their loss after they JUST lost. It's mostly sad for the seniors--especially the bench warming seniors who are now done with their basketball careers.
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