LEE EVANS. DROPPED IT LIKE IT'S NOT.
Truth be told, through and through, I’m a Baltimore Ravens fan. It’s the National Football League, and it seems as though America and their fans have a maniacal obsession with their respective teams. I just so happen to live close to Baltimore, but far enough for no one to share my sentiment in love for the team. NY, naturally and rightly so, is scattered with Giant and Jet fans all over.
The fate of the Raven season was sealed by a wide field goal, which cost them a chance to extend the game and ended their 2011 campaign, to play, nevermore. It was a tough loss, and some of my friends found joy in rubbing it in, via SMS and offered their condolences when the shock set in.
“Damn…. let’s go Patriots” – R. Chwang
It’s hard for me to get emotionally invested into these contests – especially for my rooting, that occurs some hundreds of miles away and has no true bearing on the outcome. Especially from someone who is in his early 30’s, and as a kid was a Die Hard With a Vengence fan of the lowly Buffalo Bills, highly touted as the worst of the best teams of all time. They went to the Superbowl four times in the 1990’s and four times they held their heads high in defeat. With that, all I can hope is good fortune, but I’m putting my faith in things I can’t help. I suppose you can mark me as a Put Things in Perspective Sports Fan – ebullient when my personal favorite teams do well, but not too down when things don’t go my way.
Certainly, we are in a tough position when we are avid sports fans. We can get into the numbers, read stats, formulate opinions, and bleed the colors of a jersey to show where our loyalty lay: where true passions are vicariously transferred into something you can’t even do anything about. These are the true Passionate Fans. If you are in this predicament, proceed with caution. It’s always wise to have a true passion where you can make a difference, that you can control. It’s hard to validate having a passion of watching others play out their passions.
“My dude – it frustrates me to see you and all of my other super-bright friends so consumed/emotionally involved in something that (lets face it) affects none of you personally. Win or lose, these athletes and owners all get paid millions while the masses struggle. While I certainly support ones enjoyment of sports as a form on entertainment, watching sports has become a maniacal obsession for most. Doesn’t that energy seem misplaced?” – P Star
Then there are the Wreckless Fans. They are quick to show their ultimate pride, sans humility mind you, and are quick to bolster the accomplishments of their team because of their recent positive outcome and luck, and even quicker to find satisfaction in pure Schadenfreude – as if they had some role into what happened. It’s hard to take them seriously, especially when their emotion fuels many of their arguments when sticking up for their team, and often they are befuddled by healthy number’s-don’t-lie debates where the truth hurts.
“Enough about the GARBAGE RAVENS! The REAL game is about 2 start!” – Nermermerf – @mrdenaim
And so on Sunday, I learned that some fans take it light, some way too serious, others don’t give a sh*t. But one thing I do know, is that we all have to co-exist – some how, some way.
Food For Thought, Y’all Do The Dishes.
Ralph “Pino” Fornoles
