WINNING AND LOSING
I watched the clock tick down. I took a deep breath. Uh, oh, this time, they are not going to pull it out.
Dammit. OMG, I can't believe it. But, I have to believe it. It's right in front of my eyes.
Did I wear the wrong T-shirt? Can I just never watch a game with my son, or husband again (after all, they won every single time I watched without them.) That cut on my lip that I got from my chicken teriyaki burger on a hard roll, was it a bad sign?
No. I know as well as the next person that nothing I do, say, think, whatever can actually impact the games that I watch. But, it's such a strong feeling.
So, I see four sets of responses. I see some very bitter, very vitriolic fans of the opposition team saying incredibly horrible stuff. And, when I see that, I really wonder - why allow that bitterness to sap the sheer joy you should be feeling? That joy I was fortunate enough to experience last year when MY team won after 40 long years. I saw sheer joy. Shouts, fireworks, tears - the pleasure of being in a team t-shirt you say you will never take off. THAT'S the right kind of celebration. Being the bigger person in victory.
For the fans of my own team - we move from being stunned into SOMETHING. For some, it's anger. Why the hell did that player not perform, why were players missing? Were we truly not good enough? Or, did we suffer some legitimate barriers to winning? Like injuries to critical players. Why was the officiating so controversial?
But, in the long run - I feel really, really grateful. Back in 2010, when the SF Giants were playing in the post-season, I was SO ANXIOUS that I felt ill, I felt like I couldn't watch. In the middle of that experience, I took stock of myself and said, you know what? That's crazy! It's "free" ball. My team got to play, and play, and play. And, it was so sweet when we won. I truly felt bad for the teams that fell along the way. The fans were sad AND they didn't get to watch their team play anymore. So, this year, in a different sport, when things started to look pretty ugly in the conference finals, I had to say that same thing to myself again. One more game. I get to watch one more game. And, my team this year allowed me to see them play as much as I could possibly watch. Oh, and actually I got to see them WIN more than any other team in history in the regular season, at a truly elite level of play. It was beautiful.
I'm not going to lie. I'd have LOVED to see my team win. And, I was accused recently of a little schadenfreude because I felt our lead player had not been treated respectfully by the opposing team's lead player, and therefore, wanted to see the other team lose. But I'm happy for the other team's fans, because I remember how happy I was when my favorite baseball team won, and I remember how it felt last year.
I want to compliment the team. I know they absolutely played their best. I played some competitive sports in high school and it is HARD when there is a lot of pressure - it doesn't matter how much you get paid, you can't simply erase those nerves or make a broken body perform. My team is a young team. They'll be a lot of fun to watch next year. I'll see you then!
