Heartbreak City

Why do I let sports affect me so much?  As I mentioned previously, I tend to get a little excited about sporting events especially when a team I love is involved.  Yesterday's Women's World Cup final was one such event.  Here is the bottom line, I love my country, I love my soccer...and so I love my country's soccer.  I will admit that I don't watch every US women's match, but I follow the team and will watch when I get the chance.  I keep track of what is going on and knew plenty before Ian Darke and Julie Foudy filled in the TV audience during their broadcasts.  My point is that I didn't just jump on the bandwagon in the 122nd minute of the Brazil vs US game.

I was getting a little emotional during the pregame show when they were showing highlights and just talking about what a victory would mean, so you can imagine how I was with every goal during the game. Pumped, angry, elated, crushed...in that order.  Going into the game I never thought it was going to be an easy match, Japan had been playing great.  What made the loss so dificult, was how well the US played.  If the US plays that way in a 100 straight games, we win 99 of them.

When the game finally ended, I literally didn't know what to do with myself.  The wife doesn't like it when I throw things (yes I realize its a little immature, but it makes me feel better).  When I coached and had to deal with such losses I had to console my players or go shake hands with the opposing coach etc so I could focus my emotions on something else until they had a chance to simmer a bit.  When watching the game on TV I had no such alternatives, and for a short while actually paced the kitchen a bit before finally going outside to play catch with the dog.

Why do I take these games so seriously, why so invested?  The truth is that I don't really know, but I know that when my teams do win the big game it makes the heartbreak worth it.