[opie1988]

Of course I've seen people get insanely pissed off over sporting events. I have before. It's just when you step back and really think about it, why get upset over a game? It makes zero sense.
Let's take you for an example. I'm going to make some assumptions. Maybe they're not true about you, but I'm sure they pertain to some people. You said you got emotional when the Knicks lost the NBA Championship. Why are you a Knicks fan? Maybe you grew up in New York. Maybe your family had tickets to MSG for 20 years. Whatever.
Now say you were born in Calgary, Alberta. Would you be a Knicks fan? Why does proximity dictate what team you're passionate for? Wouldn't that be considered a pretty arbitrary reason to feel passionate for a team? Now if your father was Willis Reed, ok I understand why you feel a familiarity toward the Knicks.
Look, everytime I've brought up this argument about importance of sports, it gets into a weird area of "Why are sports so important in general? Isn't this just an elaborate way to keep everyone placated while the world gets worse around everyone....." then I find myself typing on a sports betting site while NHL Tonight is on my TV and wow am I a hypocrite for even doing this instead of reading newspapers and bettering my knowledge of the world? Then I feel shamed.

Of course getting upset over the outcome of a game you have no bearing on makes no sense. No on can argue this point. Its absolute lunacy for grown men to be reduced to tears when their favorite team has a gut wrenching loss or a gigantic win......but I still do.

Its not something that we choose, its just something that is a part of us. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've told my wife/friends that I'm done with my fanatical devotion to certain teams. This is usually right after another heart breaking, gut wrenching loss. But then the off-season lingers on.....the seasons start to change....and once again you find yourself sucked back in by that all-consuming emotion - HOPE. This is the common denominator amongst all fanatical fans. We always have hope that THIS is the year our devotion is rewarded. This is the year that all the stars align just for us. Our superstars all stay healthy. Our quarterback/pitcher/goalie/point guard all have the year we've believed all along they were capable of.....and we win it all.

The thing is.....if you don't have the type of love affair with a sports team that brings you to tears when you're team suffers a devastating loss, you'll never know the type of sheer, unadulterated joy that comes from finally winning it all. I'm talking tears of joy. About hugging every other guy anywhere near you. About taking the next few days off work just so you can soak in all that comes with a championship. Spending hundreds of dollars buying all that "championship gear" crap that gets advertised on tv incessantly right after the big game. This is what it's all about. These are the moments that you suffer for.

I know it all sounds ridiculous. But I love my teams. Always have, always will. Either you get it, or you don't.