At that, I reflected that it really isn't important who wins or loses. It is just something that pulls interest from a large group of people. And the drama of the action is compelling and is difficult to duplicate in other arenas.
For instance, I remember several good movies that generate tons of chatter like "You have to go see it!" Or a good book with those unexpected plot twists that keep you reading all night. Even the seven wonders of the earth are something to behold. But they fail to draw that memorable moment like when Kennedy was shot, or a man landed on the moon. These are instant connections with millions of people of "where was I when ..."
Sports give us a chance in every game for those "Wow!" moments. "My mom started crying," "My brother flipped out," "My dog got so excited it wet the floor," "I was in a meeting," "I was stuck in class," "I turned it off in the 3rd quarter." Everybody will know what they were thinking going into those final moments; the pressure, the elation, the agony, the disbelief.
It doesn't matter what sport really, the drama is exciting when it is against all odds or record breaking. And it is fun to be there. Just like being at a spectacular sunset. You can't really describe or capture it. You just have to be there.
#GoSeahawks
I disagree to a point with you in that I think sports is more than a shared moment of excitement. If that is all it was, people wouldn't show up for mid-season basketball games, meaningless summer baseball games, opening season games in college football where the big guys crush cream puffs for a paycheck. While those moments are great and bring people together for a moment, I believe to enjoy a sport you have to have a passion for it or for your team.
ReplyDeleteConsider the 100s of fans who walked out of the clink with four minutes left after the INT. Those are people who were only living for the moment that you describe, the comeback, the win. Now consider the other tens of thousands who stayed all the way until the end. They are passionate about the hawks, win or lose. Consider more the video sent out two seasons ago when Portland was down two goals with less than three minutes left in the playoffs against LA and the cameras caught a guy crying while he was singing. That is passion, that is something that elicits emotion. He will not stand around 10 years from now saying, "remember that time we got beat by LA?" but he will much like a parent who is passionate about their child, be elated the one day that the Timbers finally do win because he was there from the beginning. He was dedicated all along. His passion, much like that for his kids, is heartfelt and everlasting, not bandwagon jumping, not seeking the thrill of the moment. It is being part of a family in that they are with you, through thick and thin, and you recognize one another.
True story, I was wearing my Seahawk hat and Hasselbeck jersey out last week and saw a lady in a Richard Sherman jersey. We stopped and talked for a minute about the game that day (before we played Carolina) and took jeers from a few passing Panther fans, but we shared a bond, she was family, not because we shared where we were when the Hawks won the Superbowl last year, but because we were part of the same family in a foreign (and hostile) land. Because we remembered all the futile years of frustration during the 90s losing to Bucktoothed Elway twice a year in the final minutes. Because we recognized how far we've come since the late 80s where Dave Craig was the NFL leader in turnovers.
This past weekend, when the game was over and we got to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, a dozen strangers came up and said "Great game!" Not that we were there together, but because we have a shared passion for the game and while they may have not been elated with the result, we bonded over a passion for the game. Also consider when you go to a national soccer team game, or better, a Sounder away game. When you see other people waving the flag or wearing the colors or holding up the scarf, you join in with them; you join them because being a part of the fan base is something you have in common. The people there without the colors, without the passion, just kind of meander along and are hoping for a good game and hope to be there for that "WOW" moment, but they don't feel the passion of it. Or they don't bother showing up at all.
Remember, it is easy to show up when your team is winning-- but the fans, the passionate ones, are there when your team is losing. Even after they built Quest, the team wasn't winning and games were still getting blacked out. The the difference between Seattle and Portland vice say New York and the Revs are that Cascadia fans are passionate, they sell out if they're winning or losing. NYRB and Rev fans show up occasionally when their teams are winning and only if it is buy one get one free hotdog night.
Sports provides an outlet that allows many people with mundane lives to be a part of something bigger than themselves, to bond with their community, a chance to hope for greatness; you don't just love your kids in the moment when they accomplish the spectacular, you celebrate with them in that moment because you have loved them all along.
Many people disparage sports because they were not good at them or felt snubbed by those who were better. Professional sports tends to exaggerate that with all the trash talk and between game hype. (Wrestling is the worst with boxing/mixed martial arts close behind.)
ReplyDeleteIt is OK to not be interested. I love my pro football, college football and March Madness but won't spend a minute watching pro basketball. But I don't have to trash those who like other sports any more than I need to trash someone who is a math whiz or sings better than I do. We are not only given different gifts by God, we are given different takes on the universe. The natural wonders of the heavens, sunsets/rises, mountains and oceans are my thing but I don't care much for the beauty in flowers. Different strokes.
Likewise in life I may be disappointed that I am not as successful as President Reagan, Dr. Jonas Salk, or Reverend Billy Graham but then when did they ever have the time to help a lost child in a mall, take a meal to a sick friend, or attend every one of their kids' soccer games? God's mission for them was to help a million people find their way, be cured, or find Jesus...not just one. My mission is more like one, or two or twenty.
Shall I be jealous? Or shall I thank God? I choose to thank God for a mission suited to me. God knows me. He knows what He wants me to do and when. I have had to wait years for some missions to materialize (and years more to finish them). And I have been intensely busy when the missions hit. The in between time is time for study and growth and rest.
So, if you missed the game and didn't care, it's no biggie for me. That's how God made you. But I enjoyed it (Seahawks 28- Green Bay 22) immensely and thank God for the emotional release it gave me so I would be better prepared to face Monday morning where sickness, age, and responsibility are my current mission and they need a guy more mellow the previous week had made me by Saturday night.