This is a glorious time of year for sports; baseball is in the World Series, football season is going strong, hockey is just revving up and even basketball is beginning. Sports fans are in heaven right now. But with all the cheering, rooting and celebrating comes the inevitable anger, frustration and colorful remarks. These are usually followed by mood swings that linger for a long time and can be a very touchy subject for years to come. But you gotta remember that they are just games and you need to be aware of who’s in the room, little ears and eyes notice these things and remember. You don’t want your kids worried that if they play sports or anything competitive that you’ll act that way towards a loss they may encounter.
As a Los Angeles Dodgers’ fan I was recently on the roller coaster ride that is the baseball postseason. But for all the ups, there was a big down and it made me, what I like to call, “Sports Depressed.“ I didn’t want to talk about anything sports related, I was down in the dumps and just not a very cordial person for a little while. It doesn’t last very long, maybe a couple of hours, but it is noticeable and I am lucky I don’t have any little ones around to see it. My dog gets spooked enough when I yell at the TV. If any of you know a sports fan then you know exactly what I”m talking about. There may be variations but there is always an obvious difference in moods when a team wins or loses.
Kids notice everything and when they ask you “Why are you upset?” or “Why are you yelling at the TV, daddy?” what are you going to respond with? How can you teach them that winning isn’t everything when you get so angry when your team loses? Sometimes we all need to just take a step back and remember that it really is just a game and the results don’t mean much in the big picture. Yeah we all want our team to win and be the best but there always has to be a 2nd place team and your team can not always win.
Sounds simple enough but to an emotionally invested sports fan, letting go is the hardest thing. Be a fan on the couch but leave it there. If your team had a bad game, turn off the TV and go outside. There will be replays and analysis that just upset you more, get outside and forget about it. Go play the sport, don’t let the sport play with your emotions so much.
