by Todd Pheifer

Created on: April 02, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

When I was in and undergraduate in college, one of my favorite sports teams was in the first round of the playoffs. That particular year they had done particularly well during the season and I had high expectations for them going into the playoffs. They were a highly favored team in the series, but after an early lead in the first few games, they were playing an upstart challenger in the final tie-breaking game of that series. Unfortunately, the night of the game was also the dating anniversary for my fiancee and myself. We had scheduled a dinner many months in advance and I was now faced with the dilemma of missing the crucial game. Of course, I was a dedicated fan but I was not stupid, so I went out to dinner. My patient fiancee knew that I was distracted and wondering about the outcome, so she suggested I get up and go call back to the apartment where my roommates were watching the game (this was back in the day before cell phones). I made a few calls that night during the date (my team eventually lost) and I was heckled for a few days after that loss, mostly because I had touted the prowess of this team throughout the year.

As I have gotten older, I have found that my level of dedication and emotional immersion has significantly softened. Perhaps I have matured, and perhaps I have simply been "burned" too many times by teams. I am still a fan of my favorite teams, but I think I probably just put it in a perspective a bit more. After all, as the phrase goes, "it's just a game". Granted, my level of dedication has never reached that of some people. Even in my younger years, I would not have painted my face or dressed up in a strange outfit to go to a game. A shirt or a hat would have been enough. I recognize that some people "live and die" with their teams, so I suppose I can't broadly suggest that all people do not care of much about their team, as they get older. I read a story about a dedicated football fan that passed away. Instead of a standard viewing in a coffin, the family set up the body in a recliner with a television set in front of the body, playing a tape of the man's favorite team. I guess in that case, there are truly people who live and DIE with their team. I like my sports, but not that much.

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