Enjoying Fenway with my son.
I’m a Boston sports fan, born and raised, I found the Celtics the year that Larry Bird was a rookie and I was hooked. I cheered hard from the living room floor while my Dad looked on in pride, at least one of his daughters had caught the sports bug.
I didn’t root for the Patriots though (then) because, frankly, they sucked and it just wasn’t any fun. Ditto for the Red Sox and what was the point of hockey anyway?
Then I met my husband and he slowly sucked me into the entire sports culture. 2003 was an ugly year for the Red Sox and my marriage. I screamed at him after the Sox lost ”you did this to me! You’ve sucked me back in!” He was almost inconsolable and threw out the hat he had bought in 1986 … the hat he vowed to wear until the Red Sox finally got their pennant. I fished it out of the trash the next day and framed it for him as a Christmas present. I couldn’t bear to see him lose all hope and the hat suddenly became the symbol.
Then it was 2004 and well, if you haven’t heard the story by now then you clearly aren’t a baseball fan and there’s no point. But it’s fun to say phrases like “the Yankees had the biggest choke in sports history” and “cowboy up.” My husband refused to be with me the night they swept saying he needed to be with “his people” and I didn’t quite qualify and his first phone call wasn’t to me, but to his Mom, who at the age of 73 had finally realized her dream too. By the time he got to me he was crying and so was I … we were both deliriously happy.
Our marriage recovered to the point that we’re season ticket holders for the Red Sox now and thoroughly enjoy going and rooting for the team, happily dissecting pitchers, batters, trade choices, etc. I also became a fan of the Patriots and even participated in a fantasy football league a couple of seasons ago. How far I’ve come.
Then I saw this in my Facebook stream from my good friend fitness pro Liz Dialto.
When I see people’s sports posts, I’m reminded that quitting being a sports fan is one of the best decisions I’ve made in the last two years…I never have to be upset about the performance of a group of people who don’t know or care about me anymore. Feels good!
Hunh. It stopped me cold. Do you know how much time I’d have back if I didn’t root for a sports team … any sports team at all? I’d have written that bloody novel by now! Or at least found the time to refinish the coffee table my feet are currently perched on. Then I thought about another friend of mine who I regularly see posting on Facebook about the trials and tribulations of his team, The Buffalo Bills and yeah I do feel kind of sorry for him.
So is being a fan worth it? I’ve gotten a lot of joy out of rooting for my team, I love going to Fenway Park and hanging out with the crowd, I love watching the Celtics make it into the playoffs and man I love watching Brady throw … but I also was swearing hard at the beginning of this season as the Patriots fumbled badly and the Red Sox were a huge disappointment … there was more action happening at the beer stand than the outfield, that’s for sure.
There’s also the family element. My husband, son and I are all fans of football and baseball and it gives us something to bond over.
What do you think? Is it better to be a sports fan or to avoid it completely? Is bonding with strangers who live near each other over-rated? Does the glory of victory outweigh the agony of defeat? What if you local team sucks and has forever? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Cheers,
Lisa
Twitter
Well, if I gave up listening to the Red Sox I’d get to bed at a reasonable hour here in Scotland! :)
I was never into sports as a kid, and only in 2003 did I start getting into watching the Red Sox. I got tired of not being able to join in conversations and always said that professional sports players got paid too much and as a teacher it should be the reverse. This always didn’t go over well as you can imagine. I don’t think I could imagine giving up listening/watching the games, even if sometimes I want to scream about how things were going (read: last season).
49 days until pitchers and catchers! :)
My boyfriend walks on egg shells around me at the end of every baseball season when the Dodgers don’t make the post season and the Giants do. He doesn’t care about any specific team, but I grew up in a family of Dodger FANATICS and I think I’d miss it if I gave it up. My stomach aches and I go into a depression at the end of another disappointing season — but I have great phone calls with my 75 year old pop and my older brother. So, yeah – I think I’ll keep rooting for me team because it runs through our blood. And, I’m a HUGE Vin Scully fan as well!
If I gave up watching or going to sporting events, my husband and I wouldn’t have anything to talk about most of the year. Everything for him is sports or relateable to sports. He’s been watching baseball and football since he was a kid. Our son is an avid sports nut. SportsCenter is one of his favorite shows. NASCAR is how he learned colors and numbers. Some of my favorite memories are at sporting events with my son and husband. I liked football before I got married but as part of my try to learn about your husband’s interests, I learned that I really loved it. My favorite date before we got married was going to a PGA Golf Tournament. Like I said, if it weren’t for sports we wouldn’t talk much. I think I’ll keep the team and race car driver and golfer cheering going…
Lissa, I just read this to my husband who said, “see I told you I’m not THAT big a sports guy” lol. A good amount of what we do revolves around sports. We are planning our weekend right now around the Patriots Playoff game for instance and this includes what we’ll be eating (I cook a lot). It can definitely add a lot of fun to your life. Our 10 pack of tickets for the Red Sox is a great way for us to bond as a family, we love, love, love going and we even walk to Fenway and back (about 4 miles round trip) so we can get a little exercise. So I hear you, I definitely hear you.