Looking back I realized that playing a sport was like being in a relationship—you fall in love and then you have to work at it to maintain everything you have.
Firstly, it all started when you saw your sport in action and became enamored. You played the beautiful game for the first time and fell in love. Then you began a long-term relationship with the sport of your life. And like all things you care about, you’re scared to lose it. Losing is heartbreaking when you have put your blood, sweat, and tears into it so you do everything in your power to fight for it.
You learn that there will be moments where it will make you cry. It will make you so frustrated you’ll feel like a hopeless romantic. Then you realize that you can’t be scared of making the commitment. You have to commit to all those practice hours, to not cheating, or giving up on that last rep. You have to sacrifice your time. “I can’t, I have practice,” and “I can’t, I have a game,” become the first lines you tell your friends when you defend your sportaholic relationship. If you weren’t busy practicing, then you were watching professionals play on TV, or stalking their social media to see if you could find the secret to their success and then use it to spice up your own relationship.
Furthermore, you have learned the importance of communication. You can’t be scared of your feelings. Sometimes you just have to open up. Talk it out with your teammates. Find out what went wrong and what you can work on to improve and make things better. Whether you’re on the field for a game, or on the battlefield of love, you need a united team to be successful.
Your sportaholic relationship also becomes your escape from the chaos of life. When you’re having a bad day, you can always turn to your sport. You block everything out and just focus on bettering yourself and your team. You work out all your frustrations and suddenly you feel so much better. When you hit that perfect pass, or score that game-winning point you get such an adrenaline rush. It’s like nothing can stop you and anything is possible. It’s for those moments of love and passion that you always strive for.
After all, it’s your love of the game that drives you. Overtime, you grow together. At this point you guys have been through so much from heartbreaking losses to those tears-of-joy-moments when the first place trophy was yours. You give it your all and in return it steals a piece of your heart. A lot of things in your life may have changed throughout the years, but your passion for the game has always remained the same. You know that your sport will always be a part of your identity. If you had to do it over, you would never give up the sport that has taught you so much. Deep down, you know that your sport has lit a fire inside your heart that will never completely die out.
