The Playoffs. Sports fans wait all year for this glorious span of football that is unmatched by any other event, save the World Series. As the college football playoffs wind down (congratulations Clemson), the NFL playoffs are just beginning. For fans of eleven teams, it is a time of joy and gratefulness followed by bitterness and utter despair. For fans of one lucky team, it is a time of pure ecstasy and far too much alcohol consumption. For fans of the Browns, it is a reminder that God hates Cleveland and so does the rest of the league.
As we gear up for this special time of year, many of us are fired up and ready to go, just praying our team moves on to the next game. But then there is another large group of people, non-football fans, who are left wondering why we are so crazy about our sports teams. So today I will go over why the playoffs, and sports in general, are such a big deal to so many people.
Remember when you were a kid? For me, it wasn't that long ago, so I still vividly recall the nights spent playing in my backyard, dreaming of what every eight year old boy dreamt of at that age. It's the bottom of the 9th, down by one, two outs, bases loaded, full count in Game 7 of the World Series. Grant McCarty steps up to the plate. At 8 years and 3 months, he is the youngest player in the history of the MLB. It's all up to him now. He's facing a pitcher who throws 183 miles per hour and hasn't given up a hit all year. The stadium is silent, the home team is biting their nails, the broadcasters anxiously await the next pitch. All the while, I am standing there, calm and collected, with my whiffle ball bat held firmly in my hands. The pitcher winds up, the pitch is thrown, and 50,000 people collectively hold their breath. CRACK! The bat connects with the ball. It's a home run! The crowd roars, fans around the world cheer, and the visiting team walks off the field in defeat. Vin Scully pauses and says, "In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened." And just like that, the Red Sox have won the World Series.
This is a clear memory from my childhood that continues to stay with me to this day. No matter how old you get, this thought never truly goes away. We all want to be Babe Ruth, or Tom Brady, or Michael Jordan. But rather than imagining these scenarios in which we are like them, as we get older we project ourselves through other professionals doing what we have always wanted to. These grown men are so good at the sport that we love that they are getting paid millions of dollars to play it. So we pick a team, whether it be because of where we live or because their jerseys look cool, and we stick with them. We watch these men do incredible things for a whole season. They push themselves to the limit to do what they love, and we love them for it.
Being a sports fan is no small investment either. The amount of pizza, soda, chips, and dip you have to buy definitely doesn't help with your New Year's Resolution to eat healthier. Buying NFL Sunday Ticket also means you might be a bit late on your car payment this month. But who cares? It's football! If I'm going to be a fan I'm going to do it right. And that means following my team for months before the season starts, evaluating every possible free agent signing, every draft pick, and every path to the Super Bowl there is. Then, for seventeen weeks, I devote one day of the week to watching my team play. This day either ends in a triumphant victory or a crushing defeat. The outcome of the game will determine my mood for the upcoming days, so if my team lost, I advise you to stay away. And if my team is lucky enough to make the playoffs, then the stakes are even higher. No longer does the old adage, “There's always next week,” ring true. In the playoffs, it's win or go home. So unless my team wins the Super Bowl, there is no winning with me. I will be bitter for the next 6 months, waiting for football to start up again, trying to keep my mind off of it while watching college basketball and baseball. This brings us to the ultimate question: why do fans care so much about grown men playing with a leather ball?
The answer: Because sports. There is no one reason that encompasses why we care so much other than this simple phrase. Some people love sports because they grew up watching them, others because it provides a bond between family and friends, even some who simply admire the skill and athleticism that it takes to excel at the highest level. Not all sports fans are the same, and that's the beauty of it. People of any race, gender, religion, or culture can unite around a group of players whose sole goal is to bring glory to their team and those who root for them. It's a brotherhood, and us fans are apart of that in our own special way. We spend countless hours watching these players, yelling at them when they screw up, rejoicing when they do something right. Sometimes we even yell at them for no reason because that's how much we care. It becomes personal. Someone talking bad about your team is like someone talking bad about your family. Because your team is your family. Sports are family. And nothing is more important than that.
So next time someone asks you why there's a hole in your wall, promptly turn on the 2007 Super Bowl and show them this article. Then watch in horror as Eli Manning and David Tyree rip your heart out of your chest and decimate the hopes and dreams of every Patriots fan in the world. Then, as you throw your remote as hard as you can at the floor and yell at the dog for nothing whatsoever, maybe that person will understand. If not: oh well, then. There's no hope for them anyway. Let them leave us alone as we kick back, relax, and enjoy the best (and worst) few weeks ever known to man: The Playoffs.
