Why Can't I Quit You?

I never get as high when it's good as I get low when it's bad. That is to say, when the Redskins win, I am excited, but not in an all encompassing way that affirms my life. However, when they loose I get mad. Then I get mad that I'm mad about a bunch of millionaires sucking. Why do we do it to ourselves? I talked with a friend who's an Eagles fan today, and he said that was all he could think as he drove home from the Monday Night game where the Eagles lost to the Skins. He said he just couldn't figure out what keeps bringing him back, and what was worse was the fact that his pain should have meant my happiness. But it didn't, because after the Skins won that game they lost to New York and then again yesterday to Green Bay. And they were both games that they truly should have won, which makes the three that the did win irrelevant.

I go through this a lot in my life, since I root for the Skins and the Orioles primarily. I have all but stopped paying attention to the O's, and the Skins can't be much further behind. Watching sports should be about enjoyment and entertainment, not torture and heartbreak. People say that if you don't stick with your team in bad times as well as good then you are not a good fan. I used to believe that myself, but now I see that by putting so much into an entity that only serves to kick you over and over again, it's akin to being in a bad relationship. Sure, they may bring you flowers (win a game) or take you on a great trip (win a Championship) from time to time. But, in the end what they do most often is slap you at the dinner table and tell you that you look fat in those pants (Fumble on their own 10 yard line and mismanage the clock while pissing away a lead in the second half). Hell sometimes they even cheat on you (pick up and leave town).

So why do we do it? What do we gain from it? I watched a few sporting events this weekend that I have no rooting interest in, and I was still entertained. Watching UK beet LSU put a smile on my face, but didn't take me too high or too low. In a way it is like sports methadone, where as the Redskins are my Heroine. In the end, I know I'll be right back to the smack next weekend when the Skins play our old NFC east doormats the Cardinals. Because I'm a bitch.