Why is Being a Sports Fan Not Fun Anymore?

Over the past couple of days I have heard a few different people have some interesting takes on sports. My buddy Kirk sent me a stand up video where the comic stated why they like going to concerts over sporting events. He said, in not so many words, that he is never upset after going to a concert. He gets to hear his favorite songs, has a good time and gets to vibe out with friends. At a sporting event, your team doesn't always win, a player you may like might get hurt and you can come home in a bad mood half the time. That is a very fair assessment I think.

Then, while on a run today I was listening to "Doughboys" and their guest was talking about their husband who is a Celtics fan. She said that when the Celtics won, her husband went outside and laid on the ground. She asked what was wrong, and he said he was relieved that his team won it all. This, again, is also relatable for me. When Michigan won it all last season, I was grateful and relieved. At the same time. It was a weird feeling, but that was how I took the title. I celebrated the win during the off season, but now that a new season is here, I am only worried about how they finish this season. I know that you are not supposed to celebrate a title only during the off season, but still, they are reigning champs. That should be enough to make me happy. It isn't though, and that stinks.

As I sit here and think about it, my fandom that is, why do we do this to ourselves? I'm speaking to all sports fans. I have seen an Onion headline that states, local child picks sports team to make their lives miserable forever, or something like that. And it's true. When I was a child I chose Michigan football. My dad is a fan, he would watch the games and I wanted to hang out with him during the game. It was a pretty easy 1 to 1 for me. I was probably about 8 years old. Now, 33 years later, I'm a fanatic. I love Michigan football more than any other team in pro or college sports. I live and die by the results of their games. I constantly read about the team. I want to know what is going on, and hopefully I can be one of the first to know the news. It's been like that for 33 years now. And when I was a kid, it wasn't that hard. I watched the games, the results were the results and that was that. There was no internet, no constant stream of tv shows, no Twitter or Facebook or Instagram. It was great.

Yet, over time, the internet and tv shows are EVERYWHERE, and EVERYONE has a take. Your team can win, but if they don't win by enough, they're trash. God help you if they get beat, the keyboard warriors will tell all of the regular fans how bad your team is, no matter what. Be it coaching changes, a down season, one bad game or not being dominant enough, internet personalities and tv hosts are ready with the ammo to attack your team. It is rough. It's brutal to be a fan of any team nowadays. After Nick Saban left Alabama, the internet had a field day. Washington got beat by Washington State in the Apple Cup last week, and now Washington is consider lower tier. Colorado struggles to beat North Dakota State and podcast hosts instantly call out Deion Sanders. Arch Manning comes in to take over for an injured Quinn Ewers last week, and now everyone says Manning needs to be the starter. Georgia barely beats Kentucky, on the road, and now they are "vulnerable" all of the sudden. It's rough. And all of us sports fans decided that we were going to almost always be miserable the moment we picked our favorite sports team. It's not fun. I want to go back to when I was a kid and it was fun. Sure, your friends would roast you from time to time, but it was all good, clean fun. Now, it's just mean and vindictive. Everyone, who never played the sport mind you, has a hot take now, and they have it at the ready the moment the game hits all zeros in the fourth quarter. Sports can be wonderful and make you very happy, but for the most part, it is brutal and a dumb choice we made when we were way, way too young. And the keyboard warriors don't make it any easier.

Oh well, on to USC for Michigan this weekend, and I am as nervous as ever. Why did I choose this, I guess to hang with my dad and root for a team. But, it has gotten harder and harder each season to experience true joy. And Michigan is reigning national champs. Yikes. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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