Sports play a very interesting role in the lives of people who follow them religiously.
At different times, sports can represent absolute bliss for a certain person, while ruining another person’s week.
Sports can cause riots, but they can also bring people together.
Sports can make one person a hero, while making another a scapegoat or a choke, changing his or her life forever.
But there are two things absolutely true about sports – fans in general take them too seriously, but they can provide an escape during a dark moment in a person’s life.
Unfortunately, it is hard to realize both of those things until something bad happens to you or one of your friends.
This past week, my fraternity brothers and I experienced a terrible thing with the loss of one of our own.
From what I have seen, it has changed all of our perspectives on just about everything, and made me realize a few things.
I realized it does not really matter if Matt Mauck has a bad game and LSU loses, or if the Saints defense looks like swiss cheese because it has so many holes in it.
I realized Steve Bartman does not deserve any of the punishment he is receiving, both in the media and around the country, just because he reacted like any baseball fan would and knocked away a fall ball nearly in the grasp of Chicago outfielder Moises Alou.
I realized athletes are under way too much pressure in performing a job, that in the long run, really just does not matter.
But I also realized that watching a Saturday full of college football can raise your spirits some, even if it is only temporary.
I realized that watching the Saints absolutely torch the Falcons in Atlanta can take your mind off of a terrible event, if only for a moment.
As a sportswriter, it is my job to objectively watch a game, analyze it, criticize it and write a story on it. And I will continue to do so because I love doing it.
But I also believe it is our job to treat athletes, coaches and the like as human beings, because that is exactly what they are. They will make mistakes or play poorly just like any other human will do at his or her job at one time or another.
To pin the tone of your whole week solely on the outcome of one game is silly, and simply is not worth it.
Because in the long run, it really does not matter.
The things that really matter are relishing your time on earth, making as many friends as possible, and treating those relationships like they are sacred. Don’t treat a football game the same way.
Sports provide escape
October 21, 2003