I wrote the original draft of this post a week ago under the influence of an adrenaline and endorphins high from an unlikely triumph. Today, reality has returned in the cruelest fashion, a very big buzz kill, requiring a redraft.

For those of you out there who support sports teams not by choice but because they are ‘your teams’ due to upbringing, locality, or some other ingrained reason you might be able to empathize with this post. For those of you who have ‘your teams’ and those teams happen to be perennial doormats you can further understand my frustration. And for those of you from areas with an inferiority complex – say the fly over country of the United States, the Pacific Northwest, or anywhere in Canada – you can totally relate.

Last week I spent four sun drenched autumn hours inside in front of an oversized television wishing, hoping, and willing a team of mediocre quality to beat a far superior team. In the last six game seconds my team finally made the pain of a 19-year loss drought vanish. Even though I was inside, my neighbors on my sleepy street probably wondered whether I was experiencing an uncontrolled spastic event as I ran, jumped, and crouched with football in hand to and fro across the living room in front of the room’s windows. I was excited, and for a moment my life made more sense, the glory of victory!

This week I spent four sun drenched autumn hours inside in front of an oversized television wishing, hoping, and willing a team of mediocre quality to beat a less (base on last week’s performance) far superior team. In the last thirty game seconds my team, as a good friend would say, ‘snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory’. A loss, no championship consideration this year – 44 years and counting.

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