Watching the end of the
not-so-Super Bowl Sunday night I was in a funk. I was looking for the Broncos
to show up, not the imposters wearing the orange jerseys. As soon as it was
over, and I watched it to the last tick of the clock, I opened Facebook, turned
on my phone for messages, and checked my email. (Because I went to church on
Sunday night I was watching on about a two hour delay and I didn’t want any
spoilers coming in.)
I
read what everyone was saying, trash talking if you will. I laughed at the good
ones,
was disappointed in the old worn out ones. (Any joke referencing OJ
Simpson’s Bronco) I changed my Facebook profile picture to a black ribbon and went
to my desk to finish preparing for teaching my class on Monday morning. I tuned
the television to a Denver channel but the game was over; no more
mourning.
After
class on Monday I received this message from a good friend, one who likes to
razz me about my sports team choices. But it got me to thinking.
Some
time this week I will go sit in the home of a woman whose husband died during heart
surgery in Colorado Springs on Saturday. She hasn’t come home yet.
Two
of my classmates recently lost their husbands, one to a heart attack, one to an
accident.
These
are the people my heart aches for, not John Elway, Peyton Manning, or Champ
Bailey. They are not in mourning. They know it was just a game, or just a bad
day at the office for them.
While
Bronco fans were mourning, and Bronco haters were piling on, Peyton Manning was
in the Seattle post game interview room talking to Richard Sherman,
congratulating him on the win and asking about the extent of his leg injury.
See the article here.
While
fans were wondering how they would face their co-workers tomorrow, the Bronco
players, coaches, executives, and families were at a party back at the hotel.
The Denver news station reported that the room was the same, the drinks were
the same, the food was the same as it would have been had they won. The
atmosphere was less festive, but they weren’t out crying in their beer, they
were partying with champagne.
I
wish they would have won. But almost every season, in every sport, at sometime,
my favorite team goes down to defeat before the final championship. None of my
teams have won championships since the 2010 Lakers. In 2009 both the Lakers and
the Yankees were champions. In 1998 and 1999 both the Yankees and the Broncos
were champions. The Lobos have never won it all. The good years are far apart.
I have been a Yankee fan since childhood. I have been a Laker fan since they
traded for my favorite player, Kareem. I have been a Bronco fan since 1976 when
I moved to Utah and Craig Morton became a Bronco.
Lets
keep things in perspective. Sports are just that, sports. And if the players
and coaches don’t take things personally, why should we?
