We lost. Why should I care?

[BirdsCommaAngry]

According Jerry Burger, author of Personality, our well-beings can be tend to be contingent on various aspects of life, such as winning competitions, believing we are attractive to whoever we wish to be viewed as attractive by, the general approval of others, support from family, adhering to personal ethical standards, and even believing there is in fact a God who loves us. He summarizes the research studies referenced in this book as suggesting a single truth: people whose well-beings are contingent on aspects of life which we can control and/or cannot be changed, such as through religious beliefs and/or basing one's well-being on how closely we adhere to our own standards of ethics, tend to report having higher self-esteem, better health, and more financial success throughout their lives than those whose esteems depend on others, such as people telling us we look good, competitors being less prepared than we are, etc.

In other words, if what he suggests is true, any time I spend valuing the outcomes of Seahawks games will involve basing my well-being on something I can't control and, perhaps as a result, will negatively impact my self-esteem, my health, my ability to succeed at work, and more when compared to what my life would be like if I instead valued what I can control, like focusing on being a good and ethical person above all else. If true, fandom seems to come at a great personal sacrifice to our own well-being. Therefore, since this loss doesn't seem to come at the expense of my own ability to following through with what I believe is moral, that raises a simple question. If I can have greater well-being by caring about ethical standards rather than the outcome of these games, why should I care that we lost?

 

[cymatica]

Edited for masked F word

 

[Year of The Hawk]

According Jerry Burger, author of Personality, our well-beings can be tend to be contingent on various aspects of life, such as winning competitions, believing we are attractive to whoever we wish to be viewed as attractive by, the general approval of others, support from family, adhering to personal ethical standards, and even believing there is in fact a God who loves us. He summarizes the research studies referenced in this book as suggesting a single truth: people whose well-beings are contingent on aspects of life which we can control and/or cannot be changed, such as through religious beliefs and/or basing one's well-being on how closely we adhere to our own standards of ethics, tend to report having higher self-esteem, better health, and more financial success throughout their lives than those whose esteems depend on others, such as people telling us we look good, competitors being less prepared than we are, etc.

In other words, if what he suggests is true, any time I spend valuing the outcomes of Seahawks games will involve basing my well-being on something I can't control and, perhaps as a result, will negatively impact my self-esteem, my health, my ability to succeed at work, and more when compared to what my life would be like if I instead valued what I can control, like focusing on being a good and ethical person above all else. If true, fandom seems to come at a great personal sacrifice to our own well-being. Therefore, since this loss doesn't seem to come at the expense of my own ability to following through with what I believe is moral, that raises a simple question. If I can have greater well-being by caring about ethical standards rather than the outcome of these games, why should I care that we lost?

That is a lot of reading after a loss. LOL. I love to root for the team but have long since gotten over letting a loss or bad season or even Super Bowl ruin my day or life in any way. I have not a vested interest other than fandom so yeah I agree we should not care (to much). BUT we are fans and losing does suck but just don't let it get to you. Kind of like playing a board game. You don't want to lose but if you do MEH.

 

[ivotuk]

Great post. I think being a Seahawks fan is a tough road to hoe because we've come so close so many times, only to lose.

I've learned to thicken my skin, and expect losses like this, especially considering what we fielded for an offensive line today.
After a loss like this, you know people are going to be upset. So you just try not to let everything get to you while people vent.

Remember, we're Seahawks fans here.

 

[NFSeahawks]

According Jerry Burger, author of Personality, our well-beings can be tend to be contingent on various aspects of life, such as winning competitions, believing we are attractive to whoever we wish to be viewed as attractive by, the general approval of others, support from family, adhering to personal ethical standards, and even believing there is in fact a God who loves us. He summarizes the research studies referenced in this book as suggesting a single truth: people whose well-beings are contingent on aspects of life which we can control and/or cannot be changed, such as through religious beliefs and/or basing one's well-being on how closely we adhere to our own standards of ethics, tend to report having higher self-esteem, better health, and more financial success throughout their lives than those whose esteems depend on others, such as people telling us we look good, competitors being less prepared than we are, etc.

In other words, if what he suggests is true, any time I spend valuing the outcomes of Seahawks games will involve basing my well-being on something I can't control and, perhaps as a result, will negatively impact my self-esteem, my health, my ability to succeed at work, and more when compared to what my life would be like if I instead valued what I can control, like focusing on being a good and ethical person above all else. If true, fandom seems to come at a great personal sacrifice to our own well-being. Therefore, since this loss doesn't seem to come at the expense of my own ability to following through with what I believe is moral, that raises a simple question. If I can have greater well-being by caring about ethical standards rather than the outcome of these games, why should I care that we lost?

This post was somewhat hard to read, but fine I'll engage you.

It's a game, I have no control over it.

I'm super competitive and super passionate, those who are not don't care about the minute details as long as the team is mostly good. It's a complex viewpoint.

Some would say those of us who are mostly younger fans beginning with the early 2000's have generally seen good football and so have higher standards than the older folks who saw a lot of bad football.

Perspective is also important as in not getting too worried about the first quarter score being 14-0 since there are still three-quarters to play. Or not worrying too much about the loss because the team is still 2nd in the NFC and in control of their destiny. Even though the Falcons are now half a game out of the 2 seed. :34853_doh:

Still, I agree you need to be able to separate sport from life. It took me a long time to do that growing up and I'm still probably more passionate than 95% of the board as far as outcomes go but I've learned to separate it from my success in life.

 

[Foghawk]

According Jerry Burger, author of Personality, our well-beings can be tend to be contingent on various aspects of life, such as winning competitions, believing we are attractive to whoever we wish to be viewed as attractive by, the general approval of others, support from family, adhering to personal ethical standards, and even believing there is in fact a God who loves us. He summarizes the research studies referenced in this book as suggesting a single truth: people whose well-beings are contingent on aspects of life which we can control and/or cannot be changed, such as through religious beliefs and/or basing one's well-being on how closely we adhere to our own standards of ethics, tend to report having higher self-esteem, better health, and more financial success throughout their lives than those whose esteems depend on others, such as people telling us we look good, competitors being less prepared than we are, etc.

In other words, if what he suggests is true, any time I spend valuing the outcomes of Seahawks games will involve basing my well-being on something I can't control and, perhaps as a result, will negatively impact my self-esteem, my health, my ability to succeed at work, and more when compared to what my life would be like if I instead valued what I can control, like focusing on being a good and ethical person above all else. If true, fandom seems to come at a great personal sacrifice to our own well-being. Therefore, since this loss doesn't seem to come at the expense of my own ability to following through with what I believe is moral, that raises a simple question. If I can have greater well-being by caring about ethical standards rather than the outcome of these games, why should I care that we lost?

Meh...........sounds like something a life long Browns fan would say :sarcasm_off:

The pseudointellectual version, "Don't sweat the small stuff".

 

[ivotuk]

You got it wrong dude, it's "Don't sweat the petty stuff, Pet the Sweaty stuff!"

 

[AROS]

The Secret for me is simple these days.

For decades I would sit and squirm through every agonizing play. My blood pressure would rise exponentially with each play's shortcoming...My voice would rise, the profanity was certain to follow.

I have spent 35+ years screaming at my television and making a complete fool of myself.

For what?

There wasn't a single word, scream, screech, proclamation that I could bellow through the walls of my home loud enough that would make a good gawddamn's bit of difference in the outcome of the game.

So these days? This old dog refuses to engage in the madness. If the game is going South like I saw this one was in the first quarter (and yes, these windblown 12's from the beginning have that right to bail) I simply stop watching...Move on to something more enjoyable. For me it's flight simulation. I will then check in the NET gameday forum to take the temp and find out the score and if it is bad, I know I can continue to enjoy my other hobbies.

This saves me from ridiculous emotional investment when I know deep down I have ZERO control of the outcome. So if in fact the Seahawks pull it out in the end and win, it's wonderful and I can watch the whole game stress-free. If they lose? Well at least I don't have to invest three hours of heartbreak and emotional turmoil, ultimately saving my Sunday.

So when my family returned from their shopping spree, the first thing they said was: "So how bad were you today?"

I could look them in the eye with all honesty and say "I was completely fine. I didn't even say a word."

And it's true. And I feel great.

 

[Siouxhawk]

You got it wrong dude, it's "Don't sweat the petty stuff, Pet the Sweaty stuff!"

Was that Carlin or Wright?

 

[Bigpumpkin]

You know what they say about "no pain", don't you?

 

[BirdsCommaAngry]

You know what they say about "no pain", don't you?

Nope! Please explain!

 

[kf3339]

The Secret for me is simple these days.

For decades I would sit and squirm through every agonizing play. My blood pressure would rise exponentially with each play's shortcoming...My voice would rise, the profanity was certain to follow.

I have spent 35+ years screaming at my television and making a complete fool of myself.

For what?

There wasn't a single word, scream, screech, proclamation that I could bellow through the walls of my home loud enough that would make a good gawddamn's bit of difference in the outcome of the game.

So these days? This old dog refuses to engage in the madness. If the game is going South like I saw this one was in the first quarter (and yes, these windblown 12's from the beginning have that right to bail) I simply stop watching...Move on to something more enjoyable. For me it's flight simulation. I will then check in the NET gameday forum to take the temp and find out the score and if it is bad, I know I can continue to enjoy my other hobbies.

This saves me from ridiculous emotional investment when I know deep down I have ZERO control of the outcome. So if in fact the Seahawks pull it out in the end and win, it's wonderful and I can watch the whole game stress-free. If they lose? Well at least I don't have to invest three hours of heartbreak and emotional turmoil, ultimately saving my Sunday.

So when my family returned from their shopping spree, the first thing they said was: "So how bad were you today?"

I could look them in the eye with all honesty and say "I was completely fine. I didn't even say a word."

And it's true. And I feel great.

I understand completely how you feel Aros. I just do it differently in that I watch but don't get emotionally invested in the play by play action anymore. I just enjoy the game. That way I may be happy or not about the outcome, but my blood pressure stays pretty even and I don't fester about it for hours or even days like in the past.

It perhaps is not the most ardent fan perspective, but I can live with that. After all as you said our emotional involvement has absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the game, and never will.

 

[Bigpumpkin]

You know what they say about "no pain", don't you?

Nope! Please explain!

You're kiddin', right?

 

[BirdsCommaAngry]

You know what they say about "no pain", don't you?

Nope! Please explain!

You're kiddin', right?

Nope! I do not know who they are or what they say about not experiencing pain. Would you tell me who they are and why they don't feel pain?