So much of the game experience is the prefunking with old and new friends. No matter what is going on with the team, no matter their record, we have this communion that bonds us together.
Today, the wife and I went to Temple as per usual for prefunking festivities. We saw Seatown, Hawkstorian, Bart and a few others, and hung out with some other friends of ours. My wife is usually the calm, even-keeled one during a game. Today she was a firecracker! Sure, maybe the extra Manny's played a small role but I was honestly shocked by her demeanor. "What is going on with you?" I said to her in the 2nd quarter.
"This is NOT what I expected!"
That is the first time my wife has ever shown any real displeasure over the product on the field. Like many of us, we expected to not just beat the Titans at home, but smoke 'em.
What is it about expectations that makes some of us not appreciate a victory? Walking out of the game today I swear it was a loss. Why do we care if we win by 35 or 3? Speaking for me personally, I buy into the paradigm that we are an elite team in the NFL. When we suddenly don't look so elite, it's like a slap in the face to my reality. Plus, you're talking about 37 years of being perpetually disappointed by the team I love that is so hard to remove from my DNA overnight.
I don't want to feel like we lost the game when we won like I feel a lot of fans did walking out of the game. Not literally, but emotionally, I felt that, no more closer than my wife.
So if we end up 14-2 this year but win most of those games like we won today...
Will you not be able to enjoy the success as much as if we smoked every team we beat? Today's win was a wake up call in how the dynamics of a game effects my perception about how good we are and how enjoyable the games are for me...And my wife apparently.
Today, the wife and I went to Temple as per usual for prefunking festivities. We saw Seatown, Hawkstorian, Bart and a few others, and hung out with some other friends of ours. My wife is usually the calm, even-keeled one during a game. Today she was a firecracker! Sure, maybe the extra Manny's played a small role but I was honestly shocked by her demeanor. "What is going on with you?" I said to her in the 2nd quarter.
"This is NOT what I expected!"
That is the first time my wife has ever shown any real displeasure over the product on the field. Like many of us, we expected to not just beat the Titans at home, but smoke 'em.
What is it about expectations that makes some of us not appreciate a victory? Walking out of the game today I swear it was a loss. Why do we care if we win by 35 or 3? Speaking for me personally, I buy into the paradigm that we are an elite team in the NFL. When we suddenly don't look so elite, it's like a slap in the face to my reality. Plus, you're talking about 37 years of being perpetually disappointed by the team I love that is so hard to remove from my DNA overnight.
I don't want to feel like we lost the game when we won like I feel a lot of fans did walking out of the game. Not literally, but emotionally, I felt that, no more closer than my wife.
So if we end up 14-2 this year but win most of those games like we won today...
Will you not be able to enjoy the success as much as if we smoked every team we beat? Today's win was a wake up call in how the dynamics of a game effects my perception about how good we are and how enjoyable the games are for me...And my wife apparently.