The only difference that I see is you are exactly the same as you used to be
Ok, so, this past weekend was Sweeeeeeeeeeet. Not only did I have wonderful people come to visit, but also both my Buckeyes and my Brownies won. Which, naturally, got me thinking. This time, my thought process threaded its way towards the elation of victory and, conversely, the agony of defeat. Last weekend, when Ohio State lost to Illinois and the Buckeyes blew it against the Steelers, I was disappointed. I had hoped for victories in both of those games, and in both of them, at one point in time or another, it looked like it was going to happen. Unfortunately, it was not to be. This week, however, we Beat Michigan, the most important game of the year for any sports team that I root for, and we beat the Ravens, the most hated team on God's Green Earth (yes, more hated than Michigan, it's just that I love OSU more than I love the Brownies, but that's a whole 'nother rant), and the best description of my feelings is a mild satisfaction, more akin to relief than actual happyness.
Why is it that? Why are the lows of losing lower than the highs of winning? Shouldn't they be balanced? If I am 68% crushed by a team losing, I ought to be 68& elated by them winning, but it doesn't seem that way. Viewed individually, the Michigan game and the Ravens game were both more important, in their own right, than the Illinois and the Steelers games. That is to say, if you had come to me at the beginning of the season, and asked me which games I would rather win, I would have said, Ravens in Baltimore and at Michigan. Huge games. I'm so happy that we won them. But not happy enough. That doesn't make sense.
I think the problem, especially with OSU, is that I have become spoiled in my own life, with a heritage of victory. I have been blessed to watch great teams (minus the Browns, the Browns suck, always, even when they're good. Yes, I said it. I lovem, but they suck until they begin playing Brady Quinn. We'll argue about this later). The Indians had a great string of years between 94 and '01, and they're back to form. The Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl in '97, followed by 3 straight Fiesta Bowls from '01 to '03, including a National Championship, as well as 2 more bowl victories and 1 loss in the National Championship game last season. The Cavs have been so good with LeBron that I barely remember how terrible they were when I was in Highschool.
Even in Highschool, while the Football team was bad Freshman year, I played on 2 teams with a winning record. I won 4 district titles and 3 State titles in Chess in my 5 years on the team. I was a State runner up in both Policy and Lincoln Douglass debates, as well as a Disctrict champ in Impromptu Speech. Our Academic Challenge team was very good, if not State Tournament worthy. Our Tennis team was consistently good, even though I didn't belong on it.
All that sort of added up, and now I expect to win. It's the Natural assumption that I make of all my teams. Why shouldn't the Cavs win tonight? They ought to win most nights. When they lose, it's odd, they probably just didn't play that well. And it hurts. The more we win, the more it hurts to lose. I remember how wonderful it was to win the National Championship in '02, but I remember even more vividly how embarrassing and depressing it was to lose to Florida TWICE in the National Championships in '07. I mean, OUCH.
It's a shame really. I think I'll just try to concentrate on appreciating my W's from now on, and not dwell (as much) on the L's. God blessed me with good teams (although Boston is making the rest of the Country look downright foolish with their sports teams these years), and I need to make the most of them!
Plus, CVCA just won another State title in Soccer. Go Royals!
Why is it that? Why are the lows of losing lower than the highs of winning? Shouldn't they be balanced? If I am 68% crushed by a team losing, I ought to be 68& elated by them winning, but it doesn't seem that way. Viewed individually, the Michigan game and the Ravens game were both more important, in their own right, than the Illinois and the Steelers games. That is to say, if you had come to me at the beginning of the season, and asked me which games I would rather win, I would have said, Ravens in Baltimore and at Michigan. Huge games. I'm so happy that we won them. But not happy enough. That doesn't make sense.
I think the problem, especially with OSU, is that I have become spoiled in my own life, with a heritage of victory. I have been blessed to watch great teams (minus the Browns, the Browns suck, always, even when they're good. Yes, I said it. I lovem, but they suck until they begin playing Brady Quinn. We'll argue about this later). The Indians had a great string of years between 94 and '01, and they're back to form. The Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl in '97, followed by 3 straight Fiesta Bowls from '01 to '03, including a National Championship, as well as 2 more bowl victories and 1 loss in the National Championship game last season. The Cavs have been so good with LeBron that I barely remember how terrible they were when I was in Highschool.
Even in Highschool, while the Football team was bad Freshman year, I played on 2 teams with a winning record. I won 4 district titles and 3 State titles in Chess in my 5 years on the team. I was a State runner up in both Policy and Lincoln Douglass debates, as well as a Disctrict champ in Impromptu Speech. Our Academic Challenge team was very good, if not State Tournament worthy. Our Tennis team was consistently good, even though I didn't belong on it.
All that sort of added up, and now I expect to win. It's the Natural assumption that I make of all my teams. Why shouldn't the Cavs win tonight? They ought to win most nights. When they lose, it's odd, they probably just didn't play that well. And it hurts. The more we win, the more it hurts to lose. I remember how wonderful it was to win the National Championship in '02, but I remember even more vividly how embarrassing and depressing it was to lose to Florida TWICE in the National Championships in '07. I mean, OUCH.
It's a shame really. I think I'll just try to concentrate on appreciating my W's from now on, and not dwell (as much) on the L's. God blessed me with good teams (although Boston is making the rest of the Country look downright foolish with their sports teams these years), and I need to make the most of them!
Plus, CVCA just won another State title in Soccer. Go Royals!