"Sportsball"

I find myself of two minds about supporting sports teams as I enter the cynical period of my life, both centered around the “lol sportsball” jokes that inevitably come with the circles I frequent. On one hand, there’s a sort of social capital that revolves around nodding your head along sagely and rejecting team-based activities. You don’t want to be seen as the outcast in an online group comprised of a bunch of people who were picked last during recess’ basketball games.

But on the other hand, I can’t deny the excitement I get from watching games. I remember two instances of my twelve-year-old self crying themselves to sleep because the Buckeyes lost, for example. Groups of fans bonding over their shared love of a team, to paraphrase Bennett Foddy, that’s culture too.

I’m not going to say I live a weird double life or whatever, changing masks to better fit in with the people around me because honestly, that sentiment has been analyzed to the ground. I don’t even feel that way, really. In the places where “sportsball” isn’t talked about, it just isn’t talked about. If there is “man, do I hate sports,” it goes away just as quickly. There’s more discussion on the other side of the coin, obviously, like, “did you see the game last night?” sort of discussion, which still is nothing more than some quick small talk.

I’ve kind of lived my life outside of sports for a bit now. I only really watch when something big happens, and even then it’s generally not me turning on the TV. But I can’t say it’s not exciting to follow some of these narratives. The Blue Jackets are up 3-0 in their series against Tampa Bay and are about to play their fourth as I write this. They’re supposed to be the underdogs! Don’t tell me that’s not exciting.

-F