I was a freshman at Indiana University back in the day when Bobby Knight had stud teams year in and year out.  They had just beaten Purdue at Purdue.  I didn’t quite realize how big the rivalry was until people started screaming out there windows in our dorm. 

Pretty soon people were congregating outside the dorm, whooping it up.  It was January and pretty cold out, but I said what the heck I’ll join.  So, more and more people were yelling and screaming and the group just moved from one dorm to the next.

We made it to this fountain and a bunch of people were clowning around yelling and screaming.  This was during the first Gulf War and eventually the crowd thought it would be a good idea to go to Dunn Meadow and tear down the tents of the war protesters.  That is when I bailed.

It wasn’t until later that it got me thinking.

Why as fans do we get so wrapped up in sports when most of the time we have very little relevance to the team we are cheering for?

As an athlete, it was great having fans at your games.  You could get the crowd going in a frenzy with your play or shut them up with your play.  But, ultimately it came down to focusing on what you did on the field and as an athlete you just tried to block the crowd out.

The higher up you go as an athlete, the crazier the fans get.  I remember my junior year in high school going to my first OSU/Michigan football game.  OSU lost by a point or something close and after the game, I saw some older OSU lady had knocked down a Michigan fan and started beating and kicking him.

For what??

She didn’t play.  I’m sure she couldn’t possibly feel worse than those OSU players that lost.  If she did, then that is a “her” problem and she has some issues.

Maybe she had a kid on the team, but I doubt that.  In the end, it is a game.  Maybe her screaming and yelling affected a few Michigan plays negatively.  Obviously not enough cause Michigan won.

She bet on the game?  Maybe she just lost a mortgage payment to her bookie cause OSU didn’t cover the spread.  Probably not either.

You go to South Bend on a football Saturday and God forbid Notre Dame loses, that town goes into isolation.  Why let one game ruin your day when it has no impact on your life whatsoever??  If it does, then that is a YOU problem.

I can understand if you are a parent of an athlete….to a point.  What is up with that crazy loud parent in the crowd yelling at his kid, yelling at the ref during a 5th grade basketball game??  This isn’t for the NBA title.  Let them play and shut up!!

I was a fan of the Cowboys, Lakers, and Reds growing up.  I still want to see them do well, but if they don’t I’m not in a funk.  Not a single one of those players on the teams knows me, or is playing the game in my honor.

I went to a Titans/Cowboys game last weekend in Nashville.  I didn’t wear a Cowboys shirt even though plenty of fans did.  The biggest reason is I don’t need people spitting at me, having witty banter with me, or telling me, “you guys played well today.”

That gets me.  “We played well???”  I wasn’t on the field playing.  I just enjoy watching them play.  I don’t have stock in the team.

Be a fan all you like, but don’t let it turn you into some crazed fanatic.  Stew and let it bother you all the same, just don’t drag me into your nuttiness.  I still will go home to my wife and kids, kiss them goodnight, and get up in the morning to go to work knowing that team that won/lost hasn’t affected anything that is good or bad in my life.  It is just entertainment.