Sports and the Real World
I've been a Mets fan all my life. And I do mean, all my life. I was about 3 years old when they won the World Series in 1969. I have a memory of sitting in my living room watching a baseball game on our black and white television. My parents were never sports fans. Why do I have this memory?Something inside of me must have drawn me to it when flipping channels at a young age, or someone who was watching me one day had the game on. It wasn't until 1975 that I really picked up on the game on my own. By 1976 I had my father taking me to games; something I really think he grew to enjoy.
All those years I was a fan. They graced the basement position in the standings of the National League East. They traded away some of their best players. Still, I remained a fan. I lived through the baseball strike in 1982. By then Id figured out how to take the bus and trains into games myself. In 1986 all of my faith was rewarded. I've told my kids the greatest moment of my life was that World Series. Sorry kids. There haven't been any World Series Championships since then. I've lived through the various heartbreaks, especially in 2000 when they lost the subway series to the Yankees. In 2015 it seemed like they were destined to win after Daniel Murphy helped crush the Cubs in the playoffs, but once again I was disappointed.
I took a lot of crap through the years, especially living in New York City. I mean - the Yankees! Everyone hates the Yankees. They, like, always win. Most of my extended family are Yankee fans. I get it thrown back at me all the time. I had to learn to live with it if I was going to cheer for my Mets all my life, and live with it I had. We all get our digs in now and then, and honestly I think being a Mets fan was a character-building experience.
In all that time, I've never broken off a friendship or stopped talking to someone because of the joking that went on between us all. It's just what's done. It's sports - it's not the real world. Yet, I've had that happen to me. No, I won't apologize for the banter that I attempted. My team won, your team lost. It's a game.
Compare that to the real world. After my daughter committed suicide, I lived with statements from people that she was a junkie and she made a choice that led to her suicide and I should accept that. I lived with people criticizing me for the depth of my mourning and depression just a month after she died, saying I should "move on." I was told I was "wallowing." In the throes of all my emotions, I didn't make any hasty choices about cutting off friendships, although I stopped talking with certain people and eventually they disappeared quietly from my life, with one exception. That was a painful loss I didn't expect. Several people think I should go out and become a speaker to raise suicide and addiction awareness, and I'm hesitant because of the judgment that's out there.
Being a Mets fan means you better have a thick skin when it comes to sports. And it is sports. It is a game. It's not the same as living through the difficult parts of our lives and having people who are unsympathetic and hostile; who think they know what it's like when they can't even begin to imagine. If the worst thing you think happened to you was your team lost, you should be thanking God for the charmed life you've had.
All those years I was a fan. They graced the basement position in the standings of the National League East. They traded away some of their best players. Still, I remained a fan. I lived through the baseball strike in 1982. By then Id figured out how to take the bus and trains into games myself. In 1986 all of my faith was rewarded. I've told my kids the greatest moment of my life was that World Series. Sorry kids. There haven't been any World Series Championships since then. I've lived through the various heartbreaks, especially in 2000 when they lost the subway series to the Yankees. In 2015 it seemed like they were destined to win after Daniel Murphy helped crush the Cubs in the playoffs, but once again I was disappointed.
I took a lot of crap through the years, especially living in New York City. I mean - the Yankees! Everyone hates the Yankees. They, like, always win. Most of my extended family are Yankee fans. I get it thrown back at me all the time. I had to learn to live with it if I was going to cheer for my Mets all my life, and live with it I had. We all get our digs in now and then, and honestly I think being a Mets fan was a character-building experience.
In all that time, I've never broken off a friendship or stopped talking to someone because of the joking that went on between us all. It's just what's done. It's sports - it's not the real world. Yet, I've had that happen to me. No, I won't apologize for the banter that I attempted. My team won, your team lost. It's a game.
Compare that to the real world. After my daughter committed suicide, I lived with statements from people that she was a junkie and she made a choice that led to her suicide and I should accept that. I lived with people criticizing me for the depth of my mourning and depression just a month after she died, saying I should "move on." I was told I was "wallowing." In the throes of all my emotions, I didn't make any hasty choices about cutting off friendships, although I stopped talking with certain people and eventually they disappeared quietly from my life, with one exception. That was a painful loss I didn't expect. Several people think I should go out and become a speaker to raise suicide and addiction awareness, and I'm hesitant because of the judgment that's out there.
Being a Mets fan means you better have a thick skin when it comes to sports. And it is sports. It is a game. It's not the same as living through the difficult parts of our lives and having people who are unsympathetic and hostile; who think they know what it's like when they can't even begin to imagine. If the worst thing you think happened to you was your team lost, you should be thanking God for the charmed life you've had.
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