Wrestling With the Sports Gene: Week 1

Last Saturday I was enjoying a leisurely stroll in Boulder when I passed a restaurant that had ESPN’s “Sports Center” showing on its TV over the bar. They were showing highlights of a baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals.

I stopped in my tracks, almost like it was on command, and stared at the screen. I’m from Milwaukee, so of course “my team” has always been the Brewers. The highlights showed the Brewers taking a two run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, but ultimately losing the game when the Cardinals staged a three run rally.

At the moment I realized they lost, particularly in this fashion, my mood suddenly changed. I caught a wave of bad vibes. I lost the spring in my step.

It was yet another attack of what I call the “Sports Gene” - this seemingly uncontrollable ability for sports to affect my mood depending on whether my adopted teams won or lost. The gene is particularly present during football season, when the Green Bay Packers play.

In every other time before this one, I’d gradually shake off the bad vibes and go right back to ESPN and the daily sports page for my next dose of uppers or downers.

But this time was different. I got mad at myself. “Why do you get so worked up about something that has absolutely nothing to do with your life and your happiness?????”

I decided to do something about it. I was going to go on a “sports embargo” - for as long as I could I was going to avoid any contact with sports news.

Now here it is the following Friday, almost a week since I started the embargo, and I’m happy to report that it has held firm. I didn’t turn on the TV in my hotel rooms once all week (and there was another side benefit there - a purge of the “mindless TV watching” gene), and avoided all online and in print sports news.

I don’t have any idea how “my team” has done this week - and you know what, I’m gradually getting to a point where I don’t care. That’s what I’m aiming for - a more casual, detached approach to this information. I know that this embargo will be broken sooner or later - my guess it will be the first time the Packers play - but it’s serving a very useful purpose.

I need to be more concerned about the things going on in MY life versus a bunch of highly paid people on a field someplace. That’s what always bugged me about my Sports Gene, and I’m glad I chose to do something about it.

So, if you do happen to speak to me on the phone while this embargo is still going on, please do not preface the discussion with “how about those (insert team here)!” I really will have no clue.

Now, back to the wrestling………..