I’ve been a lifelong fan of the Brooklyn Nets (used to be known as the New Jersey Nets). I’d remember that I’d cheer them on from the television set. I’d go to home games with my friends and family members. I’d talk about stats and potential of my favorite players on the team.
It was a ritual. I’d be enthralled by their potential and their possibilities of winning a championship when they are doing well. And I’d be discarding them as “down in the dumps” when they are not doing well. It was a roller coaster process to say the least.
Yes, they provide me with a wonderful form of entertainment. Getting up for a Nets game makes me look forward to the day. And makes me get up with a sense of vigor and purpose. That’s the life as a fan of your favorite sports team.
You feel attached to them. You follow them wherever you go. You feel like you’re on cloud nine every they come up with a clutch win. You daydream about their possibilities. You brag to your friends about how they’re doing well.
And then, when they fall far below expectations, you feel betrayed and even suffer a little bit. You feel like you’ve lost a little part of yourself and you go about the day with a sense of dejection and anguish. You emphatically shout at the TV screen every they miss a makeable shot or commit a careless turnover.
Of course, it’s all in good fun. At the end of day, it’s just entertainment. One way to excite you through the day. It can even be seen as a sort of drug so to speak. How it is so addicting in its various forms. Even through both the good times and the bad times, you can’t seem to turn away from them.
Life as a fan can be rocky. It’s not always the happy-go-lucky feeling you get when your team is doing good. You also have to deal with the downs of going through a tough spot in the season. Of going through slumps and miscues and mistakes and all of that.
This year, the Brooklyn Nets came into the season with high expectations of winning a championship. After all, they got Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Who wouldn’t put them on that high of a pedestal. But not even a month into the season, the losses started mounting. The top two players of the team couldn’t find the chemistry needed to churn out wins.
And it seemed like miscues and mistakes plague the team every time I excitedly turn on to watch them on the television. It’s hard to watch them sometimes. Sometimes, I just want to turn off the television when they are playing poorly.
Yes, life as a fan can be rough at times. Especially when your team doesn’t meet the initial expectations that are expected of them at the start. But, it’s just a game at the end of day.
I need to remind that of myself every single time when I watch them. Regardless of whether it’s a win or a loss, there’s no need to take the game too seriously. And isn’t that the way we should approach life as well? As a game? Win or loss, that’s all it is. No need to take things personally or like the world is going to end.
A game is a game. It could go your way. And many times, quite frankly, it will not. But, it’s the need to practice this sense of detachment (for lack of a better word). A sense that you can be good either way the wind blows. Whether it’s a tough night out from your favorite player, or a career night from your favorite player, you stay grounded and humble and appreciative of everything there is at hand.
Basketball is just a game. Even for rabid fans that support their team through thick and thin. There’s no need to suffer too much from the playing of a simple game for the sake of enjoyment. And at the end of the day, that’s all it is. Enjoyment for the masses. A sense of entertainment to whisk us away from the pain and possible boredom of everyday life.
That’s all sports is there to do. It’s also there to foster a sense of healthy competition. But, we need to remind ourselves everyday that it is all just a game. A beautiful game. A constant game. A game that will not always achieve our desired outcome. But, it is a game that should be enjoyed thoroughly regardless of outcome.
And it’s that reminder that I constantly give myself whenever I see my Brooklyn Nets come out with a heartbreaking loss. It’s that reminder when I see them reel off an impressive winning streak. It’s the chance to practice at being a supportive fan, but not go to overboard with the drama itself.
It’s all just a drama. It’s all just a play. It’s all just a game. No need to take it as a life or death matter. I should be thankful that there is such an entertaining forum for me to invest my time into. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Yes, life as a fan can be a roller coaster ride at times. But, it’s yet another chance to practice emotional maturity in this day and age. A chance to roll with the punches. To ride through the good and the bad with a stable maturity. A chance to just be appreciative of the opportunity to enjoy and be entertained.