So your team isn’t going to win the Super Bowl. Yeah, that is a huge bummer, but luckily for you there are 30 other fan bases that aren’t going to win the Super Bowl either. Hey, misery loves company, and your team not winning the Super Bowl is the greatest company you can be in.
Also, this is a game, so you shouldn’t get too worked up about your team not winning the Super Bowl. The further your team is eliminated from the Super Bowl the less you should be mad about it. If you are eliminated in Week 10 you can’t be sour about it in February. If your team loses the Super Bowl, then maybe you have a little more reason to be mad.
But what do you really get when your team wins the Super Bowl; a hangover a waste of one of your personal days at work on Monday? Yeah, the ecstasy of your team winning is pretty awesome. But it’s fleeting, and absence makes the heart grow fonder so the longer your team goes without a Super Bowl win is makes the next one so much more exhilarating.
So let’s go over how to properly handle this situation.
1. You should probably find a way to justify why your team did better than expectations. In times like this you should probably look at a way to be positive. Positivity is way better than negativity. (because I am a Packer fan I will be using examples that relate primarily to me and the team that I follow.) “Hey, they lost their #1 receiver in the preseason but had some guys step up and perform well.” “Hey, their offensive line was injured all year and still did okay.” “They had 2 Hail Mary completions in one season. Most franchises don’t even have 1!” “The defense kept them in games all year. That is something to look forward to in the future.” “They didn’t play well after the bye and might have not won the division, but they did win a playoff game which was more than what a lot of the pundits gave them.
2. Use this as a way to ween yourself off of saying, “We” when referring to the team. Put all the blame on them. “They shouldn’t have given up a 75 yard pass on the first play of Overtime.” Hopefully this will then parlay into not using the term “we” going forward. “We need to draft more offensive linemen in the draft.” No, they need to do that. You need to sit and watch the draft to seethem draft another cornerback, wide receiver, tight end, and if they make a trade to move up in the draft finally the offensive linemen you requested.
3. Reflect on the season. Hey, it was a fun ride. Maybe you got to go to a game or two. Maybe you had a really fun party for one of the games and had a lot of friends over. Use this time to reflect on how great and fortunate you are to have good friends to do that with and a team that provides you at least 16 weeks of entertainment every year. Remember, you could live in Canada where their football season lasts over the summer and has confusing rules.
4. Realize that this is not your fault. Hey, we all have rituals, but yours didn’t cause your team to not win the Super Bowl. Because you had a bad thought doesn’t mean you are being punished with a non-championship season. These things happen. Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.
5. Start planning your Sunday’s now that football isn’t involved. Maybe you could spend more time with your kids or catch up on some Netflix shows. Making a Murderer has been pretty compelling and your DVR is going to get a work out now that Better Call Saul is coming back in the Spring.
Here are something things you shouldn’t do in this situation.
1. Don’t go to a party for the remaining playoff games and Super Bowl claiming that your team could have done better and beat that team. Yeah, maybe but they didn’t so we have to look forward. Of course your team could have won that game. Its football, even the Browns win a game once and awhile. But no one likes a sore loser.
2. Don’t claim that the league is rigged and it picks who should win and lose games. If you think there are rigged outcomes you should watch professional wrestling. All of that shit is predetermined. Also, it’s just a bad look. If it’s predetermined, why would you watch, you could find out the outcome and then not watch. Not only that there is an entire generation of football players with head injuries that aren’t being paid by the league to deal with crippling medical bills. If the league was rigged I’d like to think these players would be paid a little bit more for their effort. Hell, tennis players have been reported to throw one match for $250,000! Most tennis players won’t make $250,000 in their career.
3. Don’t worry about your player’s talents dwindling and your opportunity to win a Super Bowl is shrinking. There are a lot of players out there that out play their age and ability. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are still playing and Charles Woodson just played his last season. All of those guys have a combined age of 100. Don’t worry about their ability just be happy they are healthy and can still help your team.
So that’s basically it. Just take a few deep breaths. Be reasonable and before you know it the next football season will be starting up again and we’ll have a new batch of guys to complain about for not running the right route or not being able to make a tackle.