When They Lose

Well, for the last two weeks the University of Auburn Tigers have lost.  Last week to Arkansas and this week to Kentucky.  Last week was not as bad as this week.  When we went to bed last night the last thing my fan said was, “I can’t believe we lost to Kentucky at home.”  The first thing my fan said when his eyes opened this morning was, “I can’t believe we lost to Kentucky at home.”  I even saw my fan turn into his inner six year-old, jump up and down and express himself in words way beyond a good six year-old’s vocabulary.  Let’s just say that the results of today’s fantasy football games will determine the climate in my household.

At this point in the season, college teams are being weighed against pre-season predictions and are about to have the full weight of the BCS polls released.   Bowl predictions are beginning in earnest, (with six wins, college teams are “bowl eligible”).   Now is when teams that have been doing well, like Auburn, can penalty themselves out of a “successful” season.   The initial hope of the season is either weaning or being supported. 

So what does this mean for your fan?  It means they are going to take wins and losses more to heart, will be highly reactive to BCS news and have a propensity to have highly emotional responses to the outcomes of their team’s games.

This is also the point in the season that I usually need a break from football.  Thankfully two weeks ago I was able to have a football free weekend.  I recommend that if you are starting to feel hemmed in by your fan’s football schedule, that you take some time away and plan a football free weekend for yourself.  What I do is find a night that we can spend some football free time together during the week and then take off with my friends or occupy myself in another part of the house while my fan watches his games.  It is incredibly reviving to take a step away for awhile.

I would like to take a moment and send a special hello to our friends P&L who recently added a new fan to their family and are probably still coping with the results of yesterday’s Arkansas/FL game.