OT: Is happiness in sports an illusion?

[OriginalCanesCanesCanes]

I’ll put it like this:

The happiness I felt about winning the 2001 national championship is dwarfed tenfold by the anguish of the 2002 national championship loss fvckery. Not even close.

I guess that’s how I’m different, I feel the exact opposite way. Nothing will ever take away from that national championship, even if we continue to suck for the next 10 years.

I’m not saying it’s bad you feel that way, I just wouldn’t even deal with it. If that’s my attitude, I would just stop following the team. There’s a lot of other things in life.

 

[JHallCanes]

I was really happy the day richt got hired. Maybe not because he was going to make us a championship team, but because he knows how to run a good program, is a good man, humble, and showed that he cares about his former players on numerous occasions.

His run definitely had its lows but our program is way better for it. And he provided some great moments of happiness — jumping over a sliding player in the rain like a G, saying “thank god” with a smirk after whalloping known human killer Brian Kelly’s fighting Irish, and breaking down the merits of the four bite sandwich.

That to me is the best way to happiness in sports. root for the people on your team not just as players and coaches, but as people. That way, when your team loses, you empathize for people you respect instead of punching a television because you are a disconnected piece of ****.

As a side note… That’s part of why I found the narrative this past season that Cristobal didn’t have any talent to work with to be dangerous invective. I’m not saying he had the 2001 canes out there but a lot of those dudes put in their work and deserve our support.

Well said

 

[Hardcore Cane]

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I both 1) care less about sports and b. am increasingly cynical about their ultimate aims. Let me establish some priors:

1. I am a Christian of a sect who believes that true fulfillment cannot be found apart from Christ. However, I do believe there are many lesser joys in life that are worthy of pursuit. so to be clear, I am not equating “happiness in sports” with anything on an eternal scale.

2. In my life I have had multiple franchises I follow in multiple sports win championships. The Canes, 49ers, Spurs, and tangentially the Cubs have all won ships, with all but the Cubs winning multiple in or around my youth/adult life. I am not a Cleveland Browns or Buffalo Bills fan who doesn’t know what winning it all feels like.

3. I think the commercialization of sports, specifically college and pro, has reduced the joy of being a fan to the ultimate ends of the sport only. Namely, winning championships, which we already refer to as “winning it all” (suggesting there is nothing left).

The last point has harmed the sports individually and collectively, especially college, and turned them into 365-days-a-year content machines. Whoever wins the Super Bowl in two weeks will have less than 24 minutes dedicated to their victory, let alone 24 hours. The content machine will immediately kick into high gear, refocusing the fans of the other 31 teams on free agency and the draft. The NFL is no different than an endless scrolling app like IG or YouTube, it just uses your calendar instead of a piece of software.

Im pro-playoff expansion in CFB, but I’ve come around more to the thoughts of my late father: he hated the idea of a playoff. I thought he was a grump, but hes been proven right on a couple of things since the sport added the BCS and playoff: 1. College football would lose its local flavor and focus. 2. The significance of conference accomplishments would vanish (I remember his profound joy when Illinois won the B10 and got to play in a Rose Bowl. A huge deal decades ago). It’s that second point that I think reverberates so strongly with me now; nothing short of winning it all matters anymore. There is no “good season” that ends in defeat, not unless you expected your team to suck.

So the significance of *not* winning it all has never been lower, and, oddly enough, the significance of winning it all has never been lower. If you can’t find joy in lesser accomplishments, and you can’t really enjoy when you win it all, has the ceiling in sports not fallen dramatically? (I think this may also explain why data-driven, “I love the sport itself” type interests and media adjacent to those interests have flourished, but that’s another issue.)

I don’t expect anyone to really read this, it’s a stupid question. Besides, there’s always next year.

If your niners would have won tonight you would not have posted this and you would be extremely happy right now illusion or not.

 

[DTP]

I’ll fight anybody over Kobe Bryant, but other than that I agree lol

Wade is better

 

[JHallCanes]

Yeah, I could’ve made a whole separate list of just Tiger Woods wins...

But the Tiger Slam was really when he catapulted himself into the upper echelon of Golf lore.

That’s when it became real that he was serious contender & threat to Jack’s 18 Majors.

And winning the US Open in 08 at Torrey Pines on one leg after tearing his ACL, was some God-level sh*t.

I remember Tigers first win at the Masters like it was yesterday. Probably because he wasn’t much older than me and we used to golf me and my friends all the time

So to see what he did as a teenager experiencing that, someone truly changing an entire sport, it’ll always be something monumental. Not just the wins but the disruption of an entire system that would never be the same.

 

[No_Fly_Zone]

Pick a side.
Support that side.
Fight for that side.
Learn to enjoy small victories.
Learn to roll with defeat.
Learn to live with both.
Enjoy the struggle.
And if true victory comes, celebrate obnoxiously and shove it down everyone else's throats until they choke on it.

But happiness? What the **** sort of expectation is that to derive from other men playing a game? Embrace the suck or move on.

 

[AlphaMarshan]

I’ll put it like this:

The happiness I felt about winning the 2001 national championship is dwarfed tenfold by the anguish of the 2002 national championship loss fvckery. Not even close.

I know a few pro poker players. One of them told me, "The feeling of having a horrible losing session is not comparable on the same scale as the happiness of having a monster winning session. They're not equal. Losing is WAY WORSE than how good it feels to win."

 

[Canesq]

If I'm being honest, I care way less only now that NIL is a thing.

I argued ardently with friends and co-workers that it would ultimately be bad for CFB. Now that cat is out of the bag and there's no way of getting it back in.

The best part about CFB used to be the rivalries. Kids don't care about that anymore; it's all about money. All these kids are buddies on Twitter and IG now - they couldn't care less what the logo is on the side of their helmets.

****, we got guys on our team that would go play for FSU or UF TOMORROW if the price is right. Same with Auburn/Alabama, OSU/Michigan, etc.

The minute someone starts in front of them, they go hit the portal because they ultimately don't care about what it means to be a Cane or a part of any other program.

It's tough to watch and in a lot of ways has ruined the sport, IMO. I'll still watch but I'm way less invested because I know they're way less invested. They wanna get in, get that NIL, and get to the NFL as quickly as possible.

I’m with you man. I’m glad the kids are getting paid because ultimately they are the main reason for national championships.

But it’s created an almost professional environment now, even worse because of the free transfer.

Any Yankee’s fans on here? How would you feel if you paid for all the best players and win the championship or in contention every single year?

I remember reading Bama boards this year after a couple of their losses and you would think they hadn’t won anything in a decade.

 

[SayWhat]

It's better when we win, but only ever so slightly worse when we lose. I just keep it moving either way. Losses used to matter and set the mood for a day to several days. Now, it's just what we do.

This last World Cup final was far more thrilling and exciting than anything this team has done in years.

 

[Negro-Wan Kanobi]

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I both 1) care less about sports and b. am increasingly cynical about their ultimate aims. Let me establish some priors:

1. I am a Christian of a sect who believes that true fulfillment cannot be found apart from Christ. However, I do believe there are many lesser joys in life that are worthy of pursuit. so to be clear, I am not equating “happiness in sports” with anything on an eternal scale.

2. In my life I have had multiple franchises I follow in multiple sports win championships. The Canes, 49ers, Spurs, and tangentially the Cubs have all won ships, with all but the Cubs winning multiple in or around my youth/adult life. I am not a Cleveland Browns or Buffalo Bills fan who doesn’t know what winning it all feels like.

3. I think the commercialization of sports, specifically college and pro, has reduced the joy of being a fan to the ultimate ends of the sport only. Namely, winning championships, which we already refer to as “winning it all” (suggesting there is nothing left).

The last point has harmed the sports individually and collectively, especially college, and turned them into 365-days-a-year content machines. Whoever wins the Super Bowl in two weeks will have less than 24 minutes dedicated to their victory, let alone 24 hours. The content machine will immediately kick into high gear, refocusing the fans of the other 31 teams on free agency and the draft. The NFL is no different than an endless scrolling app like IG or YouTube, it just uses your calendar instead of a piece of software.

Im pro-playoff expansion in CFB, but I’ve come around more to the thoughts of my late father: he hated the idea of a playoff. I thought he was a grump, but hes been proven right on a couple of things since the sport added the BCS and playoff: 1. College football would lose its local flavor and focus. 2. The significance of conference accomplishments would vanish (I remember his profound joy when Illinois won the B10 and got to play in a Rose Bowl. A huge deal decades ago). It’s that second point that I think reverberates so strongly with me now; nothing short of winning it all matters anymore. There is no “good season” that ends in defeat, not unless you expected your team to suck.

So the significance of *not* winning it all has never been lower, and, oddly enough, the significance of winning it all has never been lower. If you can’t find joy in lesser accomplishments, and you can’t really enjoy when you win it all, has the ceiling in sports not fallen dramatically? (I think this may also explain why data-driven, “I love the sport itself” type interests and media adjacent to those interests have flourished, but that’s another issue.)

I don’t expect anyone to really read this, it’s a stupid question. Besides, there’s always next year.

Go Birds.

 

[Hurracanes]

Someone’s salty about an L.

 

[423Hurricane]

Through the years, our perspectives change based on everything we experience - good, bad, and indifferent - in all aspects of our lives. Family, friends, work and co-workers, religion, politics, the media, (just to name the major influencers) and yes, our favorite sports teams all contribute to our changing perspectives.

At 65, I certainly don’t see things the way I did even 10 years ago and certainly not 50 years ago. Success and failure in any aspect certainly has a major influence on our perspective both positively and negatively.

How many times did “older” people say to us “You’ll understand when you get older.” Well, we’ve gotten older and we still don’t know WTH is going on.

 

[Memnon]

Wade is better

 

[JHallCanes]

Someone’s salty about an L.

I think it’s an OC thread undercover…

 

[Poptimus]

I guess that’s how I’m different, I feel the exact opposite way. Nothing will ever take away from that national championship, even if we continue to suck for the next 10 years.

I’m not saying it’s bad you feel that way, I just wouldn’t even deal with it. If that’s my attitude, I would just stop following the team. There’s a lot of other things in life.

I’ve tried to view it differently. I have. But to me it’s not even one championship (as if that’s something trivial). That loss was a key domino that caused many years of pain in my opinion.

I never even talk about it and thinking about it right now is making me mad so I’m just going to stop.

 

[canetomm]

Happiness comes from the things we do with people we enjoy doing them with. For me, as a Canes fan, I have so many memories of times spent with my dad, brother, and friends at the games. Dad passed away, but the Canes still give my brother and me opportunities to cheer the boys on, celebrate, and unfortunately ***** about how bad we have been lately. I look forward to more happy times to come. BTW we are all Agnostic.

 

[IndayArtHauz]

Someone’s salty about an L.

The salt you're tasting is from me peeing in your Cheerios about Mario.

 

[We'retheBoss]

After watching our offense last year, I started to think maybe the endzone was just an illusion

 

[Lokest]

You're just older and your team sucks

 

[U2026]

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I both 1) care less about sports and b. am increasingly cynical about their ultimate aims. Let me establish some priors:

1. I am a Christian of a sect who believes that true fulfillment cannot be found apart from Christ. However, I do believe there are many lesser joys in life that are worthy of pursuit. so to be clear, I am not equating “happiness in sports” with anything on an eternal scale.

2. In my life I have had multiple franchises I follow in multiple sports win championships. The Canes, 49ers, Spurs, and tangentially the Cubs have all won ships, with all but the Cubs winning multiple in or around my youth/adult life. I am not a Cleveland Browns or Buffalo Bills fan who doesn’t know what winning it all feels like.

3. I think the commercialization of sports, specifically college and pro, has reduced the joy of being a fan to the ultimate ends of the sport only. Namely, winning championships, which we already refer to as “winning it all” (suggesting there is nothing left).

The last point has harmed the sports individually and collectively, especially college, and turned them into 365-days-a-year content machines. Whoever wins the Super Bowl in two weeks will have less than 24 minutes dedicated to their victory, let alone 24 hours. The content machine will immediately kick into high gear, refocusing the fans of the other 31 teams on free agency and the draft. The NFL is no different than an endless scrolling app like IG or YouTube, it just uses your calendar instead of a piece of software.

Im pro-playoff expansion in CFB, but I’ve come around more to the thoughts of my late father: he hated the idea of a playoff. I thought he was a grump, but hes been proven right on a couple of things since the sport added the BCS and playoff: 1. College football would lose its local flavor and focus. 2. The significance of conference accomplishments would vanish (I remember his profound joy when Illinois won the B10 and got to play in a Rose Bowl. A huge deal decades ago). It’s that second point that I think reverberates so strongly with me now; nothing short of winning it all matters anymore. There is no “good season” that ends in defeat, not unless you expected your team to suck.

So the significance of *not* winning it all has never been lower, and, oddly enough, the significance of winning it all has never been lower. If you can’t find joy in lesser accomplishments, and you can’t really enjoy when you win it all, has the ceiling in sports not fallen dramatically? (I think this may also explain why data-driven, “I love the sport itself” type interests and media adjacent to those interests have flourished, but that’s another issue.)

I don’t expect anyone to really read this, it’s a stupid question. Besides, there’s always next year.

I personally love this post and agree whole heartedly. The missing aspect in today's world is perspective and common sense. Your pops as well as mine had plenty of it and tried like **** to pass it on to us. We all need to stay in touch with reality. Happiness does truly exist. In my personal opinion it helps to have Christ at the center of your world. But I believe even those who do not can still find true happiness if they are able to find peace. In the grand scheme of life sports mean nothing. Therefore when it's going good it's like winning the lotto.

Perspective

Yes you are spot on. When I was younger I planned my whole life around Canes games and college football. It could be because you get older and there are more important things in life then sports ie kids career ect. Plus there was only like 5 games on a day when I was a kid now everyone single game is on and it seems watered down. It could also be the fact Miami has been garbage since 2003. Anyway great post.