I wrote a while back (April 13th), the following:
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Cranky Reason #8: the Red Sox
Cranky Reason #8: the Red Sox. I have to admit that it's not only caregiving stuff that can make me cranky. I was really looking forward to the Red Sox season starting up last week ... their poor start is making me frustrated and cranky.
De-crank Strategy: Just turn off the game if it's going badly. If they come back and win, I can read about it and enjoy the outcome secondhand. If they don't come back, I don't have to be frustrated by their inability to take advantage of opportunities. I have been employing this strategy frequently already this season.
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I noted there's an even better de-crank strategy for dealing with occurrences such as this that are completely out of my control ... don't care! If you don't care about the outcome, then you won't get angry if the outcome is bad.
The Red Sox played well at the start of the season, way way back long ago. As the season progressed, they began to suck. Although they made the playoffs, it was pretty clear it was their play in the first half of the season that gave them the record to clinch a playoff berth. So, I was hopeful they'd do well, but wouldn't have been surprised if they did badly.
Well, play badly is exactly what they did in the first round of the playoffs. But, when they lost the third game in a row against the Angels and were swept out, I wasn't cranky. I had stopped being invested in the outcome. I was disappointed, but that was it. My expectations were very low and the Red Sox met them.
I guess I can learn from this ... in order to get cranky, I have to care.
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4 comments:
Ironic, isn't it?
Welcome to the fanclub for loser baseball teams, at least the Sox have won more championships.
I think one could also keep expectations low at times to avoid crankiness.
I'm sorry they won't be playing later in the month.
Good call. There some things worth caring about, and worth getting cranky about, but a lot of stuff just isn't. It's easy for me to put professional sports in the latter category, because I've never been a fan, but everybody's got their own list.
Diane - so right, it is.
L - I'm sorry too. I hate it when the baseball season ends. For 6 months, there's a game on almost every day. Then, suddenly, zip!
Zoom - I don't know how I became a sports fan. I had zero interest in them when I was younger and recall clearly that I had no idea how football was played when I was in my 20s. Now I watch lots of sports. Why?
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