Just Look Away. It Only Hurts for a Second.

People always come up to me and ask "How can you get excited and root for these Bears when they play like this." OK, no one really comes up to me, ever, and asks me about the Bears. I think I scare people a little. The answer is "I don't stay excited." I am easily able to lose interest in a pathetic Bear team. I can look at the talent, the coaching and be objective in my fandom. I am grounded in reality when it comes to the Bears. I will watch every game despite their record. But my love of football does not rest solely on the Bears. I love sports and competition. That is what inspires me and that has been true since I was a little fan.

When I was a kid, if I wasn't playing sports, I was watching sports or reading about sports. I was always playing ball outside with my friends. I could always find a game or get one going. I watched every sport I could find on the 6 channels we used to get back in the 70's and 80's. When ESPN was born, I was there. I have read every decent sports book ever written. That was fanaticism. My roommate in college and I just talked about this same thing, how sports-obsessed we were. He is one of my best friends. That is the foundation of our relationship. It is always our shared experiences at games. That is where it all gets done. We talk about our lives, dreams, goals, setbacks and accomplishments while either at a game or watching the game or calling to talk about the game. It is what my father and I always shared until the end. It was one of my great accomplishments in life to take my dad to great games and get great seats. I promised myself I would do that. I also told him how much it meant for me to do that with him. The few people that I consider my best friends are sports fanatics. It is not a long list of people, but it is a long list of games.

As I have gotten older, my sports obsession has waned. I have narrowed the field tremendously. Football season and college basketball until March Madness and then I go on hiatus. I have dropped the baseball and the Australian Rules football. My attachment to a particular player is all but gone. It is the pure competition that keeps me interested, that and a chance to see a game with my friends. I could be in the endzone at Montini, the visiting fans section in Gainesville, up and in the corner for the Illini comeback to go to the Final Four (remember that one), high up on Rocky Top or at the Bears NFC championship game with my new sports buddy, and I can feel like a kid for just a few hours. A family of four and a law practice means I can't act like a kid, but I can pretend.