I grew up in northern Ohio, a very small farming community near Wooster. In our town, like many places across the U.S., football was king—from local high school football to the NFL. However, coming from an Adventist background meant that high school and college football were out because they played on Friday nights and Saturdays respectively. Therefore, the Cleveland Browns were, and still are, my team.
For much of my life the Cleveland Browns have sucked. However, when I was young, there were a few brief moments in the late ‘80s where the Browns were good, making it to the AFC Championship game three of four years from 1986-1988, only to lose to the John Elway and the Denver Broncos each time. I remember watching the games with my dad, seeing how excited he got and how disappointed he was after those losses. That was all it took–a few good seasons, and I was hooked. However, the Browns have never really been good since.
Despite this, in recent memory the Browns have been playing for perfection–the coveted perfect season–finally reaching perfection last year going zero and 16. That’s right, zero wins and 16 losses. You would think that after watching a team finish dead last in their division 14 out of 16 times since 2003 that I would have lost hope. Maybe I would have started to cheer for another team.
Nevertheless, the Browns are my team, losers though they be.
Recently, I have come to realize that I like them that way. Why would I like them losing? Well, no expectations means that I can watch a game and never be too disappointed. I love to watch sports; I watch all kinds of sports–football, soccer, hockey and recently, even sumo. As I watch sports I have noticed something: I don’t like the anxiety I feel when I watch a team I love play. I do not enjoy the emotional rollercoaster, and I especially don’t like the lingering disappointment I feel after a tough loss in a high stakes game. It can take me hours and even days to recover.
I don’t want that.
Rather, I enjoy watching a competitive game between highly skilled teams/players where I don’t care about the outcome. I can be surprised. I still feel some tension, but not at a level that gives me discomfort. I don’t have to deal with the lingering feelings of disappointment.
So, you can keep your Patriots, Warriors and Penguins. I will keep my lovable losers, where the only possible direction is up, and I can’t be too disappointed if we stay at the bottom. Shoot, there’s always next year.
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