Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

I'm fine

Perhaps it’s because I’m older and wiser now at the age of 32 (ha!), but I’m feeling quite fine today, even though the team I was rooting for utterly lost the Super Bowl the previous evening. The younger, sports-obsessed version of me would’ve had his night and the following week completely ruined; current me understands what’s truly important in life, and local sports teams isn’t one of them.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love to watch sports; it’s the outcome that I’m now detached from. Obviously, I don’t judge people who stake their entire being and existence on a particular sports team; those are the true believers that make sporting events possible in the first place.

What I take out of the Super Bowl is the time spent with friends watching the game. Those are the moments worth remembering: gorging on unhealthy food, drinking alcohol, and focusing more on the conversations than what’s being broadcasted on the television. Truthfully, because I had a vested rooting interest in this year’s big game, I did pay more attention to the match than year’s past, though I kept reminding myself that there will always be a Super Bowl, but the people around me are only as young as they are today.

Not to get completely morbid, but just look at what happened to Kobe Bryant: anything you hold near and dear can be taken away from you in an instant. Relationships are what’s important, not a football game. Would I be tangibly happier today had the 49ers won the Super Bowl? Probably, but that sort of happiness is fleeting - the shine will inevitably wear off. Having great experiences with people close to me? That sort of happiness is forever.

Footnote: I did try the vaunted ‘White Claw’ drink for the first time at our Super Bowl party, and I have to say it’s a damn efficient way to get people drunk without realizing it. There’s no alcohol taste at all, so I can see how a person can down multiple cans and not think about the ramifications. In certain hands, I would say White Claw might be more dangerous than the infamous ‘Four Loko’ drink.

We’re walking on glass.