Why do we care so much?

[InChiefsHeaven]

I've actually done a lot of thinking on this the last few years, and really the last few months.

I've been a Chiefs fan my whole life, though nobody in my family is. Back in the 70's my dad bought a poster for me and my brother's bedroom. It was a picture of an end zone pile up with the Chiefs and the Raiders. I guess I decided I liked the guys in Red, and I've never looked back.

I dealt with kids literally making fun of me in the 70s and 80s because the Chiefs sucked so bad. Then the 90s happened, and I guess it was redemption time, though it still ended in no championships.

I keep a schedule every year, I write the scores and my thoughts on the games. I just looked at the 2006 one where we lost to the...Colts...and read the final note I wrote: New Years Resolution...stop caring so much about the Chiefs...

...and for the most part, I have, a little anyway. I don't get nearly as involved in the draft as I used to, and I've actually had to miss a couple of games on TV because of other things going on...something that would have been unthinkable back in the day, when a loss meant literally 3 days of pissy-ness from me.

So I ask myself...why do I care so much? There is not one thing I can do to change how the Chiefs do play to play, game to game, season to season. And yet, I BLEED Chiefs red, hope reigns eternal every offseason and by the time the season rolls around, I'm feeling pretty good about our chances.

The question is...why oh why do we care so much about something that...at the end of the day, has no effect on our lives in any way shape or form, except the affect we allow it to have on our psyches.

This week, as I sit in anticipation of another Chiefs playoff game, and I think over in my head how great it will be if we win...I just wonder...why do I care so much?

Thoughts?

[siberian khatru]

You know what I'm terrified of? Losing, not because it costs us a Super Bowl, but because it would perpetuate this ridiculous narrative of our postseason failure.

I took an hour-long walk around the block in the freezing cold after the Titans loss last year, not because my Super Bowl hopes were dashed, but because we once again lost a playoff game in the goddamned stupidest ways. And I asked myself: Why do I keep watching this? Will it ever end?

And then Mahomes. Which creates hope like we've never had -- long-term hope. So I know if we lose Saturday, we'll still have Mahomes, maturing, for the next several years. He SHOULD make the difference, at some point.

But things aren't different until they're different. And I dread watching another playoff loss Saturday, knowing I probably have to go through this shit AGAIN next year.

Basically, I want to win Saturday just to put an end to this -- losing the first game, losing at home, losing to the Colts. Break the cycle.

[Chief Pagan]

Originally Posted by vonBobo

The illusion of success and transference. Have you ever wondered why fans refer to the team as "we", "us", etc?

Google sports fan psychology, but be warned its not the romantic "bleed red" crap we want it to be.

Sure, it is tribal. Vicarious warfare. Better than the real thing.

But being wrapped up in a team makes you focus. When I watch KC play, I can pretty much remember every play the next day. A good game that I don't really care about, not so much.

It can be unhealthy to get too wrapped up. But it makes the highs higher and the lows lower.

The team I've been most wrapped up in the last 30+ years is KU basketball. That has been a fun ride.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

You know what I'm terrified of? Losing, not because it costs us a Super Bowl, but because it would perpetuate this ridiculous narrative of our postseason failure.

I took an hour-long walk around the block in the freezing cold after the Titans loss last year, not because my Super Bowl hopes were dashed, but because we once again lost a playoff game in the goddamned stupidest ways. And I asked myself: Why do I keep watching this? Will it ever end?

And then Mahomes. Which creates hope like we've never had -- long-term hope. So I know if we lose Saturday, we'll still have Mahomes, maturing, for the next several years. He SHOULD make the difference, at some point.

But things aren't different until they're different. And I dread watching another playoff loss Saturday, knowing I probably have to go through this shit AGAIN next year.

Basically, I want to win Saturday just to put an end to this -- losing the first game, losing at home, losing to the Colts. Break the cycle.

Amen. Much like Berry's forever lingering day-to-day-to-month-to-year bullshit, I just want it to end.

[2bikemike]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

You know what I'm terrified of? Losing, not because it costs us a Super Bowl, but because it would perpetuate this ridiculous narrative of our postseason failure.

I took an hour-long walk around the block in the freezing cold after the Titans loss last year, not because my Super Bowl hopes were dashed, but because we once again lost a playoff game in the goddamned stupidest ways. And I asked myself: Why do I keep watching this? Will it ever end?

And then Mahomes. Which creates hope like we've never had -- long-term hope. So I know if we lose Saturday, we'll still have Mahomes, maturing, for the next several years. He SHOULD make the difference, at some point.

But things aren't different until they're different. And I dread watching another playoff loss Saturday, knowing I probably have to go through this shit AGAIN next year.

Basically, I want to win Saturday just to put an end to this -- losing the first game, losing at home, losing to the Colts. Break the cycle.

This right here ^.

I fell in love with this team during the longest game. Had my heart ripped out way too many times to count.

This team hooks you in with hope and excitement and then slams you face first into the wall. Why we remain loyal and true is beyond me. My excitement level is through the roof this year, I am trying to temper expectations but with Mahomes under center its become an impossible task.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

Right?

I mean, I've tried to reason it out in my head, and I come up with zilch. There is no benefit or detriment to my life that is tied to how the Chiefs do. If I worked for the team, then maybe. But I'm just a fan, and a pretty rabid one. I guess it's not just the Chiefs, it's any sports fan. Why the **** do we care so much about something we literally can't control?

We take pride in it...why?
We get into arguments about it...why?
We piss off our spouses because we get profane and pissy when they lose...why?


I'm not even saying it's wrong, but it's mysterious to me...

No mystery. It’s childish and immature.

That’s what makes it great. We are grown up, but watching football makes us feel like kids again.

[Imon Yourside]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Good point. I've lived away from Missouri for nearly all of my adult life. Being of fan of the Chiefs in particular has become a major part of my identity.

Also, I have no real life support group to console me if they lose. That sucks.

I think it would be easier if you weren't constantly reminded of it. During the offseason you can just store it away until Training camp or so and that just breeds optimism.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by KILLER_CLOWN

I think it would be easier if you weren't constantly reminded of it. During the offseason you can just store it away until Training camp or so and that just breeds optimism.

That works for my Mizzou fandom - nobody up here gives a shit about them whether they win, lose or draw. Nobody busted my balls over Gabbert 2.0 pissing down his leg against Okie Light in the Liberty Bowl.

The NFL is a different animal, as is my interest in the Chiefs. I can't store it away.

[CupidStunt]

Very interesting discussion. I've thought about it a lot over the years. I've also tried to distance myself many, many times and failed miserably for the most part.

I'm a Washington Capitals fan, and they had a somewhat similar postseason history to the Chiefs (won plenty of 1st round series but never got past the 2nd round ... almost always as the better team/favorite). A few months ago they finally won the Stanley Cup. That reminded me that 'curses' are meant to be broken.

However, it also told me that the joy of winning does NOT equal or surpass the pain of losing, at least for me, and at least in that sport (admittedly my football to hockey ratio is like 95:5 at this point, partly because the annual pain the Caps caused turned the tables ... which is weird being as Chiefs fan too). I was happy as hell, and will remember it forever, and it was a glorious few weeks or whatever, but now that I can be objective about it, it wasn't worth the many, many brutal losses over the years.

I'm hoping the Chiefs winning will be different. And I'm hoping if they do it, future failures will be less painful than all those in the past. The only "good" thing about my current psyche is that I'm not truly all-in on this team, like I was in 03 for instance. If it ends on Saturday, I think the gut-wrenching thing will simply be that I don't get to watch Mahomes again for 9 months. The best part of my favorite 'hobby' just vanishes from my life for 9 months. Pretty big void to be honest. I just want more!

[Iconic]

Lol It's a sports team guys. We pick them, watch them for fun, and get a giant ass dopamine rush when we win.

It's not that deep.

[MatriculatingHank]

I've been a fan since Super Bowl IV. I've told my stories on here a few times.
Here's a pic from January 1972 when I got my new jacket (still pissed about the Christmas '71 overtime nightmare with the Dolphins.) Note the photos on the wall behind me. Every wall in my bedroom was covered with Chief photos.

[ottawa_chiefs_fan]

Originally Posted by MatriculatingHank

I've been a fan since Super Bowl IV. I've told my stories on here a few times.
Here's a pic from January 1972 when I got my new jacket (still pissed about the Christmas '71 overtime nightmare with the Dolphins.) Note the photos on the wall behind me. Every wall in my bedroom was covered with Chief photos.

I love that pic! I have told mine a few times as well but I am from Canada and the first Super Bowl I ever saw was SB IV. I cheered for the underdog. They won. I was hooked - for good or bad. I have such an investment in my sports teams I cannot watch. I have no idea why - but i think it is linked to my pride - i have too much - and cannot cope with losing. I wish so much I did not care - but it is impossible - until something far more important happens in my life...and I pray that does not happen.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

I've actually done a lot of thinking on this the last few years, and really the last few months.

I've been a Chiefs fan my whole life, though nobody in my family is. Back in the 70's my dad bought a poster for me and my brother's bedroom. It was a picture of an end zone pile up with the Chiefs and the Raiders. I guess I decided I liked the guys in Red, and I've never looked back.

I dealt with kids literally making fun of me in the 70s and 80s because the Chiefs sucked so bad. Then the 90s happened, and I guess it was redemption time, though it still ended in no championships.

I keep a schedule every year, I write the scores and my thoughts on the games. I just looked at the 2006 one where we lost to the...Colts...and read the final note I wrote: New Years Resolution...stop caring so much about the Chiefs...

...and for the most part, I have, a little anyway. I don't get nearly as involved in the draft as I used to, and I've actually had to miss a couple of games on TV because of other things going on...something that would have been unthinkable back in the day, when a loss meant literally 3 days of pissy-ness from me.

So I ask myself...why do I care so much? There is not one thing I can do to change how the Chiefs do play to play, game to game, season to season. And yet, I BLEED Chiefs red, hope reigns eternal every offseason and by the time the season rolls around, I'm feeling pretty good about our chances.

The question is...why oh why do we care so much about something that...at the end of the day, has no effect on our lives in any way shape or form, except the affect we allow it to have on our psyches.

This week, as I sit in anticipation of another Chiefs playoff game, and I think over in my head how great it will be if we win...I just wonder...why do I care so much?

Thoughts?

Camaraderie, solidarity of the region, family ties, nostalgia

So many reasons why we care.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by MatriculatingHank

I've been a fan since Super Bowl IV. I've told my stories on here a few times.
Here's a pic from January 1972 when I got my new jacket (still pissed about the Christmas '71 overtime nightmare with the Dolphins.) Note the photos on the wall behind me. Every wall in my bedroom was covered with Chief photos.

I had the same jacket and also trace my fandom back to SB IV. I don’t remember the specifics of any game before that, but I was already a better a big fan and knew who all the players were.

NFL home games were blacked out in those days, but my dad bought a huge directional antenna mounted on a 25 foot tower to try to pull in the games from Wichita or Columbia. Countless Sunday’s were spent squinting at a screen full of static hoping to catch a glimpse of my heros.

I was in my grandma’s basement when I heard the radio play call of Otis Taylor’s one handed catch to beat the undefeated Redskins. I had to wait until MNF halftime highlights to see film of the catch.

My hatred of Oakland was well established even before the Ben Davidson spearing game.

You all will get a kick out of my reaction to the 1972 playoff loss to the Dolphins. I was upset, but I pretty much shrugged it off. “Oh well, there’s always next year.” In my 10 year old brain, it was a well established fact that the Chiefs would always be good.

[Bump]

I used to be really hardcore into it back in my teens and early 20's but at some point I had to realize that I have zero control over the outcome and accept that its entertainment. It's fun to have a team that you like and you root for them, but it's not the end of the world anymore when they lose. I couldn't have done anything different, I had no effect on the outcome, it's there to entertain me.

[LiveSteam]

Everybody gotta have something to believe in Red