THE ANNOYING, SICK FEELING OF LOSING
Firmino rolls the ball past Ederson…and it’s Man City 1 Liverpool 2! Just like that, Liverpool have won the Champions League tie in emphatic style (a 1-5 aggregate scoreline). Guardiola holds his head in his hands. Miles away in Rome, Manolas gets his head to a corner kick and scores the third goal in a 3-0 Roma over Barcelona. The away side walked into the Stadio Olympico with a 4-1 advantage. Surely Barcelona were through, right? By 90 minutes, Roma had pulled off the impossible and dumped one of Europe’s finest out of…well…Europe. I saw a young boy, a Barcelona fan, crying his mind out on my TV screen. Along with how Pep looked in the stands, the pain of losing was evident, far more than the joy of winning (don’t tell the Liverpool/anti-Man City and Roma/anti-Barcelona fans…those ones had a blast).
It hurts when your favourite team loses a match, let alone in the manner in which Man City and, especially, Barcelona did last night. There’s a shock that comes over you once the goals go in, followed by a annoyance that creeps into your mind before you get angry. Later, you calm down with a sick feeling (after you realize that there’s absolutely nothing you can do about the result). It’s easy to get irritated after all of this. No wonder fights break out at viewing centres and bars.
You never get used to watching your favourite teams lose. If you could get used to it, you would not be watching games anymore; let alone enjoy it. There’s a part of you that keeps believing that it will work out this time. You take a look at the starting lineup of both teams. Doubts can creep in about how your team can fare. You may even tell yourself that the other team is better than yours; so you can prepare for a defeat. However, as the match progresses, you start to hope for an upset. Then, as earlier feared, your team loses. It was expected, but you’re pissed AF because you actually believed that there was hope. You half-prepared for a win, and it was for nothing? What a waste.
It can be an issue when you’ve bragged to your guys about how sure you are about your team making the next round. This 2nd leg is just a formality, you boasted. Match comes and goes…your team IS OUT. Just like that. Your phone is ringing every micro-second. The ring tone (the one you set by yourself) is now annoying you (lol). How will you face these guys now? You’re finished…and it’s that dumb coach’s fault. Stupid tactics and players. What was he thinking?
I’d like to spare a thought for the betting community. Imagine your mindset when you sat down to select the games on your slip. I think the process of choosing games to bet on is deeply underappreciated; that process is a tedious one, one that involves your mental capacity to be at its sharpest. It is a lot of work…yet people will be thinking that they are wasting their life (lol…please let’s clap for them, because those are the real hardworkers). Imagine doing all that (you probably noted about 10 games) and then after 9 games have clicked, you’re keeping an eye on one last game. The game is Home Win (the home team to win) and it’s 2-1. Just a few minutes left for it to click. All of a sudden, the away side equalizes! This is bad but there’s still time for the home team to score and win the game, as expected. Then, before your eyes…it’s 2-3! Now it’s over…and there goes your money. The pain you feel cannot be matched anywhere else (trust me…I know).
Losing is a horrible feeling, but it’s part of the experience of supporting a team. Personally, I believe that losing can be good, because it makes the joy of winning much sweeter (that’s when your team wins…till then, its well with you).
Later.
