March Madness

I'm sure that if you're reading the title, you've thought that I would write about how much I like one team or another... or how I am doing well/poor in my office bracket gambling event.

But no. I'm writing to say that I hate college and professional sports. Not because I hate the players, because I don't. I think many of them are incredible athletes and I'm glad that they have a way to do something that they love to do (and be paid well for it).

What I can't stand are the fans.

Especially now that I live in ACC country, I am simply amazed at the quantity of time people spend thinking about basketball, dreaming about basketball, watching basketball... and getting completely over-worked about their team(s). And yes, I'm probably talking about you, too.

What amazes me most, however, is the level of seriousness taken on by the fans. It's like their own personal lives hinge on the outcome of the game! Really! They take it as a personal affront if their team doesn't win... and as a personal "win" if the team does well. And what I really think annoying is when the fans get sad ON BEHALF OF the players.

Why?

I have to believe that they realize that the players are going to (or already do) make more money in a single year than many do in a lifetime. I have to also believe that the players don't really care about the fans... (you wouldn't have things like a hockey strike if fans were the reason for playing). And to top it off, fans PAY MONEY to see the various teams play.

Don't fans realize that they're taken advantage of? Don't they realize that their hard-earned money is going to pay for it, too? And that when they get emotional, they're paying for that, too?

Crazy.