Originally Posted by
AucklandRover
Champs - there is nothing wrong at all in using sport as therapy.
When I was younger, busy and stressed, one of the the great things for me about stepping out on to a cricket, football or rugby pitch was that for a period of time, the rest of the world disappeared.
I had a mate who used ultra-long-distance running for the same purpose, and I still find cycling clears my mind.
I honestly believe the modern trend for meditation, yoga, mindfulness, etc. are other ways into the same process.
I am a bit of a cold fish in some ways, so it's easier for me not to get sucked in to the emotions. When I read your posts, I get the impression you invest so much into each game that you over-react to some of the responses. Your post here goes a long way to explaining that commitment.
I gather we were pretty dire against S. Utd. If so, there is nothing wrong with posters commenting to that effect. You shouldn't take that as an overall condemnation of what TM has achieved. I've only recently realised that a lot of what Saxo writes is tongue-in-cheek, anyway, and deliberately designed to stir us up. (I think he gets bored easily!)
My overview of football now is that fans jump to conclusions too hastily. One good win doesn't make a team brilliant; one performance like that against the Blades doesn't make us awful. And neither are useful as predictors for the next match.
My cousin (sort of) who supports Bristol City reckons two of their best performance recently have been the defeats against WBA and Sheffield Wednesday! Football isn't always fair.
The other absolutely blindingly obvious thing which so often gets overlooked is that most games are decided in one or two moments. Fans talk as if it all comes down to advanced planning, but it's just as likely to be a lucky break of the ball. By definition, the teams are all pretty equal - especially in the Championship - and it's that equality which makes each game tense and unpredictable.
If you took the time, you could probably look at a given week's results and say "We beat them today and they beat the league-leaders last week, so we should be top of the league", but we all know it doesn't work like that.
The glorious uncertainty is one of the things that keeps us hooked.
My favourite stupid utterance so far this year was from the bloke on the Telegraph site who said Mowbray should have done something to help Raya set up the wall when we conceded the late equaliser against Villa!
Counting to ten probably helps, but being old like me is better. I have got used to accepting disappointments with a shrug, because there are so many new ones cropping up every day at my age! On the other hand, I still find life also offers a lot of pleasant surprises - such as some of the astonishing things I saw in Cambodia last week. (Trying roasted snake with my nine-year-old grandson was definitely a first!)
Keep posting and keep caring.