Mike Richards, former Flyers captain and one of my favorite players of all time, said that he hated losing more than he liked winning. A concept has no meaning without an opposing force. You need hate to understand love. You need chaos to understand order. You need to experience a rainy day (losing) to truly enjoy a sunny day (winning). Most seasons for all sports teams end in disappointment or not achieving the ultimate goal. Philadelphia sports fans experience this disappointment more than most.
Hell, even Rocky lost in Rocky I. Rocky Balboa and everybody lost in Rocky V. Silver Linings Playbook is about dealing with personal loss and the importance of mental health up against the backdrop of sports fanatics with gambling eccentricities.
In the Thrice song The Weight, the lyrics read “cause a ring don’t mean if you can’t haul the weight.” I’m sure these lyrics are about a relationship between two individuals, but it works as an allegory for a sports team and its fans. Being invested emotionally through a time period in events that you personally have no control of is utter madness. The agony of defeat up against the glory of success. Life is an ebb and flow, ups and downs, pluses and minuses. In the pursuit of championship glory, it is a roller coaster of emotions. Feel the weight of the moment. Just take the ride.
Sports are a way of life for a lot of people, me included. Just when you think there is not a new and different way to be let down by your favorite Philadelphia sports team, they come in and cut your heart out as the mountain of emotions crumble all around you.
So, when the Flyers beat Buffalo with the help of two fluky power play goals, be happy. Enjoy it. Life is short. When the Flyers inevitably blow a two-goal lead to a divisional opponent in the final five minutes of the game only to win in overtime, breathe easy.
When the guy in section 208A who is 12 Bud Lights deep with 8 minutes to go in the first period tells you they should not have traded “Brandon” Schenn for picks, let it go. We are both in the same boat hurling towards the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. So even if it is a painful season, let yourself feel the joy of a win and the weight of having a common bond with your fellow person. However, fleeting it may be.
