The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat
The Phoenix Suns just finished their best season in 28 years. My family moved to the Phoenix area in 1980; my dad bought Suns season tickets and I have been a fan ever since. I attended Adams-Davis Basketball Camp at the JCC and loved meeting Suns stars Alvin Adams and Walter Davis. I feverishly cheered on the Suns teams of the 1980s and early 1990s. I have been in a group that shares season tickets since 2015.
As my wife, five children and I excitedly watched every playoff game during the last couple of months, I have been doing a lot of reflecting…why do I get such relief from wins and such pain from losses? I don’t work for the Suns; I have no financial stake in the team (other than buying expensive tickets); the players and coach are very likeable but I have no personal relationships with any of them. As with most professional athletes and celebrities, we think we know them but we really do not know them at all. I have a wonderful wife, children of whom I am extremely proud, a career that has fulfilled me more than I could have ever hoped, including my stellar team here at Weiss Wealth Strategies and a grateful, compassionate client base which fills my cup to the rim. Why do I care so much?
I played a lot of sports growing up; as I got into high school I focused on tennis and basketball (and ultimately only basketball). I had a decent high school career with some nice memories and great friendships. I played many intramural sports at the University of Arizona and the basketball league was very high-level, featuring many players who undoubtedly could have played collegiately at smaller schools. I played in regular pick-up basketball games and competitive recreational leagues from age 22 – 40. I always loved competition and being challenged and pushed to my limits…it is exhilarating to find out what our minds and bodies are capable of doing. I love the unadulterated camaraderie of team sports. As I have aged and my body no longer allows me to compete the way I used to, I have come to realize the thing I miss most about not playing anymore is spending time with the people I enjoyed so much.
Sports and sports fandom provide an “escape” from our regular lives…an escape from the news, current events and any stress or drama we are experiencing in our personal lives. That is why we love them and root so passionately. Some consider sports entertainment, like a movie or a TV show. But these playoffs were different…they brought another type of stress. For me and I am sure many others, the frustration of losses lingers for 24 hours or so; the relief of wins put an extra bounce in my step the next day. I suppose sports fandom fills the athletic/physical/competitive void that I no longer can achieve on my own. I just wish I didn’t care so much!
When the Diamondbacks won the World Series in 2001, I asked my then six-year-old son how old he thought I was when one of my teams first won a championship (as he had just experienced at age six). The answer was 33…the age I was right then. I was trying to impress upon him how infrequently the euphoric feelings he was experiencing occur…a difficult concept for a six-year-old to understand. Now at age 26, after watching his Arizona Wildcats lose in the Elite Eight during his first two years of college, the Cardinals lose the Super Bowl in 2009, the Suns get as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2010 and then suffer a horrendous 10 year stretch before this season’s fantastic run ending in succumbing to the Milwaukee Bucks in these 2021 NBA Finals, he understands completely. Like his father, sometimes he wishes he didn’t care so much!
–Gary Weiss, August 2021
