Football season is upon us and it is still too early to tell what is going to transpire in the coming weeks ahead. In fact, even well into the season it’s hard to predict, if not downright impossible. And that is because of The Unknown.
At the beginning of every sports season, even the beginning of every game, be it football, baseball, basketball or full-contact curling, none of us know what is going to transpire in the hours or weeks ahead. It is unknown. There are those among us who will crow, brag and boast about what their favorite team may accomplish. I am not, or at least try not to be, one of those. And that is because of The Unknown.
The Unknown is standing on the forty-yard line waiting to kick off or receive. It’s standing on the field, the mound or in the batters box before the first pitch is thrown. It’s standing on the first tee of your weekly foursome or waiting on the first serve from your doubles opponents. It’s sitting in the stands or in front of the television waiting for the game to start. Sure, you may be confident, maybe even a little cocky, but ultimately you don’t know what is going to happen. There are the things we have no control over, the lucky or unlucky bounces of the ball, the chances of injury, the calls of referees and umpires or even the weather. What is going to happen is going to happen. And you have to accept what happens. Once the game is over it is over and nothing you say or do is going to change the outcome.
In many ways, sports mirror life. Each and every one of us has no idea what is going to happen when we are fortunate enough to wake up in the morning. Sure, we have plans and obligations, but ultimately don’t know and in ways have very little to no control over what is going to happen. We may be in the right place at the right time, we may be in the wrong place at the wrong time. All we can do is live our lives and hope and pray for the best.
I play a lot of golf. I have heard and read all kinds of things about golf being a cosmic game, a microcosm of life, blah, blah. I don’t believe any of that. True, it is a difficult, complicated and cerebral game but after all it is just that, a game where you are trying to knock a ball into a hole in as few whacks as possible. There’s nothing cosmic about that.
I do, however, believe in karma. And I believe that, as in life, karma is present in sports. That is how upsets happen and they occur all the time. No team or individual is going to win every time. That is the beauty and fascination of sport. No matter how great a team or player may be, there is going to be a time when least expected, they are going to be bested by an inferior opponent, sometimes decidedly. If that were not the case, what would be the purpose of Las Vegas and the whole gaming industry? The shows and the wedding chapels are only going to carry them so far.
I used to live and breathe college football. I still love it and it is my favorite sport to watch. But I am not as obsessed with it as I was in my younger years. Over time I came to realize that the outcome of activities of twenty-two college kids on a Saturday afternoon or evening really had no impact on my life whatsoever. It only impacted the lives of the players on the field, their coaches, the athletic directors and the people who gambled large sums of money on the games. But I will watch my team play tonight. Hopefully, they will win. If so, great. I will not gloat or crow. If not, so be it. It happens. It’s not the end of the world. I will endure the slings and arrows of those who choose to fling them. It’s part of the game. The Unknown.