D20: Underdogged...

I watched the final Charger game of the season with my family and a few friends today. They were 14 point underdogs and no one in the national media gave them a chance again the undefeated (17-0) Patriots, the 'team of destiny'. We struggled mightily and it was a very good game. If not for three serious injuries to our best players, we might have won. In fact, even in spite of the injuries, if the fickle winds of fate had blown just a little bit more in our favor, we could have easily won. It was a close game. And we didn't embarrass ourselves. So now I can move on to other things, since god knows I don't have much time for sports at this point in my doctoral studies.

But having an emotional investment in 'your team' is an interesting thing. First of all, I'm not a sports nut. As I said, I don't have time to be. But as a San Diego native who has lived here 31 of my 33 years, I consider it reasonable to have an interest in my home teams. So I care about the Chargers and the Padres. When I watch Charger games my blood pressure goes up. I have to work on my breathing sometimes. I cheer, I hope, I sometimes shout. Because it's nice to feel like you're part of something bigger. Even if it's just a silly game between teams of men that's far more violent than it has any business being.

We live in such a fractionalized society. My neighbors live in fortresses. Nobody knows each other. There's no sense of community. We're not connected. It's very alienating. And when you're not a church-goer or part of some larger social network, it's very hard to feel connected sometimes. We exist in a vast series of metropolises, but we're really just living in isolated pockets of humanity. We get a sense of community from co-workers and friends and perhaps some of the groups we belong in. But we don't know the vast majority of the people around us. So, silly as it is, it's nice to be a fan sometimes and to know that in some small way there's a common thread between us. Unless you're a Patriots fan, of course. In which case I hope you die an excruciating death.... Just kidding! [-: