Good Sports

                                      by Budd Glassberg

                                                                        Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on January 24, 2007

Soup or Bowl Sundae Dilemma

 

“I am the saddest of men for I have two wives.  Wife number one and wife number two.” – Chinese proverb

           

            The team I have been rooting for will win the Super Bowl.  I can state this with the same assurance as saying that the winning team’s coach in the coming Super Bowl will be an African-American.  Last Sunday’s two conference finals provided me with the certainty stated above.  Sunday’s games were both grueling and exciting.  They left me drained, hoarse, giddy and more excited about football than I had a right to feel.  The Bears and the Colts will square off in two weeks, and as a fan, I cannot lose. 

            Chicago was all I knew while growing up.  I spent my first 18 years watching the Bears play in Wrigley Field and then Soldiers Field before I moved out of town.  Sixteen years later I moved to Zionsville in early 1984 just in time for the Colts to arrive in Indianapolis from Baltimore.  While still loving the Bears, I couldn’t help being caught up in following and enjoying the Colts.  Each weekend I would root for both teams to win (except for the infrequent occasions when they played each other, at which time my Bear upbringing took precedent). 

            Now comes the Super Bowl with my two favorite teams going at one another.  Both of my daughters called me during the final two minutes of the Colts game last Sunday.  They were excited about the Colts and wondering how I might be leaning, knowing that I was suckled on the Bears during my formative years, but also knowing that I have been to many more Colt games in the past two decades.  I told my girls that in order to be a good neighbor, it is best that I watch the Super Bowl alone or with one of two other Bear fans who I know live in Zionsville.  This is the case because I can never root against the Bears (I have a fierce loyalty to my sports teams, a trait I share with many Colt and Bear fans (yet somewhat less than Bear coach Lovie Smith’s loyalty toward his quarterback)).  At the same time, I would not be crushed if the Bears lose to the Colts.  I would be happy for Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, the city of Indianapolis and all the Colt fans I know.  In this perfect storm of a season, I will be happy with either team winning. 

            Strange as it may sound, I think only half of the game will be well played.  That will be when the Colts have the ball on offense, and the Bears are on defense.  It will be a clash of each team’s strengths.  Some of the best athletes at their positions in the NFL will do battle.  During the other half of the game, when the Bears are forced to move the ball and the Colts must try to stop them, there may not be a great deal of spectacular achievements, although I must admit it should be interesting.  This is how I will enjoy watching the game without the stress of worrying that my team might lose.

            While my friends and family in Chicago and my friends and family and neighbors in Zionsville are sweating it out on Super Sunday elated or devastated at the shifts in momentum of the game, I will be at peace.  I realized that my Super Bowl was last Sunday.  My teams both won.  I woke up this morning with the same jubilation that fans from the winning side will feel the day after the Super Bowl. 

            The only disturbing thought with regards to Super Sunday is that one team will have to lose.  I will feel bad for those people I know who support the losing side.  Bear coach Lovey Smith and Colt coach Tony Dungy, two of the finest gentlemen in sport, can not both win.  Only one of the two Pro-Bowl athletes, Colt quarterback Peyton Manning or Bear middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, will have a Super Bowl ring after the Super Bowl. 

            In this very strange position, I feel like the father of a biological son and an adopted son, whose boys are to meet in the state finals of a wrestling match.  One of my boys will win and one will have to lose.  It may be bittersweet, but at least a family member will be champion. 

            On February 4th, when the two best teams in professional football meet, may the better team win.

 

           

            Budd Glassberg is a resident of Zionsville who is active in the local running community.  Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns.   You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.