By Lance Tonelli
Western Sun executive editor
Passionate sports fans sometimes do not know where to draw the line. I personally fall into this category and sometimes have to catch myself from acting the fool.
I find joy in watching my favorite basketball team win games. I even like to talk about my favorite player, and sometimes argue with others about him. So what does this make me?
The other day I was sitting down at a late lunch with my family, who by the way love to try to get me riled up on the situation, and someone brought a guest whom I had never met before.
Everything was going well until he brought up how much he hated my favorite team and player.
Naturally, being as passionate as I am about my team, I took the statement as disrespect and immediately attacked back defending them.
Needless to say, the discussion soon became a little heated and everyone around became very uncomfortable and were afraid it was leading to something more. The guest got up and left, and I was now in a terrible mood the rest of the afternoon.
That’s when I realized something; I had forgotten all about where I was and who I was with. I had allowed myself to be offended personally by the attacks he had made about a team I only cheer and root for.
I looked at myself in the mirror and did not like what I saw.
There are many people who are as passionate, if not more so, then I am about sports teams. So, where do we draw the line between fan and fanatic?
Although the guest came at me aggressively with his opinions, I had no right to react in the way that I did. I should have realized where I was and evaluated the situation better.
A fan is someone who enjoys the game, someone who feels the roller coaster ride of emotions as their team does well and falters, but is able to let go once it is over with.
A fan wishes their team did better and can even discuss it with other fans, but the one thing a fan should not do is fight over who is right or wrong in the matter of an opinion.
Voice your thoughts respectfully. If the other person is not listening to you, talking louder does not help.
After all this, I have decided that I want to be a fan and not a fanatic.
I am reviewing the line and where it should be so that I do not cross it anymore. I am trying to not let the game, or the results, affect how I feel and I hope others will do the same.
