Superbowl Sunday

Superbowl Sunday...a quasi holiday.  Celebrated by most everyone, even those that are not football fans of the usual type.  The fair weather fans, like myself.  I watch the Superbowl for the fun that it brings with it, the parties, food, beverages and of course the commercials!!  Such an odd event that we need to gather for and yet some wouldn't miss it.  Tonight I was actually on the road at 6:30pm, so I missed the beginning of the game and you would have thought it was 1:00am.  The roads were absolutely desolate. Stores were closed and the establishments that were required to stay open maintained a skeleton crew.  Even I was given the night off, the after hours patrons at the club I work at, choosing to forgo their sports to watch others get physical. 
I am amazed at how seriously some take this, going so far as to consider a failed attempt a personal affront, as thought they are an actual part of the team, a participant of the disabled type, an entire stadium of bench warmers, all with a vested interest in the team's success.  So many of these fans have no real connection to the team and yet, they behave as though the team's accomplishments are their accomplishments and the team's shortcomings are as crushing as a hard hit.  A quarterback's intercepted pass is as equally inexcusable as a catcher's fumble. I watch and I enjoy the competition and the athleticism.  It's a game after all, just a game.
As the game winds down and there are only four minutes left, I too can't help but feel the excitement.  A two point spread and the pressure is palpable.  My team, the new England Patriots, are up and yet I am fearful, afraid for the city of Boston.  The extremes with which the fans will celebrate are painfully poignant and distinctly different and there it is, the Patriots lost.  A game they were favored to win, and they came up short and now our city is full of angry, disgruntled fans. I struggle to understand the injured egos that litter the stands at the games conclusion.  Their attitude mimicking the discarded trash that covers the stadium seats and floors, nasty, foul and rotten.  Nor do I identify with the New York Giants fans, brimming with pride and adulation for an entire network of athletes they have never met. Where is this deep rooted connection established and fostered.  Why is it so important and significant.  Why does it matter so much?  I would have loved to see the Patriots win, but the fact that they lost does not devastate me.  I am not appalled that they failed. A forty-six year tradition that leaves one city zealous and celebratory and another ...at a loss... and I am at a loss to understand.  It's a competition that has to end with one winner and one loser.  This does not change anything other than a  few records.  This does not alter anything.  Boston is still Boston and New York is still New York, two cities with a fierce competitive history that will continue to rebound.  It's just a game after all.