Simmons on Pats/Giants Super Bowl Nightmare Part Deux

[PosImpos]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7547184/searching-silver-linings-indianapolis

Reliving one of the worst (sports) nights of your life as it's becoming another one of the worst (sports) nights of your life? How does this happen? How do you put this into words? This was like going back to Shea four years later to clinch the 1990 World Series, then blowing another two-run lead in the 10th with two outs. This was a night that made you say, "Why does this matter to me so much? Isn't it fundamentally stupid that this matters so much?" This was a night when you try to keep everything in perspective by going through the checklist of reasons why you shouldn't be depressed — "Are my kids healthy?" (CHECK) "Do I love my significant other?" (CHECK) "Are my parents still alive and healthy?" (CHECK) "Do I like my job?" (CHECK) "Do I have a good group of friends?" (CHECK) — and just by doing that, you feel like the biggest moron on the planet.

Nailed it.  I had pretty much exactly that conversation with myself when I was walking home last night (a walk I took as soon as the clock went to "Final").

[Tgro]

Pretty much how I felt when we lost Game 7 in 2010. It was so close to being one of those best moments ever and then you had to remind yourself why it doesn't matter in the big picture of life when your favorite team loses the big one.

[Redz]

I've gotten much better at dealing with these types of losses over the years.  After the game I wasn't all that upset, just disappointed. 

Still, I woke up in the middle of the night and my brain spent an hour or so sorting through the sequence of events throughout the game and trying to make sense of the many things that had to fall the Giants way for them to win.  In this sense this game was a lot easier to take than 4 years ago.  This year's "miracle catch" was far less freakish and even if it had been dropped the Giants were not dead in the water by any stretch.  Tyree doesn't pin the ball on the side of his flippin' helmet and...yeh...you know.

BTW, I heard the other day that that catch by Tyree was the last of his professional career.  Pretty crazy.

[Celtic]

I've gotten much better at dealing with these types of losses over the years.  After the game I wasn't all that upset, just disappointed. 

Still, I woke up in the middle of the night and my brain spent an hour or so sorting through the sequence of events throughout the game and trying to make sense of the many things that had to fall the Giants way for them to win.  In this sense this game was a lot easier to take than 4 years ago.  This year's "miracle catch" was far less freakish and even if it had been dropped the Giants were not dead in the water by any stretch.  Tyree doesn't pin the ball on the side of his flippin' helmet and...yeh...you know.

BTW, I heard the other day that that catch by Tyree was the last of his professional career.  Pretty crazy.

TP, same here. I actually spent more time consoling my wife last night than I did being angry. I promised myself after the last superbowl loss to never let sports affect me so much. After 2007/8 I was legitimately depressed, this year I just told myself, I'm still happy and this doesn't really change my life at all.

My take on championships/big games is: If you win celebrate it as much as you can and be as happy as you can, If you lose move on I didn't play and I have more important things in my life.

Maybe it sounds like excuses but it's working for me.

[stylo617617]

im more of a celtics guy if you ask me so if this was the celts i wouldve been livid

i still admire the pats greatly

this loss was more about NY beating us than the pats losing

ny winning it is what sucked

[Cman]

I've gotten much better at dealing with these types of losses over the years.  After the game I wasn't all that upset, just disappointed. 

Still, I woke up in the middle of the night and my brain spent an hour or so sorting through the sequence of events throughout the game and trying to make sense of the many things that had to fall the Giants way for them to win. 

Well put. I've had a similar past 24 hours. Disappointed but not crushed by the loss (4 years ago, I was absolutely crushed, stunned). But I woke up a few times in the night, just like you, going over some of the key plays. Same thing during the day. I'd be walking down the hall between meetings, and suddenly the mind would start replaying certain things. I swear at times today I saw Welker catch that ball -- it was just a little lower, slightly different angle, he clasped his hands a bit different... but anyway...

[Redz]

I've gotten much better at dealing with these types of losses over the years.  After the game I wasn't all that upset, just disappointed. 

Still, I woke up in the middle of the night and my brain spent an hour or so sorting through the sequence of events throughout the game and trying to make sense of the many things that had to fall the Giants way for them to win. 

Well put. I've had a similar past 24 hours. Disappointed but not crushed by the loss (4 years ago, I was absolutely crushed, stunned). But I woke up a few times in the night, just like you, going over some of the key plays. Same thing during the day. I'd be walking down the hall between meetings, and suddenly the mind would start replaying certain things. I swear at times today I saw Welker catch that ball -- it was just a little lower, slightly different angle, he clasped his hands a bit different... but anyway...

The "what ifs" in sports can definitely make you nutty.  Somehow a close football game can be particularly tough in this area (baseball too for the way things string together).

[Change]

players don't care about your feelings. Just let it go and dance.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/only-dance-heal-wounded-souls-matt-light-rob-212551396.html

[Redz]

players don't care about your feelings. Just let it go and dance.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/only-dance-heal-wounded-souls-matt-light-rob-212551396.html

Honestly.  I don't have a problem with that.  It's still the Super Bowl, they should enjoy it.

[outcry]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7547184/searching-silver-linings-indianapolis

Reliving one of the worst (sports) nights of your life as it's becoming another one of the worst (sports) nights of your life? How does this happen? How do you put this into words? This was like going back to Shea four years later to clinch the 1990 World Series, then blowing another two-run lead in the 10th with two outs. This was a night that made you say, "Why does this matter to me so much? Isn't it fundamentally stupid that this matters so much?" This was a night when you try to keep everything in perspective by going through the checklist of reasons why you shouldn't be depressed — "Are my kids healthy?" (CHECK) "Do I love my significant other?" (CHECK) "Are my parents still alive and healthy?" (CHECK) "Do I like my job?" (CHECK) "Do I have a good group of friends?" (CHECK) — and just by doing that, you feel like the biggest moron on the planet.

Nailed it.  I had pretty much exactly that conversation with myself when I was walking home last night (a walk I took as soon as the clock went to "Final").

After the game, it's all illogical feelings based on pure emotion. Nothing else matters. I woke up today, still depressed, but went through the checklist the same way Simmons did. I have my family, a nice job, and friends. Why the hell does this matter so much? Why do I invest so much time and emotion into sports teams only to be crushed or elated depending on the situation? I'm more of a Patriots fan over anything else. I don't know if that's taboo to say on this site.

And about the Gronk and Light picture, I have no problem with that whatsoever. I'd honestly do the same exact thing if I was in that situation. Try to forget what happened and have a good time. Just because they're doing that, doesn't mean they don't care. Everyone deals with a loss differently.

[Q_FBE]

I've gotten much better at dealing with these types of losses over the years.  After the game I wasn't all that upset, just disappointed. 

Still, I woke up in the middle of the night and my brain spent an hour or so sorting through the sequence of events throughout the game and trying to make sense of the many things that had to fall the Giants way for them to win.  In this sense this game was a lot easier to take than 4 years ago.  This year's "miracle catch" was far less freakish and even if it had been dropped the Giants were not dead in the water by any stretch.  Tyree doesn't pin the ball on the side of his flippin' helmet and...yeh...you know.

BTW, I heard the other day that that catch by Tyree was the last of his professional career.  Pretty crazy.

I guess that makes David Tyree the Glen McDonald of the NFL (For those of you who do not know who Glen McDonald, he played for the Boston Celtics in the mid 70s in the Havlicek, Nelson, Cowens, and Jo Jo White Era. In that Game 5 of the 1976 NBA finals that went to triple OT, Glen McDonald came off the bench to replace John Havlicek that fouled out and scored 6 points in the 3rd OT to enable the Celtics to win and go up 3 games to 2 and they went on to win Game Six and win their 13th Championship. After that I am not sure what happened to him).