Seeing Red and Feeling Gold

As the clock ticked down on the NFC Championship game and the inevitable “stop it he’s already dead” memes from the Simpsons started doing the social media rounds, there were millions of 49ers fans around the globe that we’re hurting at what had unfolded over the preceding 3 hours. The gamut of emotions permeating through the red, gold, white and black clad fans the world over would have ranged from mildly miffed to earth shatteringly devastated with possibly a hint of TV destroying thrown in for good measure.

But when we step out of the gameday haze, pull off the red and gold, and go back to the normal reality that a game day can provide relief from how do we deal with those emotions? how do those highs and lows we experience over an hour of NFL action really stay with us over a longer period of time and how do they contribute to our mental health both in the short and long term?

We are all acutely aware of the enormous highs we feel at a win, especially a hard-fought win or a win over a fierce rival. We skip into work, (or drag ourselves dependant on kick-off time) with a smug smile on our faces hoping upon hope that we might pass someone wearing a bobble hat of the team we beat the night before so we can give the ever so satisfying knowing nod. A small, rare perk to an NFL fan living in the UK.

No matter how tired we are, victory Monday is always oh-so-sweet. Everything tastes better on victory morning, that toast, those cereal, that bacon sandwich (Cob, Roll, Barm Cake – but let’s not get into that discussion) all miles better. The endless victory morning after late game coffees are always the best. Our cheery morning hello to colleagues belie the fact we’ve had 3 hours sleep and under normal circumstances with that little sleep we would harbour serious thoughts of hurting the first colleague that uttered a word to us until at least midday. We look forward to the UK faithful podcast more than normal that week, listening to the dissection of the game.

Life is just better after a win. Fact! And those within our personal sphere of influence can reap the benefits of that as well no matter what interest they have in the game. Heck, we might even treat our partner to a little something special that week (ok, ok – that level of joy is only reserved for Superbowl wins) but we are all generally happier people to be around on those days.

But what about the loses? what about those devastating loses to rivals, big-score line loses or loses that seem unfair? For some people those can have a lasting impact too, a heavy weight to carry round for days afterwards, the antithesis of the winning week is a losing week, and we must not forget that those exist too. In-fact, they may need acknowledging even more.

All those things that tasted better now taste bitter. That colleague that cheerily said hello the morning after a red-eye loss doesn’t know how close he came to a short-shift 10-minute rant about that awful pass-interference call in the 3^rdquarter.

And those in the personal sphere of influence……well, they can suffer the consequences of a bad loss just as much and often take the brunt.

Sport provides those highs in abundance and even those going through a challenging time physically or mentally can often find a few moments solace or refuge when wrapped up in the cosy warmth of a win especially if it’s a shared experience with like-minded fans. Whether that be at games, meet-ups, social media chats or phone calls, experiencing those highs with our fellow humans often makes the highs, even higher. 

For many people sport is not just sport it’s an escape, a release, a drug that shoots adrenaline, endorphins around the body and into the brain as much as any man-made stimulant could. Extreme highs and terrible lows can be felt in a matter of seconds. It really is a matter of chemistry and biology that keeps us going back to it time and time again. The feelings are literally addictive and that can be quite a toll for the mind to take week-in-week-out and inevitably, like any addict, things can go wrong.

For those struggling with mental health sport can sometimes exacerbate underlying feelings and emotions that are already there. There are those that go into a game day buzzing with excitement and those normal mental pressures melt away for these moments of escapism where they can scream, cheer, jump around and celebrate without a care in the world. It’s an outlet, using the drug of sport to inject something that otherwise might be missing. But there are dangers to this. What if there’s no cheering, jumping, or celebrating? For those struggling with mental health, that drug injection can backfire and there can be an overdose of sadness, anger, frustration, helplessness, or loss that was already prevalent in day-to -day life and it can trigger a downward spiral which can be temporary or longer lasting.

As a result, things can seem worse and those people that might seem to be over-reacting to a loss can often just be struggling with the rigours of day-to-day life that their drug of choice has just made worse. It doesn’t mean they felt the loss more than you, it doesn’t mean they care more, or anyone else cares less, it can just mean there could be other things going on.

In those instances, interactions with people can be somewhat fractious particularly on social media and rifts can occur. Do we really want to fall out with people over opinions and thoughts on a game? Well, sadly, that’s what drugs can do to friends, just bear that in mind.  

There is no answer to this, sport is a drug that keeps us all going back, there is no sports anonymous group (as far as I’m aware) But remember, sport has the power to unite and bring together more than it does to divide. Even in loss and difference of opinion about a performance no one is alone in their shared passion. Sports supporting is a community and the UK Faithful are the best of those communities in the NFL. We are stronger together and the meetups and distanced social media interactions we have can truly make a difference to someone outside of that arena. So have a difference of opinion by all-means, but discuss and air it respectfully and if you get the chance reach out to someone, you could be making a whole world of difference to a fellow niner by doing so.