Editor's note: This is a weekly column from former sports reporter and editor Mike Bass. Bass will be contributing to The Enquirer by offering advice for sports fans, athletes and youth sports parents and coaches through a weekly Q&A. To ask a question of Bass for potential publication, email him at [email protected]. And get the conversation going on Twitter @SportsFanCoach.
Some of us continue seeing misery in 2020.
1) When something went wrong, it just piled on a year gone wrong.
2) When something went right, the timing was wrong, which took us back to Statement No. 1.
So it goes for so many Bengals fans: They cannot enjoy back-to-back wins when the cost might be a shot at drafting offensive tackle Penei Sewell.
So it goes for so many New York Jets fans: Back-to-back victories ended a winless season and any chance to draft quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
So it goes for so many Chicago Bears fans: Back-to-back-to back wins might mean another year of quarterback Mitch Trubisky, general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy.
Losing stunk, but you knew that feeling. The Bengals had lost five straight, the Bears six straight, the Jets 13 straight. If you had lost hope in your 2020 team, you were not alone. Hope leaves you vulnerable.
A certain phrase in English soccer covers that — one you might recognize from Ted Lasso, both the fictional soccer coach and hit TV show about him.
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“So I’ve been hearing this phrase y’all got over here that I ain’t too crazy about: ‘It’s the hope that kills you,’ ” Lasso tells his AFC Richmond team. “Y’all know that? I disagree, you know. I think it’s the lack of hope that comes and gets you. See, I believe in hope. I believe in belief.”
Corny? Sure. But what’s wrong with corny now and then? A little Ted Lasso optimism is just what we need these days.
Sports aside, 2020 waylaid us. COVID. Shutdown. Impeachment. Election. Race. Protest. Confusion. Anxiety. Sports is supposed to be a great escape, and we lost that for a while.
Whether we watch or play, as adults or kids, the games mean something to us. When they stopped, we grieved. Another sports-related series proved an oasis. In “The Last Dance,” we rewound to the 1990s Chicago Bulls dynasty and saw Michael Jordan’s singular ability to live in the moment.
“Most people live in fear because we project the past into the future,” Mark Vancil, Jordan’s “Rare Air” co-author, said on the show. “Michael’s a mystic. He’s never anywhere else. His gift was not that he could jump high, run fast, shoot a basketball. His gift was that he was completely present.”
The return of sports, though not always smooth,
brought us opportunities to Be Like Mike and stay present. Life with sports beats the alternative.
Why not look for the fun? It’s healthy.
Shifting your focus doesn’t mean closing your eyes to the truth. The Bengals still need a bodyguard for Joe Burrow. The Jets’ only legitimate franchise quarterback still was Joe Namath. The Bears’ still was Sid Luckman. Of course you feel disappointed when winning feels like losing in the big picture.
Shifting your focus means seeing the truth from another perspective, to appreciate today. What if winning feels like winning now, and yesterday is over, who knows what will happen tomorrow?
The Bengals ended the calendar year by doubling their victory total for the season and winning back-to-back games for the first time since 2018. The Jets are locked in for the No. 2 pick, no matter what happens Sunday. The Bears are one win (or an Arizona loss) from a playoff berth.
“Now where I’m from, we got a saying, too,” Lasso said. “A question, actually: ‘Do you believe in miracles?’ Now I don’t need y’all to answer that question for me. But I do want you to answer that question for yourselves. Right now. Do you believe in miracles?”
If the Bengals, Bears and Jets ring in 2021 by extending their winning streaks, all as underdogs Sunday, would that qualify? Or is the miracle that 2020 ended with surprising joy rides for those fans who appreciated the lift?
Happy New Year!
Remember to email Bass at [email protected] or reach out to him @SportsFanCoach1 on Twitter if you want to be included next week. His website is MikeBassCoaching.com.
