I’ve been a football fan for as long as I can remember. This is a picture of me in a three point stance at about three-years-old.

My dad played and coached football. I played and have coached a couple seasons. And now my son is playing high school football.

Almost forty years ago–it just hit me it was actually that long ago–my cousin played tight end for Penn State, so I’ve been a Penn State fan for a long time. I grew up in New Jersey, so I’m also a Giants fan. I’ve now lived in Arkansas since 1988, so I’ve been a Razorbacks fan for almost 25 years. And with my son playing for Fayetteville High School, I’m a Bulldogs fan, too.

So how are “my” teams doing so far this season?

Penn State has started 0-2 and everything points to a very long, hard road. Their football program may not recover from the NCAA sanctions in my lifetime.

The Giants opened the season this past Wednesday night by losing to the Dallas Cowboys, so they’re now 0-1.

The Razorbacks won their opening game and moved up to #8 in the Associated Press poll. That was setting up a big game this coming Saturday against #1 Alabama. All Arkansas had to do was beat the University of Louisiana-Monroe, but that didn’t happen. Arkansas lost 34-31 and dropped completely out of the poll. Apparently, it was the second biggest drop ever.

The Fayetteville Bulldogs varsity team started the season ranked #1 in Arkansas and #53 nationally. They lost their first game to one of the best teams from Tennessee and lost their second game to one of the top teams in Missouri. They’re 0-2.

What’s sad to me is the reaction I’ve seen from Razorback fans. Many are angry. Extremely angry. They’re quick to cast blame. These aren’t people who are associated with the Razorback football team–they’re just fans. Fans that easily become angry and hateful when “their” team loses.

Several years ago, I sat behind a man and his family at Razorback Stadium during a game. I can’t remember the final score, but I know at one point the Razorbacks weren’t playing well. It was also around this time that the man’s young son asked when they were going to leave. This guy completely lost control of himself. He told his son he didn’t even want him there and then he got up and left the stadium. The wife and kids were left there by themselves.

This isn’t unique to Razorback fans. And it’s not unique to the sport of football. It happens everywhere.

I understand players and coaches being upset by a loss or being elated by a win. They’re the ones who’ve trained and studied and practiced together for weeks and months and years. And I can understand fans being momentarily disappointed by a loss or excited by a win. But angry? Depressed? Hateful?

Football is a game. A GAME.

A game is: a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators

We’ve completely lost sight of the fact that we’re watching an activity being played for our amusement. AMUSEMENT!

Yes, I know we pay money to go to the games. We pay for tickets. We pay to park. We pay for concessions. We buy jerseys and hats and posters. We feel invested. But if the success or failure of “your” team causes you to be angry or sad or depressed, then–and let me say this with all due respect–you have a problem.

I know, because that used to be me up until about fifteen years ago. I had difficulty even watching Penn State play. I was nervous watching games and often had to turn them off. I was happy when they won and sad when they lost. I had to get over it. It wasn’t healthy. It was a total loss of perspective.

Anything that has taken on that degree of importance in our lives has become an idol, a god.

We think about it. We talk about it. We desire it. We worship it. We look to it to make us happy and give us life.

Maybe for you, it’s not football. It’s food. Or clothes. Or your house. Or your grades. Or your job. Or your kids being successful. It can be anything. Anything that makes you feel good…or bad. Anything that consumes your thoughts. Or money. Anything that you let control you. Anything you’ve allowed to define you. Anything you can’t live without.

Let’s see if we can bring things into perspective a little.

On Saturday, a football player for Tulane suffered a severe spinal injury in their game against Tulsa. It’s possible that he’ll be permanently paralyzed. One of the Razorback defensive players also had to be carted off the field in their game. The extent of his injury is unclear, but it looks like he’ll recover. I don’t know if that means he’ll play football again or not.

So let’s say you could only have one of the following two scenarios, which would you choose?

“Your” team wins the national championship, but a third team linebacker is injured in the fourth game of the season and will probably never walk again.

OR

2. “Your” team finishes with a losing record for the fourth year in a row, but everyone is healthy.

Maybe another way to think about it is this–what makes you more angry, “your” team losing a big game or knowing there are kids in your town who will go to bed hungry tonight?