Why Do We Watch?

We were in the hotel room in Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday afternoon passing time until our football game with Mississippi College that evening. As we were channel surfing the various college football games that were on television, our traveling party noticed that Colorado was making a comeback against the number three team in the nation, Oklahoma. I had more than a passing interest in the game as one of our former football coaches, Jeff Grimes, is now the Assistant Head Coach for the Buffaloes. It also seemed like a game to watch just because of the upset factor of seeing a heavily favored team fall from the ranks of the undefeated.

As you know by now, the Buffs completed the improbable comeback and defeated OU 27-24 on a last second field goal. It was only one of several upsets on the last Saturday in September that will certainly alter the BCS landscape for the rest of the season.
So we have another reminder that it does not matter if it’s Division I, II or III you watch, no matter how much we think a game is going to play out, no matter how much we just “know” a certain team is better than another , it means nothing once the game starts. I am in the middle of my 12th year here at HSU and I have seen a countless number of games involving our teams. I have seen us win games that nobody thought we would have a chance to claim a victory. On the other end of the spectrum, I have seen us fall in competition that I am sure our student-athletes, coaches and fans cannot believe that we lost. The rankings, the records and all of the pre-game hype rarely deliver once the contest starts and it is up to the student-athlete to decide the outcome. And that is why we keep coming back to watch the competition, whether it’s the volleyball team or the football team participating as Teddy Roosevelt loved to say “in the arena.”

I think all of us believe that we have an extra sense that helps us determine how our favorite teams will do. When we are right, the grass is greener, the sky is beautiful and we believe that we can chart the course for the free world. When we are wrong, our food doesn’t taste good, the weather is horrendous and we get a speeding ticket on the way back from the game. And as frustrating as it can be, we always come back for more. I never have really enjoyed the reality shows on television that have become so popular, due in part to the fact that watching athletic competition every weekend has enough twists and turns for an O.Henry short story, much less a reality show. We might think we know how a contest will play out, but most of the time we are just kidding ourselves. The speculation is fun, but watching those in the arena is what makes us come back every weekend.