I never understood the draw of sports. I have been surrounded by them my entire life, both playing (volleyball, softball, soccer, basketball - you name it I tried it) and watching (endless summers filled with Yankee games, thanks mom) but I never understood what everyone was so excited about. I never cared if the team I was on or routing for won. Honestly, most games I was more excited about the food than anything. All this remained true for 27 years of my life…then entered my boyfriend.
When I say he is a die hard football fan I’m not exaggerating. I think football came up on the second or third date. He pre-warned me that starting in the fall 2 hours of every weekend would be spoken for, reserved for Borussia Dortmund games. I rolled my eyes and laughed thinking he couldn’t possibly be serious. I was wrong, he was DEAD serious. We planned activities, family get togethers, work - all around Dortmund’s schedule. I sat with him during most games but couldn’t understand why he was so invested and more so, why he would let something like a game dictate his life. That was until I watched Ted Lasso. Ted Lasso Changed. The. Game. If you have not seen Ted Lasso stop reading right now and please go binge at least one season so you can fully understand the rest of this blog post.
The boyfriend got smart and started to describe Dortmund players in terms of Ted Lasso and everything started to click. I cared about the players. I felt like I knew them and their backstories (mostly because we made up very elaborate head canon). I wanted to see them thrive, just as I did the Ted Lasso characters. Sometime over the course of a few months I found myself looking forward to the games. In a few instances I even watched them without him. I wanted to know more and more about the game and the team. For those who don’t follow football, 2022 was an exceptional year to start caring about Borussia Dortmund. For the first time in 10 years they had a chance….a real chance at beating the reigning Bundesliga (German football club) Champions. The current champions team, who shall not be named, also so happened to be his little brother’s team - even more reason to want to crush them. We spent days, weeks, months talking about who would play, what the lineup would be, who should stay for next season. Until finally the championship game arrived.
We were pumped. I went ALL in. I even got my nails done to support the team (it should be noted that their colors are black and yellow, not a very popular nail color combo so that was a big commitment). Dortmund was ahead and on target to win it all. But for those of you have been sports fans longer than 6 months, you know nothing ever goes as is expected. Dortmund fumbled it. They fumbled it hard. It was a heartbreak I have never experienced before. I was sad for the team, the players, my boyfriend and for myself. At first I was done with sports all over again - not worth the heartbreak. Then the player statements came out. Tears were shed. For the first time I finally understood the value of sports. Not the wins or losses, not even the players but the connection it had brought to my relationship was unmatched.
Reflecting back almost a year since I can truly say the community that is built through sports is really unlike any other. We still watch games, together and apart, and it has united us in a way that I hold dearly. I cannot wait for the day we can go to Germany to experience the game in its truest form. For now I will continue to don my custom jersey and mug every game with a smile on my face and a deeper appreciation for sports fandoms around the world.
Nail photos for appreciation and Mina in a Dortmund jersey because obviously. No
Commentaires