As I kid growing up, I was a football and basketball guy. That’s what I mostly watched. That’s what I mostly played.
When I started dating the girl who became my wife, however, my sports universe expanded. Her family was very much a golf and tennis family. Those are the sports that their family played together on vacation. And so, once I started to be included in her family’s vacation plans, I started having to play tennis and golf.
The only golf and tennis I had played was putt-putt and ping pong. I was ill-equipped, therefore, to jump in and compete with her and her family members.
How I fared is a separate story. For now, my point is this: I quickly discovered an important difference between my customary sports and these new experiences. In the sports world that I came from -- the world of football and basketball -- a little anger did you some good. The strong emotion strengthened your game.
In golf and tennis, however, the experience was completely different. Feeling angry made me play worse. And it became a vicious circle, as a bad shot would make me angry, and my anger would produce still worse shots. Awful!
But this weekend’s big event is a football game, and football is a game that feeds on strong emotions. I don’t know how often emotion beats better talent or superior coaching. I do suspect, however, that, when all else is equal, the more emotional team is likely to prevail.
We will consider in a day or two the extent to which “all else is equal” between these two teams. For now, however, our concern is the emotional advantage.
The Bears have felt disrespected all year. No one has been taking them seriously. And now, as the highest remaining seed in the NFC, Division winners, and hosts of the Conference Championship Game, they find themselves underdogs against their own bitter Division rival, the Green Bay Packers. I’m guessing that that makes them angry. And that’s not good for us.
Peter King tried to even the emotional score for us just a bit. He has given out his end-of-season awards and honors, and luckily for us he has snubbed a couple of Packers in favor of a couple of Bears. He picked Julius Peppers ahead of Clay Matthews for Defensive Player of the Year, and he put Chris Harris ahead of Nick Collins in the Free Safety position on his All-Pro Team.
I don’t think that will be quite enough fuel for our fire to combat the disrespect that the Bears are feeling. Also, the Bears are fortunate not to have a starting quarterback who beat out Aaron Rodgers for a spot in the Pro Bowl roster.
I’m sure that the Packers are feeling pretty good in the wake of their enormous win in Atlanta. I’m not sure if I want them to feel pretty good, though. I think I’d rather have them feeling angry.
Unless, of course, they get to play the Bears in golf or tennis on Sunday.
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