Lost My Schadenfreude
Down football years are no fun. For the obvious reasons: 1. the team you like isn't enjoying any success, 2. Saturday's, the best day of the week, is turned into a wake, and 3. Fans of teams you hate continually serve you steaming piles of gloat-burgers. Another unanticipated downer is the inability to access schadenfreude.
How can I laugh at little brother when they go out and play in Michigan's "back-up" bowl while Michigan didn't even qualify to make the Motor City Bowl? And as much as I dislike the Sweater Vest, I didn't feel much like celebrating while watching him chomping his gum as he racked up a third consecutive BCS loss. Before the game I thought I'd like nothing better than watching the Buckeyes trounced but as they lost, my Michigan slippers did no victory dance. All I could think about was Michigan's chances in '09.
What is it about losing that paralyzes the ability to find comfort in others' failure?
The lesson I take from this, one I've known for awhile, but now affirmed for a different reason: I'd make a lousy Spartan.
January 6th, 2009 at 12:18 PM ^
Just be happy its one bad year, we have the all-time series in hand against OSU and MSU. So we are still better then both of those criminals and sissies, and at least we beat the S.E.C. in recent years.
January 6th, 2009 at 12:27 PM ^
Funny, I get more schadenfreude-y in years like this. If we can't win a bowl game this year, by God, they can't either if I have anything to say about it. When we beat them (MSU, OSU, etc.) that is when I feel more magnanimous about the whole thing. In the Cooper years I used to root for OSU in bowl games for the sake of the Big Ten.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:16 PM ^
I stayed up to watch the whole game precisely because I was emotionally invested in an osu loss.
I have also come to understand why sparty hates us so. The fact that I root for them, or on a bad day, am ambivolent, talks to the all the success we've had against them.
If the tables were turned, would they be more magnanimous?
Hard to say.
They tend to cut off their noses to spite their faces alot... (ie them rooting for osu vs UM this past yr)
At any rate, the game was also enjoyable seeing the all the sad faces draped in brown anal beads or whatever the hell those necklaces are. Oh, and the Texas fan is right up there with nascar events for people watching.
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