Habitual User

Maybe being a sports fan is just a habit. Not a need, an addiction, or even a desire – just a habit.

For the last ten years I have attended, watched, or listened to most every Cal football and basketball game that has been played. That's a lot of games - about 12 football games and 30 basketball games every year.

During that time I essentially planned my whole life around the Cal schedule. Social events couldn’t conflict. Out-of-town guests could only visit during road weekends (unless they wanted to attend the games with me). Vacations & business trips had to be planned around the games. Hotels were selected based on their cable package (would they show the game?). Even the birth of our children couldn’t get in the way – our oldest daughter was only about 7 weeks old for her first football game. (She brought us good luck, by the way – that game was Cal’s historic win over USC during Tedford’s 2nd year.)

And however excessive that may sound, at the time it seemed perfectly reasonable to me.

But now that I’ve pulled the plug, I look back with a great deal of bewilderment. It just doesn’t make sense. Even accounting for the thrills of the great wins (the aforementioned USC game, this year’s Tennessee game, etc.) it’s hard for me to understand what I was thinking.

So I’m wondering if it was just a habit. I’m no expert on habitual behavior, but I believe they happen unconsciously. A habitual nail biter doesn’t realize they’re doing it. They just do it. Maybe I got so used to following the Bears that it never occurred to me that I was doing anything unusual or unreasonable.

It’s hard to imagine I could be so mindless about something so pervasive in my life, but it might actually be true.

I’m about a month into my no-sports experiment it’s been remarkably easy since day 1. I’ve been tempted a few times and I’ve had a couple of minor lapses, but that’s nothing in the grand scheme.

If the Bears were a true addiction, which I thought was a possibility, I don’t think the separation would be so easy. I know they’re having a disappointing season, but in years past that would be all the more reason to root for them. Hope springs eternal for a true fan, and this particular team does have a lot of talent.

Anyway, I don’t think I can answer the question right here or now, but it does seem worth asking. If anyone has any thoughts on the topic feel free to weigh in.

Cheers,
Chris