I cannot guarantee the result of any sporting event I think about attending
Sunday night is Superbowl XLIX when the Seattle Seahawks will try to win back to back titles against the New England Patriots, who will play in their 6th Superbowl of the Belichick/Brady era. As a Patriots fan who started following them in the early 00s when they won 3 in 4 years, I'm fairly nervous. I have vivid memories of the Pats losing the Superbowl in 2012 and 2008 and I'm not sure if I can handle watching them lose another. Sadly, this Superbowl has been tainted by #deflategate (if you don't know what that means, you haven't missed much) but I choose not to comment on those allegations here other than to say... really?
Instead, the purpose of this post is to focus on the fickle unpredictability of sporting events. I first learned this lesson on October 19, 1996. I will admit I had to do some searching to find the date... but I clearly remember the circumstances. I was a huge Adelaide 36ers fan (Adelaide's team in the Australian National Basketball League), having held season tickets for a couple of years. They made the playoffs and in the 2nd round, I was there to witness them lose a heartbreaker at home in game 1 to the South East Melbourne Magic.
One of my friends made the crazy suggestion that we drive to Melbourne (a 9.5 hour drive) for game 2 a few days later and we decided to go for it. We left super early (4 am or so) and arrived in Melbourne mid afternoon. After a pleasant afternoon on the banks of the Yarra River, we went in with high expectations about our heroes defeating the evil villains in black...
The result? The 6ers were pounded, losing by 31 points and were out of the playoffs (it was a best of 3 series). We were so depressed, we walked out of the arena at the end of the game, got back in the car and drove straight home. It was just over 24 hours from when we left Adelaide to when we arrived back. Some road trip.
In the aftermath of our failed quest, it hit me... there was never any guarantee that the 6ers would win and that this was a universal truth in the sporting world.
Many, many years later and after a number of experiences of celebrating victory (Adelaide Crows back to back AFL titles in 97 and 98, 36ers championships in 98 and 99, Chicago Bulls victories in 96, 97, 98 (97-99 really were great years!)) and many more losses (too many to even bother naming), I'm even more aware than ever that there is no point in me choosing to attend a sporting event or even watch one with an expectation of guaranteed victory.
This most important part of this lesson is that it gives me perspective about the choice to spend significant amounts of money attending sporting events. As someone who is often acutely aware of history in the making, there's a part of me that would love to be present to soak up those moments. I would love to have been there to see the Jays win their World Series; to have seen Jordan hit the game winner in Game 6 of the 98 finals; even to have seen Jeter in his final game at Yankee Stadium. Yet those moments are rare and given that there are no guarantees, it is questionable whether it's a great use of money to hope something amazing will happen - especially for big ticket items.
Instead, I'd rather focus on what I know is guaranteed wins - investing in relationships, spending time with people (yes, sometimes at sporting events), putting our money into things that will have a long-lasting (and definite) impact.
On Sunday night, I'll be watching the game at home, hoping against hope that the Pats can get over the line. While I'd love to be there if they do, I couldn't cope with net result of spending the money on airfares, hotel, tickets and food if they don't. Some may call that pessimism. Some would say "even if they do win, it's still a waste of money!" I call it another 40 for 40 lesson.
Go Pats!!
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