Big Gut Punch or BIGGEST Gut Punch?

Today's blog is from Pun's House Message Board member Eric Creech aka Eric O'Mac.  Let him know if you like it in the comments, and maybe he'll write more.

So, I just spent 45 minutes sitting on my couch, starring at a blank television screen, wondering “What in the world just happened?”

Austin Rivers just hit a huge shot. Biggest shot in Duke history since the Capel shot and this one means more because this was an actual game winner.  As much as I hate Duke University, I will give them this bit of praise – they may be unpredictable, but in big games, they bring it and they don’t quit.

This post is not a whining post about Carolina losing to Duke, although it will contain a little bit of that, because it’s just my nature to whine about things when they don’t go my way.  But while I was sitting on my couch, feeling like I was falling out of an airplane with no parachute, the range of emotions were incredible.  I’m not sure where exactly this falls on the Bill Simmons levels of losing, but it feels like a stomach punch game to me.

As soon as the shot went in, I had to look away.  It’s like watching someone you love get hurt. You just can’t watch.  Almost immediately, I turned my Xbox off.  During commercials, I was getting in some game time on NBA 2K11.  I have no idea what my stats were during the game I was in the middle of, but whatever it was is gone.

My roommate smartly didn’t say anything to me.  This is why we get along so well.  He’s a State fan who knows how to keep most things in perspective, and he knows that I don’t take a Carolina loss to Duke especially well.  He was especially amazed by the shot, but if he showed any outward praise to it, I honestly don’t remember.

I had another friend who was planning on crashing on my couch tonight.  He, too, is a State fan.  He came in during the second half and I immediately told him he was not allowed to show any negative comments against Carolina.  I may be a bit harsh, but this was the first Carolina-Duke game in my very own house. If I get to watch the game in the comfort of my own home, then I don’t want a range of opinions on the game.  That’s just how it is.  If I wanted to be ticked off while watching a game, then I just simply wouldn’t watch it.  Anyways, this friend of mine was told to leave the house after the game.  And I made my friend stay outside in the cold for 45 minutes. I finally let him in and told him that I didn’t want to hear the TV and that I didn’t want to hear him say anything about this game.

So, yeah, I was pissed.

The question is, why?

Why do I let my emotions hinge on the outcome of a game?  Why am I so invested in this game that I’m willing to kick a friend out of my house for 45 minutes?

One of the things I thought about while I sitting, staring in to emptiness was my grandfather.  My grandfather had a heart attack Sunday morning.  I found out about 10 minutes before I was scheduled to speak at a church.  Luckily, he is going to be fine (and will get to leave the hospital tomorrow), but it spoke volumes to me about how short and fragile life can really be.  In a moment, people are gone.  Life is the ultimate swerve.  You never see the end coming. Even when it’s expected, you are never prepared for the end.

So, let me ask, if I were to die in a car wreck tomorrow, how important would this game be to my overall life?  The answer is not important at all.  I would hope that in my life, I would have other things that I can point to as more important.  I would hope that at my funeral, while the people giving my eulogy can say I was a die-hard Tar Heel Fan, I certainly wouldn’t want them to think that it was the most important fact about my life.

So why am I so worked up over a game?  A game that, when it’s all said and done, won’t mean a single iota to me or anyone else?  Beats me. I have no idea.  I have no idea why this stupid game controls my emotions and no idea why my happiness is hinged on a winning score.  No idea why this affects me the way it does.  That’s fandom for you.

The one thing I know is that while I am certainly not happy with the outcome tonight, it taught me something.  In life, we have the opportunity to get wrapped up in different aspects in life.  If this game has taught me anything, it’s that I need to get more wrapped up in the important things first, so that when a time like this comes, maybe…just maybe, it won’t hurt as bad.

Will this ever happen?  Who knows.  Part of the journey of a sports fan is heartbreak from time to time. My only silver lining is that at least I can have some perspective about this game.  No one died.  All of my friends and family are still alive.  I still have a job.  And no matter what happened in this game, all of those truths still remain.

Now that I’ve had an opportunity to be grateful for all the things I have, will someone teach the Heels how to guard the darn three point shot?