I'll guarantee a "W", even if (when) the Hogs lose!

ca·thar·sis
1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.

Sara encouraged me to use the ole blog for some catharsis before bedtime. To purge myself, so that my emotional bloating wouldn't keep me up half the night. That o so familiar & yet painfully fresh gut-wrenching, Hog nation trauma. The Razorbacks, perenniel runners up to the elite football programs of the SEC. Good enough to hang, even throw a few Rocky-esque (DMac) punches and win a few rounds. Heck, every now & then we even get the knock-out! Oh yeah, this feels good! Yeah, we like it up here. Yeah, we belong up here. We can hang...right!???
Yet game in & out, season in and out, we just can't scratch & claw our way into the football heavyweight division w/in the SEC...to stay. Hog fans find ourselves stuck in our own mirey hog waller. A few snouts shy of a trailer load. HBeaumont's text tonight during the Bama game says it all, "Being a Hog fan is torturous".

A step back. Emotional fatigue exposes me to a teachable moment. My deeper desire (& angst when unfulfilled) is common to us all. And it's the reason why men in our day get paid millions and millions to throw, run, catch, and hit a ball. What we all want so badly, and mourn so deeply when it slips through our hands...is glory. Isn't that it? Don't we all really want deep down to to strive & struggle...and overcome. Some might debate the strive & struggle part...although victory really wouldn't be nearly as sweet without it. But we ALL want to WIN! to triumph, to experience & celebrate the glory of greatness. And it's so Mythic that our recreational activities mimic the life and death battles for greatness & glory that we wage against each other with guns, and bombs, and natural resources. And they mimic that even older & greater Battle that rages in the unseen spirit realm all around us.
Sports. The promise of greatness...glory. Heck, we don't even have to play ourselves! Others can fight, win, and lose. All we have to do is cheer a player, or a team, and we too can savor their victory! Or, if you're a Razorback fan in the land of the giants, mourn another defeat snatched from the elusive jaws of unlikely but, yes we believe it, possible victory.
And even more time thinking through & writing this. Catharsis has a cost too?! Bummer. And I gotta go through all this again? Yep, I foresee more stomach acid and adrenaline crashes ahead. After all, this was just the second game of another gut-wrenching Hog football season.
Sigh. Can't wait til the Champ wins the Big One! Man, what a tailgate party that's gonna be! Hey, after all, we're already Winners, right? But who knows when...so, in the meantime, bring on those Wildcats. Yeah, let's get up off the mat and go for greatness again next week in our living rooms, or in the sports-bar...as long as we're with some other Hog fans who really need the big Win. Got me?
Ok. Resolved. We can get a W, we can taste Glory, we can be Great...however the Hogs do.
Where's that watch party again? Go HOGS!