It is the end. . . of NBA and NHL championships; and the anti-climax of it all has slouched over into a kind of shocked numbness: what am I to do now? You feel an emptiness inside you can't quite touch--but it's there. The elation, the jolts of emotion, the upswings and hard collapses, the frustration and the transient justice--all the drama of it all, gone!
So, really...what now? What are you going to do now that you've crawled up from the dregs of your man-cave, brought your jowls out from under the play-off beard to soak in the light of a new day, and emerged to the rest of the world that's been running while you've been away?
Here are some tips:
1. Reacquaint with your loved ones: Life is so busy during playoff season: you work all day, race home, devour your food, and either rush to the nearest watering hole or down to your man cave, or cozy up on the couch; and the only words out of your mouth are grunts, groans, and roars. Now's the time to look your loved ones in the face, say "How ya doin'?" and ask what's been going on in their lives for the past two months:
"Is that a new hair style? Love it!"
"I've had it for the past two months!"
"Where's Timmy?"
"He's sitting right next to you..."
"Oh--I didn't recognize him! I thought it was the neighbour's kid and wondered what he had done with our son...."
2. Get outside: We live indoors, in artificially lit worlds of air conditioning, carpet off-gassing, pallid walls, and foamy cubicle surfaces (does anyone else see the irony of that?) After work, you go from there to a bar or home and subject yourself to more screen time. Your body isn't meant for that. Get outside: take your kids out on their bikes, take the dog out for a walk, dust off the fishing rod and do a little fishing--anything. Planning a camping trip can be wonderful to get some callous back in those hands softened by sweaty lager glasses.
3. Cool down on the alcohol: Alcohol consumption is commonplace among sports fans; but if you've been drinking most nights, whether alone or with your friends, it's wise to take a little time off from it. Part of the let-down from the playoff completion is not getting that fix of alcohol when you're used to it, which may compel you to continue drinking even when there are no games on. If you feel you need alcohol to unwind or to spend time with a loved one, you have an alcohol dependence issue. The first step is to stop for a while. But if that's nearly impossible for you, then you should seek some help before it gets worse.
4. Read books: Ya ya, I know--not the same as the drama of a game six Stanley Cup Final, but it'll make you smarter and able to sleep better. As my last post showed, reading books stimulates brain activity, which heightens your intelligence and ability to create new ideas. As well, given that LED screens can impede sleep patterns, reading a book while trying to fall asleep at night is a sure-fire way of getting relaxed enough to drift off (The key to the perfect book before bed is one that is a) long-winded enough to bore you, but b) just interesting enough to keep you focused, if only merely). Imagine how many books you could read in the time you spent watching NBA and NHL playoffs?
5. Tally up the hours: This one may be depressing: Tally up the number of hours you spent watching playoffs, and get a gut-read on it. Now write down all the things you could've been doing in that amount of time. If getting a PhD degree or running a small business through start-up into maturity come up, maybe you need to rethink things.
6. Ask yourself if there's something wrong with spending hours watching other people do stuff: That's the one thing about sports-watching that's unsettling: that you're sedentary while those on the ice or court are getting paid millions to do stuff. What could you be doing? Why is it fine for someone else to be having fun while you're not? Sure it can be entertaining; but what if your time spent could be used to benefit yourself, your family, or society at large?
7. Reevaluate for next year: Yes, this may be the most boring 3 months in all of sports--that gaping lull between the hoisting of the Stanley Cup and the drop of September's first puck--, but it can be a time of reevaluation: how will you orientate yourself to sports next year? Will you spend as much time watching it, or will you do other things instead? Is it worth all the mindless hours when there are myriad other things to do with your time? Perhaps it's all fine, and you watch moderately; but if there is a part of you stirring around and feeling like you've wasted half your life in the bar or in front of the screen, then maybe you're telling yourself something.
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