Why are we so passionate
about a sport or a team
we really have no connection to?
Is it part of our desire to be part
of something larger than ourselves?
We are neither owner nor player,
just some poor fan who will pay
an exorbitant amount of money
to sit in the second deck.
We have no financial stake,
are not related to any player,
and have no say in whatever
quirky direction the ball will take.
So, why then the jeers and cheers?
Our tribal passions are on full display,
full-throated, sure, but one-sided.
The team does not care one iota about us.
It is passion without reciprocity;
it is passion without, intimacy, safe.
Nothing is required of us, save our loyalty.
We have fallen under the spell
of the oldest love story in history –
unrequited love which we pay for!
We wait yearly to have our hearts broken.
But, in the end we need to be in love,
even if that love flows only in one direction.
THE POETRY OF THE GAME