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| Party Pooper (Photo credit: Randi Deuro) |
Many of you may have been glued to the television watching the Super Bowl or at least in a household where others were watching it. I'll admit that I had the game on while I did computer stuff, but I wasn't paying that much attention. I have no idea what's going on in football. Never have and probably never will. The truth is that I don't care for football.
My negative attitude toward football used to be much more intense than it is now. I'd make fun of the sport and the people watching it. If I was with a group of people watching the game, I'd ridicule and spout all sorts of negativity in an attempt to spoil the game for everyone else. No one paid me much mind and I was probably more annoying than I was influential.
The fact of the matter is that a lot of people enjoy football. They enjoy the camaraderie of watching the game together. Some like to watch the games alone because they enjoy the sport. People talk about upcoming games and analyze games gone by. Football is a passion for many and a pleasurable pastime for others. And on the beneficial side to society the sport contributes to the economy.
There have been many times in my life when I've tried to ruin the fun of others or cast a shadow of negativity over pursuits that others enjoyed and found pleasure in doing. Why? Just because I wasn't interested. If people were doing something that I didn't like then they were taking attention away from me and I felt left out. Sometimes I thought what people were doing was dumb or time wasting and in my opinion they shouldn't be doing it. That's a terribly controlling attitude when I look at it in retrospect.
Thankfully I've accepted that I don't have to like what others enjoy, but I shouldn't be trying to mess up their good times either. Finding the positives is a good thing. If I expect to be happy then I should expect that others should be permitted to enjoy what they want to do so long as they are not harming others or doing damage to property or the environment. And if people don't want to watch Fellini movies or listen to classical music with me then it may be their loss but they shouldn't try to stop me from doing it or ridicule me for it.
There was a time when I wished football would just go away. I have even suggested it be banned by the law. How absurd! Being a spoilsport is a bad thing. It makes the spoiler look bad and the rain can make the parade marchers wet, but usually they have umbrellas and don't pay much attention to the one doing the grousing.
Let others have their good time. Ideally join in the fun and you may even find why others enjoy the thing they are doing that you didn't like--or thought you didn't like. I kept Super Bowl 48 on to keep track of what was happening even though I didn't understand it, I watched some of the commercials (there were a few good ones), and I watched the half time show ( I usually do flip that on even if I'm not watching the game). I won't say I necessarily had all that much fun, but I hope some of you did.
Do you usually watch the Super Bowl? What types of events do you like to enjoy as a communal experience? Have you ever tried to spoil the fun of others because you weren't interested in what they were doing? Is there anything that others enjoy doing that you wish would just go away so they'd stop doing it?
