All sports could be defined as intense physical and emotionalexertion with a direction. Everybody that has spent time in frontof the TV easily recognizes the effort put out by athletes. Theathletes themselves know how much of a physical exertion it is bywringing out their practice and game gear.

As important as the physical exertion aspect is, it would beutter folly to disregard the emotionality of athletic endeavors.How many times have we seen the weekend warriors going crazy ontheir couches when the ref throws that flag and it’s passinterference, giving the other team first and goal from the 2 inchline?

An out of control episode is surely to follow, led by none otherthan the passionate sports fan. Now wrap your minds around this: ifit is that intense for the spectator who really only has nothingmore than a bet staked in a game, how intense is it for an athletewho has every ounce of his pride riding on the outcome of a simplegame, match, bout, heat, race, throw, pitch, kick, and pass.

Athletics and emotional involvement go together like spinach andartichoke, chips and dip and snow and Iowa.

This is excruciatingly apparent to anybody who has attempted todate athletes only to realize that they sometimes (most of thetime) seem to play second fiddle to the sports monster.

I would like to attempt to explain this phenomenon real quick.Most athletes-especially when they are in season-can have only onelover at a time and most of the time it is not the lover they havethe other six months of the year.

It is a little odd because every year athletes have a six-monthaffair with an intangible object. So ladies who have beenvictimized by this, its not you, it’s the sport. Men who have beenvictimized by this: women don’t make any sense ever, so what is thedifference?

Athletes throughout history have been accused of being less thandiscreet and delicate in their actions on and off the field. Whatdo you do when the ref or judge throws his/her weight around andsuddenly you go from trouncing the opponent soundly to a positionof defeat and emotional vanquish? Your emotions reach boiling pointwhen that vein pops out in your forehead and the only thing you canthink of is a lengthy line of explicatives and profanities.

But hey, this is sports, and you have no friends but yourteammates and coaches. Everybody else is out to get you.