It is the Hope that Kills You

A football commenter once said, “…fans should just relax and enjoy it. Do not raise your expectations… it is the hope that kills you.”

I am not particularly a devoted football fan as many of the fans that I see. I have never bought a football jersey or watched a live match at the stadium. I do not have significant events memorized nor look forward to meeting any football ‘idol’; I cannot even have a deep argument about football. I am what many would refer to as a ‘plastic fan’, one who just watches football for pleasure, but no real passion.

Football has a way of impacting the mood of most fans disproportionately. A win by a fan’s favourite team can lead to a high that an uninformed onlooker may struggle to understand. On the other hand, a bad performance from the favoured team can not only ruin a fan’s afternoon or evening, it can ruin it for all those around the fan. Being an ‘aloof’ fan helps me avoid such lows, although it also means I forgo the potential upswings when the team performs spectacularly.

Recently however, following a string of positive results by Manchester United, I have started having high expectations. After a long period of wins, with few intermittent draws, I started to look forward to even more wins, despite my better judgement. As all football fans know, the longer a string of positive results, the more likely a bad result is just around the corner. But I let myself get carried away. But I was not alone, many fans and rival fans were talking about potential title challenges and extolling the virtues of the team. So, the reinforcing message played its part.

If a team is going to have a bad result, fans would prefer that the bad result is not by a major rival and certainly not a high margin loss. Today Manchester United failed fans on both measures, the team lost 7 – 0 to their biggest rival, Liverpool Football Club. It is as heartbreaking as it is surprising. Following last year’s heavy losses home and away to Liverpool, together with the resurgence of Manchester United and indifferent performances by Liverpool, most fans came into this game with high expectations. Manchester United had not won at Anfield, Liverpool’s home ground, since January 2016. If there was ever a good time, this was it. Momentum has never been more favourable towards Manchester United going into a match with Liverpool for a long time.

The first half of the game reinforced this expectation. For large parts, Liverpool had much of the ball as expected, but Manchester United had most of the chances. Indeed, Liverpool’s only shot on target was the goal towards the end of the half. The expectation was that this was a blip and Manchester United has shown time and again this season that they are capable of overcoming adversities like these. So, you can imagine fans’ surprise when Liverpool went 3 – 0 up within the first five minutes of the second half. In fact, l am confident that most Manchester United faithfuls were unable to see the game to the end. It was hurtful to watch.

It was better, much better and easier when I expected the team to lose. Where there is hope, despair is usually not far around.

Hobbies and pastimes are supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. I need to revisit my hobbies.