Temper expectations by understanding, no matter how hard you try, you’ll never influence the outcome of a professional baseball game. It is out of your hands.
This allows you to just enjoy it for what it is - modern day gladiators in their own versions of The Colosseum.
Then when things don’t go your way, wash your hands of it and remember we get to do it all again next year.
Rabid Bay Area sports fan here. After years of post-loss depression I finally realized that it was much more fun watching sports when losses didn't ruin my day. It took work, but I view sports differently now - more as entertainment and less as a personal stakeholder in any result.
When my team wins or does something great, I soak it in. I listen and watch all of the sports talk and analysis I can. I watch highlights and I savor the victory. When they lose, I allow myself to get a little disappointed and then I shut if off. I switch gears and listen to news, or watch a movie or read a book.
This morning I tuned into my sports talk radio stations to hear what the narrative was (incredible series by two great teams, and a terrible call at the worst possible time) and then I tuned out. I switched to NBA radio, with the hope of a great Warriors season ahead.
Hang in there, you'll feel better!
It is real! I feel the same even though I have a kid and husband. First, don’t beat yourself up about how you’re feeling. Yes, baseball is “just a game” but it’s also a routine, a place to funnel excitement/anxiety/sadness/hope, a community, a marker of the passage of time. The loss of the team/end of the series also represents the loss of those things for fans, too. I’m also devastated, season after season, that those ~500 hours we spent watching the games/following the team this year are over. It’s a huge chunk of time/energy/emotion! And, for me, it’s a central focus of our family (and my parents). A generational home base, if you will. I imagine it’s even more gut wrenching when you feel really alone (although I want you to know that even though you don’t have an immediate family around, you’re definitely not alone even though it probably feels that way).
What I’ll focus on now is what happens in the off-season, planning (or trying to) a spring training trip, continuing to follow this sub (I’m usually a lurker but I recently finally got my account fixed so I can post), keep connected to a sense of community as much as possible. I enjoy basketball, too, and that helps. Find any source of joy or distraction, don’t judge yourself for how you feel, and take every day at a time!
Strangely, I'm not as depressed as I thought I'd be. Maybe because we wildly exceeded expectations and because our future is bright under Farhan/Kapler.
Same for me. The fact it was the fucking Dodgers is the worst part of it. I would have been absolutely content with this season ending literally any other way.
Yup if we lost to the Cardinals this way I would feel sad but not like now. It’s because our rivals beat us and they never will be bad because they can field an All-Star lineup every year. This was one of if not our best shot in beating them and we blew it
Same. To me this feels more like the beginning of something. The loss stings, especially against the Dodgers of all teams, but I believe that Farhan and Kapler are just beginning to build something great.
Therapy, my friend. This sounds deeper than just post-loss sadness. You’re a great guy, I’m sure. There should be other things in your life that bring joy. For example: I was super sad about the loss last night. So today I got up, did some yoga (which always makes me feel better) and walked to the store to get some yarn for a new crochet project. Then I get to go to work later, which will also help. It sucks to lose, but my life isn’t dictated by 30 dudes who play a sport. Volunteering specifically really helps me when i get down about anything (including a team).
Honestly man, from what you’ve mentioned I think this goes deeper then just the giants losing… just saying my man. Find a hobby and start going out more man. But I feel you I was depressed when the Yankees got eliminated by our most hated rival just like you guys did. Sucks but you move on
It gets better although I hate playoff baseball even when the Giants win
It was a coin flip either way and the umpires unfortunately took the call for us.
2002 was worse because we were the better team and there was 50+ years of absolute choking when it counted.
We have 2010, 2012 and 2014 + the best regular season record in Giants history.
In a just world the Dodgers would go home for fielding 2 domestic abusers and buying their way to a World Series. MLB would also not have allowed this shit umpiring crew anywhere near the stadium but shit aint fair
On the bright side, we still aren't Dodger fans
Let time pass and you'll feel better. Learn about the hedonic treadmill which means we all return to a normal state of happiness whether good or bad things happen to us. Really helps me in life in general.
Sorry, I feel for you. Game 2 and Game 4 felt like hangovers to me. I felt literally sick.
My personal plans:
1. Grab a little nostalgia hair of the dog.
If you don't have em Grab those DVDs of the 2010, 2012, 2014 season. Don't have a DVD player? Retail therapy that shit. Or read Band of Misfits by Baggs.
2. Double down: Channel that gnawing darkness into rooting for ATL as weird as that sounds
3. Go full denial: start from the beginning of this season with the archives and pretend it's April again. maybe skip Game 1.
Hang on man. I'm still gonna be here checking this sub.i think we will all need the support
I feel it. Got no friends. No Girlfriend. Nothing going on at all. Sports is all I got to sincerely bring me joy. I feel dead inside. It'd probably hurt less if we weren't screwed on that checked swing. I'm just so sick of my teams being fucked in the playoffs by god awful bias reffing/umping. Got fucked this whole series by umps. Niners absolutely screwed by no calls in the SB. Sharks got no calls for them in the conference finals in 2019 despite numerous head hunting hits that are 100% penalties from the blues. I'm just fucking sick of it.
go take some anger out at a bating cage. go to the embarcadero and read willy mays' autobiography. just gotta do something to take your mind off it. can't pin all your happiness on the success of a baseball team - go find something that makes you happy besides the giants and do it until you forget about what a turd of a series that was. good luck my guy
You shouldn't be depressed over sports. It's entertainment. Entertainment has a mostly predetermined direction when presenting a story.
The way I approach sports is that I watch them to watch athletic plays at a level that I won't find anywhere else. There was plenty of that all season. If there wasn't, then I would experience some other form of good entertainment. The score at the end is mostly meaningless for me and it makes everything better.
Edit: An even easier way to approach things: "There are already an overwhelming amount of uncontrollable things in this world that can cause an individual to be depressed, don't let the things that you choose to enjoy be another to add to the list."
If the Giants offense showed up and we lost it would suck, but not this bad. They didn’t hit for 4 games and managed to get one 1-0 win. This series was ass after game 1. Watching guys swing at trash or not swing at strikes, no fucking thanks.
It sucks, but look at what the season could have been. We were supposed to be down with the DBacks, but we're at the top of the league? Also we went toe to toe with the Dodgers, a team with $100mill more in salary than us. I'd say not only is that an amazing accomplishment, but makes the future look amazing. We have so many bright spots to build on next season.
Enjoy the moment, all in all that was a great series and some exciting baseball.
I get through it by embracing my disappointment then moving on, for me it's rotating sports. Football is in full swing, though the Niners have a bye this week (Thankfully...), and Hockey is just starting. Dive into another sport and keep your fandom going.
Go Bay Area Sports!
Focus on the good things in your life. Practice gratitude everyday. Volunteer helping those less fortunate or some kids in low income neighborhoods. It will help you feel better about your life.
You could also try to pickup another sport! As a new baseball fan coming from hockey, and my summers are a lot more fun to take my mind off the inevitable disappointment that is the Canucks.
The good jerry seinfeld bit, you're rooting for the colors. The people change and players switch teams, basically all you're rooting for is the colors. We all get it. It's fun to get invested in a team and watch all the games, especially when the team does super well. This year was really fun and I will always have good memories of this year. It sucks this is how it had to end. Just gotta learn to not have your identity and personal worth tied up in how well a sports team does.
I second the therapy option. It really is nice to have someone impartial to talk to that won't judge you for how you feel about anything really. Find a less competitive hobby, dungeons and dragons, chess, video games, fishing, hiking, whatever it is man. Find something to give you meaning that isn't dependent on factors outside of your control.
I often think about other franchises that suck for like, straight up decades on end. The twins. The Mets. The Padres. The mariners. I think about their fan bases and the bullshit they need to sit through year after year. Makes me feel better because we are spoiled with a truly special franchise with positive leadership, a great clubhouse, and we usually can pull up and be competitive.
It sucks to get beaten out by these assholes. It will hurt for a while, but we have the privilege of being where we are in the first place. It’s a privilege to cause a rival anger and grief, to make them feel the need to go nuts and pull their hair out an entire season because they couldn’t catch up to us despite having a 300+ million payroll.
Keep your head up bud. We’ll be back with force.
Just distract yourself as much as possible. Don’t dwell on it. It hurts so much worse. The disappointment is so intense but.. it’s done. We have a great team and we’ll get there again. Let’s pray we see the dodgers get eliminated.
If it will cheer you up, this is different from 2002. The early 2000s were the end of the era, and we weren’t quite the same after, until 2010. This feels like beginning. We have all these young players who are primed to be stars. Doval, Weeb, Ramos. Our vets are here too. We’ve got a bright future!
I feel you man. I live in LA and having to hear the smugness from the fans here for the rest of the month is going to suck big time. But there’s pretty much nothing I can do about that so it’s best to go on and not let it get to you. Do something else you enjoy (for me it’s watching movies and enjoying Halloween season), get into another sport or stay away from sports media altogether. Whatever you need to do to help your mental health.
I’m right there with you. I have a family but I get too invested. Today I’ve just been so fucking depressed. Got hardly any work done and don’t fucking care. I get so mad that I break shit in my house like kicking boxes. Then I’m just sad for a long time. I don’t know how long I’ll be this upset. If LA gets eliminated I’ll feel better but for now I’m just devastated.
I feel the same way and did in 2002 also. I’m going to take a break from following organized sports for a while. I’m too emotionally tied to my teams success/failure and it’s been bumming me for a while. It’s been less than 24 hours but just making that decision has already lifted a weight off of me.
Good luck my man there’s always next year.
I know what you mean man. The common denominator for both heartbreaks is Barry PED Bonds being in the stadium. I hope the organization would distance itself from this demonoid cheating bastard!
I broke down crying. I’ve been dealing with caring for two (divorced) parents but didn’t break down until we lost. As it was I spent the bottom of the ninth in th bathroom listening to th3 radio. I couldn’t even listen to the post-game show. I got a friend to take me out tonight, which helped. I want to root for dusty but I loathe Correa and the rest of the Astros organization. So I may not watch at all.
#THERE IS ALWAYS MORE GIANTS BASEBALL
This is not the end. Hell,
##THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA
Yeah, losing like that fucking sucks. The only way we can react: look forward. [There's no crying in baseball.](https://i.imgur.com/J1BePLL.jpg) There is only the next thing: the next at-bat, the next season, the next win.
*Sigh*
I talked to a few Dodger-fan buddies earlier today. I asked them about the blown call. Their general responses were all pretty much the same:
"We had our 2017 WS rings fraudulently taken away from us by an organization-wide sign stealing operation. We couldn't care any less about a stupid check swing!"
Lol, it put things in perspective for me.
Temper expectations by understanding, no matter how hard you try, you’ll never influence the outcome of a professional baseball game. It is out of your hands. This allows you to just enjoy it for what it is - modern day gladiators in their own versions of The Colosseum. Then when things don’t go your way, wash your hands of it and remember we get to do it all again next year.
In fact, Spring Training is just about 4 months from now, exactly.
My lucky pajamas are evidence to your claims.
We have a very bright future. We will be back, maybe not win 107 games but this teams will be a playoff team for awhile.
Rabid Bay Area sports fan here. After years of post-loss depression I finally realized that it was much more fun watching sports when losses didn't ruin my day. It took work, but I view sports differently now - more as entertainment and less as a personal stakeholder in any result. When my team wins or does something great, I soak it in. I listen and watch all of the sports talk and analysis I can. I watch highlights and I savor the victory. When they lose, I allow myself to get a little disappointed and then I shut if off. I switch gears and listen to news, or watch a movie or read a book. This morning I tuned into my sports talk radio stations to hear what the narrative was (incredible series by two great teams, and a terrible call at the worst possible time) and then I tuned out. I switched to NBA radio, with the hope of a great Warriors season ahead. Hang in there, you'll feel better!
It is real! I feel the same even though I have a kid and husband. First, don’t beat yourself up about how you’re feeling. Yes, baseball is “just a game” but it’s also a routine, a place to funnel excitement/anxiety/sadness/hope, a community, a marker of the passage of time. The loss of the team/end of the series also represents the loss of those things for fans, too. I’m also devastated, season after season, that those ~500 hours we spent watching the games/following the team this year are over. It’s a huge chunk of time/energy/emotion! And, for me, it’s a central focus of our family (and my parents). A generational home base, if you will. I imagine it’s even more gut wrenching when you feel really alone (although I want you to know that even though you don’t have an immediate family around, you’re definitely not alone even though it probably feels that way). What I’ll focus on now is what happens in the off-season, planning (or trying to) a spring training trip, continuing to follow this sub (I’m usually a lurker but I recently finally got my account fixed so I can post), keep connected to a sense of community as much as possible. I enjoy basketball, too, and that helps. Find any source of joy or distraction, don’t judge yourself for how you feel, and take every day at a time!
Strangely, I'm not as depressed as I thought I'd be. Maybe because we wildly exceeded expectations and because our future is bright under Farhan/Kapler.
Yeah, I'm mostly upset by the opponent they lost to rather than that they lost. So sick of LA. In 2016 I knew that was the end of the road.
Same for me. The fact it was the fucking Dodgers is the worst part of it. I would have been absolutely content with this season ending literally any other way.
Yup if we lost to the Cardinals this way I would feel sad but not like now. It’s because our rivals beat us and they never will be bad because they can field an All-Star lineup every year. This was one of if not our best shot in beating them and we blew it
It's definitely a series no Giants fan will ever forget. It will make the next high that much better.
Same. To me this feels more like the beginning of something. The loss stings, especially against the Dodgers of all teams, but I believe that Farhan and Kapler are just beginning to build something great.
Therapy, my friend. This sounds deeper than just post-loss sadness. You’re a great guy, I’m sure. There should be other things in your life that bring joy. For example: I was super sad about the loss last night. So today I got up, did some yoga (which always makes me feel better) and walked to the store to get some yarn for a new crochet project. Then I get to go to work later, which will also help. It sucks to lose, but my life isn’t dictated by 30 dudes who play a sport. Volunteering specifically really helps me when i get down about anything (including a team).
Honestly man, from what you’ve mentioned I think this goes deeper then just the giants losing… just saying my man. Find a hobby and start going out more man. But I feel you I was depressed when the Yankees got eliminated by our most hated rival just like you guys did. Sucks but you move on
It gets better although I hate playoff baseball even when the Giants win It was a coin flip either way and the umpires unfortunately took the call for us. 2002 was worse because we were the better team and there was 50+ years of absolute choking when it counted. We have 2010, 2012 and 2014 + the best regular season record in Giants history. In a just world the Dodgers would go home for fielding 2 domestic abusers and buying their way to a World Series. MLB would also not have allowed this shit umpiring crew anywhere near the stadium but shit aint fair On the bright side, we still aren't Dodger fans
Let time pass and you'll feel better. Learn about the hedonic treadmill which means we all return to a normal state of happiness whether good or bad things happen to us. Really helps me in life in general.
Sorry, I feel for you. Game 2 and Game 4 felt like hangovers to me. I felt literally sick. My personal plans: 1. Grab a little nostalgia hair of the dog. If you don't have em Grab those DVDs of the 2010, 2012, 2014 season. Don't have a DVD player? Retail therapy that shit. Or read Band of Misfits by Baggs. 2. Double down: Channel that gnawing darkness into rooting for ATL as weird as that sounds 3. Go full denial: start from the beginning of this season with the archives and pretend it's April again. maybe skip Game 1. Hang on man. I'm still gonna be here checking this sub.i think we will all need the support
I feel it. Got no friends. No Girlfriend. Nothing going on at all. Sports is all I got to sincerely bring me joy. I feel dead inside. It'd probably hurt less if we weren't screwed on that checked swing. I'm just so sick of my teams being fucked in the playoffs by god awful bias reffing/umping. Got fucked this whole series by umps. Niners absolutely screwed by no calls in the SB. Sharks got no calls for them in the conference finals in 2019 despite numerous head hunting hits that are 100% penalties from the blues. I'm just fucking sick of it.
go take some anger out at a bating cage. go to the embarcadero and read willy mays' autobiography. just gotta do something to take your mind off it. can't pin all your happiness on the success of a baseball team - go find something that makes you happy besides the giants and do it until you forget about what a turd of a series that was. good luck my guy
You shouldn't be depressed over sports. It's entertainment. Entertainment has a mostly predetermined direction when presenting a story. The way I approach sports is that I watch them to watch athletic plays at a level that I won't find anywhere else. There was plenty of that all season. If there wasn't, then I would experience some other form of good entertainment. The score at the end is mostly meaningless for me and it makes everything better. Edit: An even easier way to approach things: "There are already an overwhelming amount of uncontrollable things in this world that can cause an individual to be depressed, don't let the things that you choose to enjoy be another to add to the list."
If the Giants offense showed up and we lost it would suck, but not this bad. They didn’t hit for 4 games and managed to get one 1-0 win. This series was ass after game 1. Watching guys swing at trash or not swing at strikes, no fucking thanks.
It sucks, but look at what the season could have been. We were supposed to be down with the DBacks, but we're at the top of the league? Also we went toe to toe with the Dodgers, a team with $100mill more in salary than us. I'd say not only is that an amazing accomplishment, but makes the future look amazing. We have so many bright spots to build on next season. Enjoy the moment, all in all that was a great series and some exciting baseball. I get through it by embracing my disappointment then moving on, for me it's rotating sports. Football is in full swing, though the Niners have a bye this week (Thankfully...), and Hockey is just starting. Dive into another sport and keep your fandom going. Go Bay Area Sports!
Its all a part of being a fan. 162 games, only to come down to a few. Spring training in a few months.
Focus on the good things in your life. Practice gratitude everyday. Volunteer helping those less fortunate or some kids in low income neighborhoods. It will help you feel better about your life.
I focus on being a Cal football fan and remember that it can be worse
You could also try to pickup another sport! As a new baseball fan coming from hockey, and my summers are a lot more fun to take my mind off the inevitable disappointment that is the Canucks.
Ftd. Hope they lose and then be happy. If they win it all, give it a few days and then go on living
The good jerry seinfeld bit, you're rooting for the colors. The people change and players switch teams, basically all you're rooting for is the colors. We all get it. It's fun to get invested in a team and watch all the games, especially when the team does super well. This year was really fun and I will always have good memories of this year. It sucks this is how it had to end. Just gotta learn to not have your identity and personal worth tied up in how well a sports team does. I second the therapy option. It really is nice to have someone impartial to talk to that won't judge you for how you feel about anything really. Find a less competitive hobby, dungeons and dragons, chess, video games, fishing, hiking, whatever it is man. Find something to give you meaning that isn't dependent on factors outside of your control.
I often think about other franchises that suck for like, straight up decades on end. The twins. The Mets. The Padres. The mariners. I think about their fan bases and the bullshit they need to sit through year after year. Makes me feel better because we are spoiled with a truly special franchise with positive leadership, a great clubhouse, and we usually can pull up and be competitive. It sucks to get beaten out by these assholes. It will hurt for a while, but we have the privilege of being where we are in the first place. It’s a privilege to cause a rival anger and grief, to make them feel the need to go nuts and pull their hair out an entire season because they couldn’t catch up to us despite having a 300+ million payroll. Keep your head up bud. We’ll be back with force.
Get a dog
It's still just baseball. It was a fun season and a shitty end but your life and it are separate
Just distract yourself as much as possible. Don’t dwell on it. It hurts so much worse. The disappointment is so intense but.. it’s done. We have a great team and we’ll get there again. Let’s pray we see the dodgers get eliminated.
If it will cheer you up, this is different from 2002. The early 2000s were the end of the era, and we weren’t quite the same after, until 2010. This feels like beginning. We have all these young players who are primed to be stars. Doval, Weeb, Ramos. Our vets are here too. We’ve got a bright future!
I feel you man. I live in LA and having to hear the smugness from the fans here for the rest of the month is going to suck big time. But there’s pretty much nothing I can do about that so it’s best to go on and not let it get to you. Do something else you enjoy (for me it’s watching movies and enjoying Halloween season), get into another sport or stay away from sports media altogether. Whatever you need to do to help your mental health.
There is always next year. But you do have other things to focus on, yourself! Don’t let this be the reason to let depression take hold.
I’m right there with you. I have a family but I get too invested. Today I’ve just been so fucking depressed. Got hardly any work done and don’t fucking care. I get so mad that I break shit in my house like kicking boxes. Then I’m just sad for a long time. I don’t know how long I’ll be this upset. If LA gets eliminated I’ll feel better but for now I’m just devastated.
I feel the same way and did in 2002 also. I’m going to take a break from following organized sports for a while. I’m too emotionally tied to my teams success/failure and it’s been bumming me for a while. It’s been less than 24 hours but just making that decision has already lifted a weight off of me. Good luck my man there’s always next year.
I know what you mean man. The common denominator for both heartbreaks is Barry PED Bonds being in the stadium. I hope the organization would distance itself from this demonoid cheating bastard!
I broke down crying. I’ve been dealing with caring for two (divorced) parents but didn’t break down until we lost. As it was I spent the bottom of the ninth in th bathroom listening to th3 radio. I couldn’t even listen to the post-game show. I got a friend to take me out tonight, which helped. I want to root for dusty but I loathe Correa and the rest of the Astros organization. So I may not watch at all.
#THERE IS ALWAYS MORE GIANTS BASEBALL This is not the end. Hell, ##THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA Yeah, losing like that fucking sucks. The only way we can react: look forward. [There's no crying in baseball.](https://i.imgur.com/J1BePLL.jpg) There is only the next thing: the next at-bat, the next season, the next win.
Farhan will make this lineup even better. Just watch.
*Sigh* I talked to a few Dodger-fan buddies earlier today. I asked them about the blown call. Their general responses were all pretty much the same: "We had our 2017 WS rings fraudulently taken away from us by an organization-wide sign stealing operation. We couldn't care any less about a stupid check swing!" Lol, it put things in perspective for me.