Heartbreak

I pride myself on NOT being one of those fans that live and die by the successes and failures of my team. I live in Ohio and I am surrounded by insanely loyal, die-hard Buckeyes fans. I consider myself a Buckeye fan for sure, but I try not to be the fanatic. When the team wins, I don't say "We won!" When the team loses, I didn't lose, they did. For "we" to be appropriate, I would have had to be on the field, giving my blood. Attending an institution is not a "we" ticket either. I am pretty sure the linebacker of the 1982 Buckeyes didn't say, "We graduated!" when you got your degree. Because he didn't take the finals, you did!

With all that being said, it is Monday morning and this guy is sad, slightly depressed. Blue is my mood. My beloved Steelers, the team of my youth, lost a close one on Sunday night. I have been a fan since the days of Swann, Lambert, Harris, Bradshaw, Greene, Ham and the great Chuck Noll. For 35 years the Steelers have been there for me, and I have been there for them. If an NFL team builds a stadium in the backyard of my house, I will only show up when the Black and Gold are in town, and those will be the colors I will be wearing! You get the idea, I like the Steelers.

As badly as I am feeling today, I can't imagine how bad the Steelers players must be feeling. To come this close and fall short must be devastating! If I try to comprehend the pain those players are carrying on their broad shoulders, the closest I could come is to train for nine months, with passion, and not finish my ironman. To let it all hang out and fall just short would be horrible; like twisting an ankle at mile 139 and DNF'ing. Thank God there is no one playing defense in the sport of triathlon!

The beauty of our sport, at least for me and the group of athletes I know is our victories take place at the finish line. We all feel like winners when we cross it. We all want each other to do well and succeed! There is an unspoken bond between endurance athletes that stems from our appreciation of just how hard we work to cross that line. It is one of the unique qualities that makes this sport so special and dear to my heart.

The pain I feel today is insignificant to those of the players that lost the Super Bowl yesterday. But I assure you it is real. It will be applied to future workouts, I will remember it and use it as motivation! Hopefully this loss will not be in vane, it will serve as a tool applied towards my OWN achievements. I don't want to feel that agony, I want to fell the glory those damn Packers are feeling!

Congrats to the Pack! Steelers, I still love ya! We will get'em next year! Oops, I mean you will  :)