Relative Something

This is the best moment, folks. Before the game even starts. After last week’s Vikings victory over the Dallas Cowboys, to earn a spot in the NFC Championship game that will commence later today, the whole state has been atwitter. Everywhere I turn, I find people wearing bright purple team wear. We have had a week of building anticipation, all targeted on this day. Prince released a new song written for the team. There are only 4 teams left and the entire nation of NFL fans will focus on these games with no competing games as distractions.

Have you noticed how the broadcasts during the playoffs seem to have difficulty breaking from their regular season format? At the usual intervals they interrupt the play-by-play to update other games in progress. Now, even though there are no other games in progress, they fail to drop that routine and interrupt to report on a game that already finished or tell us about the one coming up next. It seems so awkwardly unnecessary. Maybe the “Gamebreak” has a sponsor that requires the spot, whether or not there is anything to report on worthy of the interruption.

The odd thing about the buildup of anticipation for this game and so many others like it, is that it becomes larger than the game itself. And the sad thing about that is that as soon as the game starts, the anticipation is over. No matter how the game turns out, it is very difficult to live up to the anticipation. If the game goes sour for the home team, the deflation is decidedly thorough. Stranger still, if the home team is victorious, it is such a hoped for outcome, the reality can’t live up to it.

All we really have then is the anticipation for the next game.

Enjoy the Conference Championships today!