Yale’s Most Popular Course in History – The Science of Well Being

My hubby is a sports guy. He has a love/hate relationship with sports though. He loves the game — especially hoops. He loves the athletes — especially Aaron Rodgers and LeBron James. He loves the rivalries, competition, familiarity, ritual, and heart. He loves to hate the SEC. He loves underdogs, clearly defined rules, and overcoming odds. He hates cheaters and anyone who rigs the game. Fairness really matters to him.

He also listens to an extraordinary amount of sports talk radio. It’s the soundtrack of our lives. I often tune it out, but when I do hear, I’m struck by how many of the hosts are “Larry Davids” in a constant state of outrage — about the players, the league, the penalties, the referees, the coaching, the pace, the outcome, the money, whatever. Now I know that’s the world we live in, politics and sports have the same playbook: get the audience to pick a side and then feed them reasons to love who they chose and hate the other team.

That doesn’t appeal to me though. I don’t believe in zero-sum games.

Maybe I don’t get it, but I think I do. It’s just that for me, loving sports means loving the game, being invested in your team’s highs and lows, sharing crucial/thrilling/awe-inspiring moments with other fans. Win or lose, I don’t really care, it’s the action and excitement…