‘The Pain’ (Andrew D. Bernstein - NBAE/Getty Images) 

December was a brutal month.  I’m not talking about the snowfall here in Utah.  Or the housing market.  I’m talking about how difficult it was to watch the Jazz play 15 games (with 1 remaining tonight) and only win 4 of them.  Everyone knows it hasn’t been pretty.  Everyone can point to several reasons why the team continues to come up short.  Interior defense, turnovers down the stretch, and poor perimeter shooting may be the problems that need solving for the Jazz, but I can’t do anything about those.  I can control something else though - my reaction to the games.  So that’s the subject of this blog - how to cope with sports anxiety.

During a rough stretch of games like this, I get frustrated, angry, pessimistic, and even a bit depressed after losses.  It’s completely and utterly irrational.  But man - it sucks watching a team underachieve like this.  If they were suppose to suck, I could accept the losses and move on.  But when you are suppose to be good and you aren’t, it’s beyond comprehension.  I wasn’t expecting a championship, but out of the playoff picture?  Come on!  Maybe you don’t feel this way about the Jazz, but you do with another team.  Utes/Cougars fans out there - I’m talking to you!  How do you deal with this kind of pain?  Hopefully, these tips can help you get through the rough waters of being a fan.

The first thing you have to do is remember to never say “It’s just a game”.  If it was “just a game” you wouldn’t care so much in the first place.  If you are like me, watching your favorite team play is a love and a passion.  I care about the things I am passionate about - so don’t trivialize it by calling it “just a game”.  That just makes it worse.  Watching a painful loss is like breaking up with a girlfriend and having someone say to you “There are plenty of fish in the sea.”  Sure, there are, just like there are plenty of other games to be played, but you wanted THAT GIRL and THAT WIN. 

What do you do then?  The best thing you can do is think of the good things about the game (or girl) and move on to the next one instead of dwelling on the bad.  For example, I’ve started asking myself after each loss - what good came out of it?  Is CJ Miles improving?*  Does Millsap bring a defensive intensity the Jazz are sorely lacking?**  Is Memo’s trade value back up high enough that any other team would want him yet?***   There is hope to be found over the last month.  For starters - Giricek is finally gone and for a pretty decent pickup in Korver.  He’ll be great to replace Harpring’s minutes over the next couple of years while the last of his knee cartilage withers away.

 The next thing I do to cope is play with the NBA Trade Machine - a lot.  This coping mechanism can best be desribed as the “Look Forward” process.  If the trade machine isn’t your cup of tea then talk to your buddies about deals you would make.  Do it until you are blue in the face.  For me, it’s fun and it gets my mind off of the crap I’ve been watching on KJZZ lately…  I make a fake trade or two almost every day.  I have the entire Jazz roster memorized from a salary and contract length perspective.  I’m even getting pretty good with some of the other teams.  I’ve got the Grizzlies roster down cold.  I really want Pau Gasol to live in Salt Lake City. 

I also have started looking at potential draft picks the Jazz could get.  They would have the number 14 pick right now according to nbadraft.net.   That puts a Roy Hibbert or DeVon Hardin within striking distance.  Imagine if the Jazz lucked out and got a top 3 lotto pick after missing the playoffs this year.  I’m starting to think this would be the best case scenario for the long term success of this team.  All kinds of trade options would open up at that point.  A decent center would be within reach via trade.  They may seem crazy, but different “What If” scenarios helps me look forward instead of backward.  It’s kinda like going through a rebound relationship.  You  know the current goods aren’t going to work out in the long term - so you keep your eye open for a better deal out there in the market.  One caveat here though, don’t think you are going to trade AK-47 for King James and don’t think you are going to trade in Mary Jane for Heidi Klum.  Be optimistic, but be realistic.

Finally, I cope by taking a bit of a break from the Jazz and turning to other hobbies and passions.  I still watch every game and read/listen to my fair share of sports news, but I try to find a balance between it consuming my life and just being a part of it.  My mother use to say, “Moderation in all things.”  Well - that’s not exactly true because indulging can be dang fun sometimes.  But in times of woe, it’s a good refrain to help reign yourself in with.  How do I do this?  It’s been easier during the holidays - plenty of natural distractions.  If the team keeps playing like they are throughout January though, I have a feeling my Xbox, treadmill, and guitar are going to get a lot more love from me.

Hopefully some of these tips will help you like they’ve helped me.  Nobody likes to lose.  With the Jazz, I’m constantly reminding myself not to panic.  This team overachieved last year in the playoffs, so it’s only fair to see them plateau a bit.  With a couple of roster tweaks and some good old fashined playing time, I do believe the Jazz can be a real contender in two years.

If all else fails with my advice, I have one more thing to leave you with.  I keep saying I’m going to do this but haven’t quite reached this point of desparation yet.  I’m sure you’ve noticed that of the last 11 losses, the Jazz have actually been leading most of the games until some moment in the fourth quarter.  My plan is to start Tivo’ing up the games, watching them for 3 1/2 quarters then shutting off all contact with the sports world until the next game.  By my calculations, the Jazz would be 24-8 in this fantasy world.  Ahhh, I love Tivo.  Now if I could just trick myself into using it in such a delusional manner!

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* YES

** YES and he should be playing 30 minutes a night at the expense of Okur’s playing time

*** NOT EVEN CLOSE