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Colorado sports fans had an emotional rollercoaster the last few months watching the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs. On Friday, the Avalanche were eliminated in a double-overtime thriller. On Sunday, the champion Nuggets, hunted all season, ran out of gas.
It made me think of the great television sports commentator Jim McKay, who popularized the phrase, “The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.”
As CU Buff fans gear up for another season, we know there’s a good chance the team will give us another rollercoaster ride. There’s nothing more glorious than a stadium filled with cheers when our team wins, and just as gut wrenching is the stunned silence when a big lead disappears.
Thee Pregame Show gives us a peak into the CU players’ and coaches’ lives, so we feel even more invested in the ride.
Yes, it is emotional and some will go crazy after a loss yelling through their keyboards to fire the coach, trade the players, do something — anything — to help erase the agony of defeat.
Players at all levels need to turn the page after a loss, and so do the fans. We need to accept that the ride is over for the season. Otherwise, dwelling on the losses becomes nauseating for everyone. I look forward to when the Buffs’ 4-8 record of 2023 is a distant memory, erased by a better record in 2024.
I’ll never forget Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway sharing a story before Super Bowl XXXII. His own mother was worried the Broncos, who had lost three previous Super Bowls with her son as quarterback, would stumble again. She obviously felt the emotional hangover from those losses and didn’t want to see her son repeat that heartache.
Yet, Elway had the only true comeback that any athlete can have. He told his mother simply they can’t win if they don’t play. In other words, buckle up and enjoy the ride, and his famous “helicopter” run helped bring the Broncos their first Lombardi Trophy.
Losses suck, no question about it. The emotional toll on fans is real but should be put into perspective.
We can’t truly experience the thrill of victory without the agony of defeat.
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