Football: An Acceptable Escape Mechanism

On Sunday, I had the honor of performing the ceremony as my best friend married his lovely wife (everyone say congrats to Aaron and be sure to add awwwwwwwwwwww).

Less than 24 hours later, I learned that the fiance of a friend of mine was killed by a drunk driver as he was on his way to pick up his brother and sister at the airport. The two were due to get married the Saturday after next.

I don't say this very often, but sometimes life is about more than football.

I might be frustrated with the fact that Aston Villa are about to announce a manager that I believe will do very little to advance the team. But in the end, it's still Villa. They are still the club I support, and they are still the Villans that I will cheer week in and week out.

Not because football is the be all and end all in life.

But because football is a constant. Friends get married. People die. University courses start. Bosses pile work upon us. We lose jobs. We fight with our families. We move across the country. Children are born. Affairs start. Affairs end. Our favorite tv shows are canceled.

Still, though, you can count on your club to continue to make choices that leave you with smoke steaming out your ears. The point is, you've got a distraction. A refuge of sorts, even if it's possibly the least calm and tranquil refuge one can imagine. Some may say it's cheating to find solace in a sport. I would argue that everyone needs an outlet where they have no control over the outcome--where it's just 90+ minutes of escape from all the problems we're constantly trying to fix.