As I noted, I recently added YouTube, podcasting, and audiobooks to my list of things I do. The fact that this blog came first proves that people grow through hobbies and sports interests. Candid Conversations has been live since 2010 and shows that I expanded my interest in different parts of my hobbies. The other two interests are just in their first year: 39 YouTube posts and 20 podcast episodes. I started to follow the Fighting Irish with a family member who is really into them, and I mean big time. They got me hooked on college ball. This year, I decided also to follow Ohio State, the Buckeyes as they are known. I began following the Winnipeg Jets in 2018, and this season, I decided also to follow the Seattle Kraken. And where ham radio is concerned, I do not have a full station any longer, so I use Hamsphere to do radio, specifically radio sport, contesting. These things make up who I am but do not define me.
Win or lose, I still follow the teams I am interested in. And I know that other teams are better than the ones I support, and when they beat my teams, I don't go off on a rant or mock their fans. I do not say things like your team is evil or your team won against us because we let you. I, quite frankly, do the opposite. Why? Because whether my team wins or loses, another ham wins the contest, another podcaster has more listeners, or a Youtuber has more audience than me does not define me. What defines me is the respect I have for their talent. I may be sounding like I am on some high horse. Believe me, I am not. I am disappointed when I lose a post is not liked or do not get a great listener count on the most recent episode of my podcast. I am disappointed when the Jets and Kraken lose, or Notre Dame or the Buckeyes lose. That is natural. But that does not define me. Why? Because I know in my heart of hearts that these are hobbies and sports, and in particular with sports, you do not have control over the winner or the loser. Also, no one team is superior to the other, other than in skill and, yes, also in how much time and money is spent developing the team. The same goes for one's hobbies.
It is important to remember that sports and hobbies are to be enjoyed. They should never define who you are or be used to divide a community. Yet, oddly enough, they can and do. European football is plagued with violence by fans. However, rude behavior is not limited to football or, as we call it here, soccer. Fans of every sport have people among them who are rude. There is a fine line between passion and rudeness, and no matter the sport or, by the way, the hobby, there are those whose behavior is less than stellar. It gets to the point where no one wants to be near them during game days, and sometimes not at all. That is why I do not let my hobbies and interest in sports define me. Because at the end of the day, I would much rather have fun with the people around me than be uncomfortable because I support a different team or do something different. So, I keep a neutral position, which often means not posting about my favorite team's latest win or sparring with a fan of another team. It's about being an adult and, once again, as I said, knowing I can not control the outcome of the game. Nor can I, and do I allow my other interests to dominate my life. The important things to me matter more than a game or hobby. They are my family, friends and colleagues. So my question again is, do you let yourself be defined by your hobby or sport? If you do, you should look around and ask what is more important, the pursuit or the team or the people around you.
