Sometimes all it takes to make a bad night good is a great tackle.
I sat on the couch two Sundays ago failing miserably at snapping out of a mood I had been in since Wednesday. It had been one of those weeks, the kind when gravity won more often than balance, and food dropped on my shirt instead of in my mouth.
It did not help that the Patriots, even on the night of linebacker Tedy Bruschi's triumphant return, played like androids.
As I tried to type something meaningful on my laptop, I glanced at the TV in time to see Bruschi fly out of the left side of the screen. As he annihilated the Bills player who had the ball, I yelped, and adrenaline shot all the way down to my toes.
The Pats came back to win, and I went to bed smiling. After a stressful couple of days, I had a reason to believe the week ahead might not be as bad.
This time of year, I'm not alone. Everybody needs a reason to believe. You can see it on the sagging faces of students scurrying around campus, frantically trying to get everything done before Thanksgiving. The excitement of being back at school has worn off, and everyone could use a home-cooked meal and some quality time away from classrooms, dorm rooms and the people in both.
It doesn't help if you watch or read the news. No matter if you're red or blue, it is a fight to find the bright side right now, especially here in the capital, where never-ending committee hearings on what went wrong during 9-11, Katrina and the next scheduled disaster remind us daily how little the rest of the world likes us sometimes.
In times like these, it's best to remember that it's a great time to be a sports fan. Baseball season just slid into to an exciting finish, hockey is back, basketball is starting up, and we are in the heart of dramatic NFL and college football seasons.
Yeah, I know you've heard the "Why Sports Matter" spiel before. And in the wake of a Minnesota Vikings sex boat scandal, the NBA dress code war and the ever-present steroids issues, the spiel could be of value. But I'll refrain for the moment and just issue a friendly reminder to tune in.
Go to an AU game. With soccer and volleyball's Patriot League tournaments at home, and field hockey nearby in its first-round NCAA Tournament action, there's more than enough to choose from.
If that's not your game, wander into a sports bar with friends on a Saturday, pick a college football game, choose a team to root for, pound your fists and yell at the screen until the pints and the clock run out.
If you need live action, watch a Capitals or Wizards game at the MCI Center. You can get cheap seats for as little as $10 if you buy in advance.
Or for a global experience, check out the international futbol experience at pubs like Fado (near Gallery Place Metro), Lucky Bar (near Dupont Circle), or Summer's (near Courthouse), and take in a game with people who really know how to get rowdy.
Sure, I know a lot of you reading this don't need a reminder to watch. But this message is not for those who can rattle off every headline on ESPN.
You don't have to know the name of every player, or for that matter every team, to enjoy a great game. And even if your team loses, at least for the moment you have escaped from writing papers, missing home and eating dorm food.
