Fear of checking the sports scores?

Question

Every day I get this strong urge to check the sports scores, but I'm afraid to do it because if I see a team that I like lose or a team that I hate win, it will distract me for the day. I try to ignore the urge and think about other things, but it keeps coming back because I feel that it will put my mind at ease if I check and the results are the way I wanted. And I have had worse things happen to me, but it hasn't really helped me feel less anxious, as trivial as it sounds. I was just wondering if anyone else had this problem and what to do about it.

Answer 1

~I had the same phobia. I even bought season tickets for my city's NFL and NHL teams, but then I couldn't go to the games for fear that I would know how the teams did. I got over it by placing my bets through a friend and giving him my power of attorney so he could withdraw from my bank account whenever he needed money to cover my bets. I still don't check the scores, but that doesn't bother me so much anymore. Now my big fear is to check my bank balance because if it is down, I'll know my teams are not doing well. I can escape my debilitating phobia on occassion by drinking several bottles of good wine, or by shooting some smack. Good luck.

Answer 2

Yes, that definitely is a problem. I have the same affliction.

I don't believe that there is a cure. We are doomed forever to continually lament the outcome of sporting events which mean nothing in the grand scheme of things.

Most of the players on our favorite teams only care if they win or lose because winning may result in a pay raise or lucrative contract extension. Most of the players couldn't care less about the fans or the city in which they play. They are mercenaries, no different than the warriors that the Romans hired to protect their borders during the waning years of the Roman Empire.

Yeah, I tried to reason my way out of my predicament by taking that tact. But, it backfired on me. My only idea then became, "If we could just hire the best mercenaries, our life in Rome will be secure."

So, I still love my teams and always will. I don't seem to care if the players have bad characters or are bad people,. All I care is if they can knock the snot out of the running back if he tries a sweep around the left end.

So, I've concluded that no psychological ploys or even legitimate counseling by Freud himself can cure this malady.

We just must learn to live with it.

Answer 3

I am like that with my Dallas Mavericks basketball team. I know when they are playing and who. I either watch the game and sweat it out all night, I know in the first thirty minutes what kind of night they are having. Sometimes, I can't stand it and go to bed. The posted scores tell me the final result. Then I think, if I had just stayed up and watched them, they would have done better. Sometimes I feel like I am their lucky or unlucky charm.
I live for the final score. And that of course sets the tone for my whole day.