I wonder if agnostic people are coping better with the loss

[AVL]

Slightly off topic, since Wilson was blessed by GOD in the win against the packers, what the hell did he do in the next two weeks?

 

[HomerJHawk]

Life is full of obstacles, challenges, hardships. We are always faced with decisions on how to deal with things. You can bury your head in the sand or become despondent, or accept it and deal with it the best you know how.
I love football, I love the Hawks, but in the end I'm just watching rich men, or very well off men, run around a field with a ball and tackle each other. There's other things in my life that deserve my full attention.
That said...

Go Hawks !!

 

[BIGNORMANHAND]

Atheist, cancer survivor.

I too, am a cancer survivor, and became so weary of having other peoples'
religions pushed on me during treatment. It was interesting to me though,
during that time, I would hear people say, "There are no atheists in foxholes".
I couldn't disagree more. There were plenty of people on the chemo floor
who had no religion, and they were just fine. Maybe, as the article suggests,
even better. Certainly perhaps, more at peace with the reality of death.

As for atheists in foxholes, I have plenty of family members who were
either atheists during their tours, or came back that way.

On dealing with football losses, well, after surviving cancer and having
so many people around me having fought in so many wars through time
and dealing their whole lives with their injuries-- the perspective is that
it's a football game. Did it hurt? Yeah. It was a real rollercoaster ride.
But if we live to see it, we'll do it all again next year and enjoy that
experience as well.

My personal perspective goes something like this. "Oh, the Seahawks
got THAT CLOSE to winning, but they lost. And wow, I don't have
to do chemo today." Frankly, when the Pats won, I knew that there
were hospitals full of little kids who are desperately ill, and adults
who are fighting for their lives, and the game gave 'em a lift. For
them, I was glad. For the people in WA hospitals, I knew they'd be
sad, but I knew their perspective would be sound.

 

[netskier]

BIGNORMANHAND, Great post. Thanks for sharing your powerful perspective.

 

[BIGNORMANHAND]

BIGNORMANHAND, Great post. Thanks for sharing your powerful perspective.

You're welcome. But I just realized something kind of ironic and funny. The whole
reason I found and signed up for the .NET forums, is 'cause I was sort of wanting to
connect to other 'Hawks fans after the loss. LOL! :mrgreen: So, I do feel like I have
a pretty good perspective-- but at the same time, one of my natural responses to "grief"
is to connect with other people. It's a great survival skill to have, even if the "grief"
is only over a football game. GO HAWKS! :thirishdrinkers:

 

[PowellHawk]

Great posts ACB (OP) and BNH.

I think that this best describes my in game experience:
"With time, I've become increasingly more skilled at this act of acceptance and when the outcome of SB49 reared it's ugly head, I found my hopes weren't crushed or my emotional investment wasted. Instead, it was like watching any great movie with a riveting but unhappy ending. I'm just glad to have experienced it."

By the time that NBC was rolling the proverbial credits, I was ready to move on.

As a Vancouver Canucks fan, I have lived through three unsuccessful Stanley Cup runs ('82, '94, '11), so perhaps my coping mechanisms are well rehearsed.
The city of Seattle handled the XLIX loss in a peaceful and mature manner, and that reflects well on everyone.

 

[Trenchbroom]

Great post BNH. Welcome to .NET!

And re: the "Atheists in foxholes" bit--EVERYONE is an Atheist in a foxhole. Soldiers don't stand up and shout "protect me Lord!" as they Rambo across no man's land. Well, unless they want to meet their maker early anyway.

Conscious mind may say one thing, but the subconscious mind knows better--counting on divine intervention in crisis is suicide. Nothing is going to save you but yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

Great post BNH. Welcome to .NET!

And re: the "Atheists in foxholes" bit--EVERYONE is an Atheist in a foxhole. Soldiers don't stand up and shout "protect me Lord!" as they Rambo across no man's land. Well, unless they want to meet their maker early anyway.

Conscious mind may say one thing, but the subconscious mind knows better--counting on divine intervention in crisis is suicide. Nothing is going to save you but yourself.

Trench, I think I love you.

:th2thumbs:

 

[BIGNORMANHAND]

I think at this point I'm coping less well with the fact there are not new Sonics games
to watch, than that the Hawks lost the Superbowl. I just feel grateful they got to go. And I will
say this, I'm really proud of the Hawks fanbase, because everyone I speak to about the loss only
talks about how we played, and doesn't discuss the Pats in any negative way. I think that's a
sign of the emotional maturity in a fanbase. I also love it that a huge percentage of people are
sporting their Hawks colors, same as it ever was. This is where I appreciate the cultural
aspect of it; where it brings people together with a common interest-- win or lose, we're
all in it together.

And thanks y'all, for your warm welcome. :thirishdrinkers: