For Thunder fans, it’s all over but the crying, blaming and complaining. As a big OKC fan myself, I too was disappointed at how this season turned out.
Now I don’t know if I am back luck, but very few of the sports teams I root for have ever won a championship. I say that to say this. The Thunder let down is nothing new for me, as I have become well acquainted with dealing with losses and disappointments in sports. That is why I want to offer a few consolation thoughts for grieving Thunder fans that have helped me that may also help you.
“It’s only a game”
In the past few years, both personally and other people I know have faced real life disappointments. From deaths in the family to major health challenges to job loss, life has thrown enough challenges at us to take ballgames too seriously. The phrase, it’s only a game is true. We can remind ourselves that, right now around the world, there are people facing the horrors of terrorist attacks, famine, persecution, unjust imprisonment, slavery, abortion, human trafficking and more. In the grand scheme of life, we Christians ought to shed more tears over lost lives and souls than lost ballgames and sports series.
“Oh well. Life goes on…”
Sure, we each had hopes that the Thunder might be able to win an NBA Championship. They didn’t. Oh well. There’s always next year, and life goes on. There will be another ballgame or cause to cheer for or jeer for. Even the best of teams ultimately come to lose at some point, some year. Let’s make our lives about something more than just sports wins and losses. To the degree we can, let’s enjoy the thrill of victory, but not let the agony of defeat get to us. As Tim Keller said, don’t let success go to our heads or failure go to our hearts.
“Grow up, be nicer”
It’s easy to get drawn into the rancor and immature discussion following a stinging sports loss. If you are a Christian, though, we ought to know better. How can we say we follow Christ, but then on social media we act hateful, spiteful and mean-spirited? If that kind of talk is coming from our mouths or keyboards, we ought to step back from it and grow up.
In the end, all Thunder fans wished for more than this. But by God’s help, each of us will realize that there’s more to this life than ballgames, more than Thunder ups and downs.