Maybe love and sports are peas of the same pod. I am saying this unequivocally because they both demand commitment, loyalty, and the ability to take a few losses along the way. Whether dating in the sports fraternity in this course is a curse or a deep emotional investment? The answer might just lie on the full-time score.
Many argues that love is a game, but what happens when one finds themselves in a situation where they are involved with a partner that lives for one? The passion that is found in the world of sports is tremendously incredible, for instance, sports have a way of binding people to teams they will never meet but they somehow find themselves attached with no intentions of living them irrespective of how they affect their lifestyles. When sports begin to be a central theme in a relationship, the lines between emotional investment and emotional exhaustion start to be outdated. Whether you are dating a professional athlete, loyal supporter, or someone who religiously likes check updates on sports in every minute they get even before replying to texts, you learn quickly that sports are not just games to that individual but an inborn trait. You either learn to adjust and get along or get played along by the cold treatment/ silence you will receive after a bad loss.
However, the reality is that not everyone is built to stay all night long watching sports from across the world, or to know what an offside means. Yet, in most relationships there is always an unspoken expectation: “sit right here, support what I love, show interest in what I love or at least pretend to have an urge to know.” For some, being with a fellow fan(s) feels like being at home, the jersey, the chants igwijo, the shared heartbreaks, but we can not turn a blind eye on the fact that for some, the experience feels a bit overwhelming. Then there finds a sense of being an outsider in your own relationship where one finds themselves competing with clubs and schedules for attention, hence it is always advisable to find at least a partner with the same interests in what you do, even though that may be a strenuous activity.
Truth is, sports lovers are deeply invested, to them it is not just entertainment; it is therapy, escape, identity, and sometimes religion. There is absolutely nothing that surpasses that emotional depth in a relationship, as you get to experience the different attitude and feelings through wins and losses. You get to witness your partner lighting up after a beautiful goal or a victory or going through an unbearable moment after a bad loss, and that gives an insight on how you may be of support in that moment. Sometimes you would find yourself wondering if whether: “Am I sharing their emotional space or am I in the background of it?”
It begins to feel like a curse when you fall in love with someone who just cannot stop talking about football, rugby, tennis, skaters, etc. too much of this passion you may find it as a cute trait, but trust me you, you will feel the wrath of it when they start ignoring your calls, even when you are present they do not afford you the time to talk or showing compassion and the need of having you around. You will have to adjust and squeeze yourself, knowing very well that weekends have congested fixtures, let alone the coldness when one of their teams did not deliver. It is not always toxic, but you would feel like you are dating in between their loyalty to something else. Therefore, some relationships end not because of betrayal, but because of burnout. Because when you are second to a team, a game, a season you start to wonder what position are you holding on to the league table, are you just there to honour the fixture?
In truth, dating in sports is not as easy as cutting bread. It lies between the grey areas of devotion and distraction. It is not about being a fanatic or a casual observer, rather, about understanding the concept of love when it is shared with something larger than you. Therefore, it depends on how a couple decides to juggle between their interests and quality time. So, is it a curse? Sometimes. Is it an emotional investment? Definitely. But, like sport itself, the beauty is in the unpredictability. You win some, you lose some, but the love when real, plays on.
