Sports Depression

I am sorry to have been slacking. I have been extremely busy with work (x3), getting ready for the wedding, and moving to Baltimore. Also, the down fall of Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers has brought a sport depression over me. What is a sports depression you ask? Well it similar to clinical depression, except that it is rooted in sports. The DSM-IV, which is the diagnostic manual of psychological disorders, reports that in order to be diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, one must have five or more clinical symptoms of depression for a period of at least two weeks. At least one of the symptoms must be 1. Depressed mood, or 2. Anhedonia, which is a marked loss of interest in pleasurable activities. So the five symptoms of my sports depression were:

1. Depressed Mood (About the Lebron James criticism and athletes not living up to expectation.)
2. Anhedonia (As I would sit and stare at sporting events on television there was a loss of interest/emotion and feeling of emptiness and loss.)
3. Fatigue or Loss of Energy (Tired/Fed up with sports in general and extreme difficulty running and playing soccer.)
4. Hypersomnia (I had fallen asleep before seeing the conclusion of Red Sox, Celtics/Magic, and Lakers/Suns games!)
5. Feelings of Worthlessness (And I was worthless as I always am, I cannot help these athletes perform or perform for them.)

And although the sports depression has not affected my social, occupational or other important areas of functioning in my life, it did stop me from blogging! Or that could have been the jobs, wedding, and moving. Either way, I am calling it a short sports depression. Luckily, watching Flyers playoff hockey has brought me out of my slump.

Anyways, I have been constantly reflecting on the last post that I had written, about Ortiz. The reason being is that after my last post, I received a few texts about the Sox from my brother. He had hope for Ortiz, “I think he will make a come back,” he said, as he told me that Ortiz had been “doing better”. I laughed and told him that it was over for Ortiz and that there were talks that he would be gone that same week. As I sat and watched the next few games, it looked as though my brother was right. In the last 10 games Ortiz has a batting average of .400 and has hit 5 homeruns. Pretty good for a guy that I thought was done. I can only hope that he will continue this. And now that I wrote this I bet he will perform poorly. That seems to happen to me, but maybe I am just a regular, superstitious, Sox fan. I hope that Ortiz continues to keep this up, like I said, I love the guy. Love, in sports, is never enough (i.e. - Nomar Garciaparra trade).

Aside from Ortiz, yet sticking with the Sox, they recently had a 3 game series against the Phillies, at Citizens Bank Park, in Philadelphia. I think this series has brought some hope to Sox fans. Although the first game did not go as planned, Dice-K almost threw a no-hitter in game 2, and our hitters crushed Roy Halladay, who is a king in Philadelphia, in game 3. The Phillies are a power house in the National League, and I think winning this series has uplifted the Sox. The Sox went on the sweep the Rays in Tampa. Not only have these series been uplifting to the team but also to the fans. If the Red Sox win tonight, against Kansas City, at home in Fenway, the Sox will be on a six game winning streak. Go Ortiz and Let’s go Sox!