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Thursday, November 06, 2008

Schadenfreude, Football, and Elections.

We all have our dirty little secrets or what should be dirty little secrets but aren't because we write about them in our blogs. One of mine was how often I find myself rejoicing in the suffering of others. Not all the time of course as I am not without compassion. But man, sometimes when some boastful jerk gets taken down a peg, I swear I get giddy in my toes.

I first noticed this tendency a few years after I moved to Ann Arbor. You see, Ann Arbor is the home of the University of Michigan which has a football team...a good football team...a football team that wins most of the time. Winning football games is a big deal on Saturdays in the fall. It is what Ann Arbor does. In fact, if you arent especially into football, you hardly notice it except for the occasional bragging by people who seem to think that being a Wolverine fan makes them a better person (because they have the good judgment to be a fan of a winning team I guess) The team wins and everyone goes about their business as usual...UNTIL...

They lose. Then, the whining begins. And it is serious whining. It is whining mixed with anger and rage. And I love it. There is something about watching someone get enraged over a FOOTBALL GAME (ferchissakes) that fills my heart with joy. I hardly ever watch football but when I do, there is a part of me that always roots for the team playing Michigan only because I know that if that team beats Michigan, the fans will sulk and pout and rant and rage and so on.

It turns out that I get the same feeling after elections. Not towards everyone who voted for McCain. I actually like McCain and can totally understand why a reasonable person might vote for him. But there are people on the right who just were jerks in the weeks leading up to the election, who are now rivaling Wolverine fans in the sore loser department. And I love it.

I keep reading craigslist because they keep entering rants like this one. They are losing it and I LOVE IT!!! I keep hoping that someone will interview that mean lady in Grosse Pointe who wouldnt give candy on Halloween to Obama supporters or their children. How do you feel today lady? That's what I want to know.

So that is my secret. If you see me grinning and all giddy. That's why. These guys might rant for four whole years. Elections are way better than football as it turns out. boo yah!