Well I have this to say to marty: I`ve been there and I feel your pain.
I am more interested in college level athletics, and late last year, my university`s football team was 11-0 and within two games of playing in the national championship. No one had expected them to get as far as they did and they were always picked to lose. Finally, they ended up losing a game to their biggest out-of-state rivals.
Despite the intense rivalry between the two schools, I looked past my feelings about the outcome, observing how elated the opposing team`s fans were. These are good people, I said to myself, many of whom I could come to respect and befriend if circumstances allowed. Then it was easier to admit that the game was indeed a good, hard-fought game and their team deserved the win.
For some people, what I just wrote is stating the obvious. But for die-hard fans who have a strong sense of identification with a particular team, losing hurts.
Well I hope this helped a bit, marty. At the very least, there are folks out here who understand the disappointment, and you are not alone.
