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Staying Calm During Stressful Games

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Tubafore

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Dec 13, 2018
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I believe I'm in the majority here in that I can get worked up during important games. My question to Tidefan at large is, what is your method for staying calm during the games (and calming down after games)?

For me, I'll exercise during commercials -- 10 all-the-way-to-the-ground pushups. With as many commercial breaks as I assume we'll have tonight, I'll probably end up physically exhausted with 1 half of the game left.

PS I searched for an existing thread on this, and didn't find anything. If I missed one, my bad.
 
P

Pilot172000

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Sep 25, 2017
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Well I quit drinking and smoking in September......luckily we didn't have any close or important games until SEC Championship or I would have started back.
 
R

RollTide_HTTR

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Feb 22, 2017
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I stand up even at home. I often pace and put on a hoodie so I can pull it over my head when frustrated. I'll literally go get a hoodie if things start going the wrong way and I'm not already wearing one.


That said, none of that helps me calm down. I just won't be calm until the game ends. And then I'll be either sad and pass out or be up the rest of the night rehashing the game.
 
NationalTitles18

NationalTitles18

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May 25, 2003
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Tubafore said:
I believe I'm in the majority here in that I can get worked up during important games. My question to Tidefan at large is, what is your method for staying calm during the games (and calming down after games)?

For me, I'll exercise during commercials -- 10 all-the-way-to-the-ground pushups. With as many commercial breaks as I assume we'll have tonight, I'll probably end up physically exhausted with 1 half of the game left.

PS I searched for an existing thread on this, and didn't find anything. If I missed one, my bad.
Click to expand...
Relations during every commercial break - they're usually long enough. :D
 
B1GTide

B1GTide

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Apr 13, 2012
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I pace. If I really get keyed up, I find that muting the TV helps. For some reason, watching without sound is easier on my nerves.
 
Intl.Aperture

Intl.Aperture

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Aug 12, 2015
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Tubafore said:
I believe I'm in the majority here in that I can get worked up during important games. My question to Tidefan at large is, what is your method for staying calm during the games (and calming down after games)?

For me, I'll exercise during commercials -- 10 all-the-way-to-the-ground pushups. With as many commercial breaks as I assume we'll have tonight, I'll probably end up physically exhausted with 1 half of the game left.

PS I searched for an existing thread on this, and didn't find anything. If I missed one, my bad.
Click to expand...
For me it's just realizing that the game in absolutely no way affects my quality of life.

Now, that is in no way intended to demean or diminish the intensity or magnitude of the game, but I constantly remind myself that if Alabama wins or loses, I'm still who I am in the same spot in life with the same family in the same home working my job. Nothing they do changes anything about my life unless I allow it to change my disposition which THEN CAN CAHNGE MY LIFE.
So yah I still get irritated with bad calls or mental errors and even excellent plays from the other team, but it's a much more tolerable experience than when I was in college or even PLAYING sports where I was hyper competitive. I'm much less competitive now. It was always unhealthy anyways because I have a naturally laid-back temperament and it was hard to reconcile those 2 parts of me.

I will say, even in the games we have lost or are close, if the other team is just playing legitimately well, i's easier for me to enjoy the game. Even though we were making mistakes in the SECCG, it wasn't AS painful because I had to respect how well GA was playing at the time. I'm enough of a fan of the sport that I can give credit where it is due - which made it all the more hilarious when they wet the bed.
I risk getting REALLY worked up in games like we lose to Ole Miss or Auburn last year where it just more of us beating ourselves and not executing. But I still just remind myself of those things I talked about earlier and it goes over about as well as a loss to an arch-rival can go possibly go.
 
B1GTide

B1GTide

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Intl.Aperture said:
For me it's just realizing that the game in absolutely no way affects my quality of life.

Now, that is in no way intended to demean or diminish the intensity or magnitude of the game, but I constantly remind myself that if Alabama wins or loses, I'm still who I am in the same spot in life with the same family in the same home working my job. Nothing they do changes anything about my life unless I allow it to change my disposition which THEN CAN CAHNGE MY LIFE.
So yah I still get irritated with bad calls or mental errors and even excellent plays from the other team, but it's a much more tolerable experience than when I was in college or even PLAYING sports where I was hyper competitive. I'm much less competitive now. It was always unhealthy anyways because I have a naturally laid-back temperament and it was hard to reconcile those 2 parts of me.

I will say, even in the games we have lost or are close, if the other team is just playing legitimately well, i's easier for me to enjoy the game. Even though we were making mistakes in the SECCG, it wasn't AS painful because I had to respect how well GA was playing at the time. I'm enough of a fan of the sport that I can give credit where it is due - which made it all the more hilarious when they wet the bed.
I risk getting REALLY worked up in games like we lose to Ole Miss or Auburn last year where it just more of us beating ourselves and not executing. But I still just remind myself of those things I talked about earlier and it goes over about as well as a loss to an arch-rival can go possibly go.
Click to expand...
Great post, and I feel this way before and after games, but for some reason my ability to feel this way during a big game disappears. I remind myself of it, but it doesn't reach my heart. During a game, I lose my ability to relax and just enjoy the moment. I have no idea why.
 
T

Tubafore

Scout Team
Dec 13, 2018
158
184
67
Huntsville, AL
Intl.Aperture said:
For me it's just realizing that the game in absolutely no way affects my quality of life.

Now, that is in no way intended to demean or diminish the intensity or magnitude of the game, but I constantly remind myself that if Alabama wins or loses, I'm still who I am in the same spot in life with the same family in the same home working my job. Nothing they do changes anything about my life unless I allow it to change my disposition which THEN CAN CAHNGE MY LIFE.
So yah I still get irritated with bad calls or mental errors and even excellent plays from the other team, but it's a much more tolerable experience than when I was in college or even PLAYING sports where I was hyper competitive. I'm much less competitive now. It was always unhealthy anyways because I have a naturally laid-back temperament and it was hard to reconcile those 2 parts of me.

I will say, even in the games we have lost or are close, if the other team is just playing legitimately well, i's easier for me to enjoy the game. Even though we were making mistakes in the SECCG, it wasn't AS painful because I had to respect how well GA was playing at the time. I'm enough of a fan of the sport that I can give credit where it is due - which made it all the more hilarious when they wet the bed.
I risk getting REALLY worked up in games like we lose to Ole Miss or Auburn last year where it just more of us beating ourselves and not executing. But I still just remind myself of those things I talked about earlier and it goes over about as well as a loss to an arch-rival can go possibly go.
Click to expand...
Great post. I need to work more making the connection from my head, where I know that, to my adrenal system...
 
Intl.Aperture

Intl.Aperture

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Aug 12, 2015
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B1GTide said:
Great post, and I feel this way before and after games, but for some reason my ability to feel this way during a big game disappears. I remind myself of it, but it doesn't reach my heart. During a game, I lose my ability to relax and just enjoy the moment. I have no idea why.
Click to expand...
I think there is something very ancient and human that is narratively attached to the experience. The element of competition and the archetypes attached to the events and the surrounding narratives created during the season are attached in incalculable ways to us. I think for many Bama fans, and I think many people as well, Coach Saban's philosophy is one that many carry over into their own life. It's not limited to football. Many Bama fans likely start consciously or unconsciously ordering their thoughts and actions in the way of "The Process" in order to hopefully be more successful people. The validity of that process is directly attached to Alabama's success on the football field. When they win games, it proves the Process.
At this point in time i'm not sure how much of this has woven it's way into the pysche's of the fans but when Bama loses it's more than just a loss but it can feel like an indictment of a worldview.
Of course, this is silliness given the massive amount of factors that go into football and given that this system has procured sustained success when it should be absolutely physically impossible.
 
DzynKingRTR

DzynKingRTR

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Dec 17, 2003
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There are 3 versions of me during a game when watching at my place.

1. Blowout – I am sitting in my recliner with the foot prop up, sometimes even laying back, only standing when going to the restroom or fridge. I talk/joke during sometimes during commercials I will change the channel to see other games scores.
2. Closer than expected - Edge of my seat, still in the recliner but the foot prop is down. Occasionally discussing a particular play! No changing of the channel until I am satisfied.
3. Trailing or nail biter – standing, pacing, cussing. THERE IS NO TALKING OF OTHER PEOPLE! The channel never gets changed, if you change the channel, I will make you leave.
 
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