Sports can be punishing at times but did we not sign up for it?
"Lads, its Tottenham" our famous Manager said when we played Spurs those days. That mentality carried onto the pitch and we almost always delivered a strong performance against them, suffering defeats very rarely. We also have seen miraculous comebacks like trailing 0-3 and 0-2 at half time, only to win 5-3 and 5-2 respectively at full time. Truly memorable games, but from a pragmatic view, this is the reality. Tottenham aren't the same team, so are Manchester United. This is painful but the only way is to look up or look away.
Looking up is difficult with the way the club has been r̶u̶n̶ ruined in the last decade. The manner in which we were taken apart is a bruising lesson on how punishing the league is. Ask Liverpool, the best team in the planet till recently being taken to the cleaners by Villa, who only survived last season by the skin of the teeth. Such is the beauty of the game, you get battered, you get demolished, you get embarrassed, you are made to look more awful that you actually are. As a team, they have to keep their chin up. As a fan, I can look away momentarily.
Fortunately, I was given some let-off by my team Chennai Super Kings. They have started the season poorly, winning once and losing the other three without even looking close to winning any of those. They turned it around remarkably with a comprehensive win almost exactly at the same time when United were being ripped apart. Winning by 10 wickets, chasing a total of 178, few overs to spare - it felt good.
Rafael Nadal and the French Open is one of the most beautiful associations ever made in Earth. Non-supportive conditions, heavier balls, lack of match practice? Rafael Nadal has been making a mockery of all these and in typical Rafa fashion, has blitzed into the quarter finals. He could be facing tougher opponents further, Thiem could be waiting, Djokovic could be waiting. At things stand, Rafa looks so primed to win another title at this favorite slam. If he equals the magical mark of 20, my 14 years of supporting Rafael Nadal will reach divine status. I'm eagerly looking forward.
So the point is, "All is not lost". There are good things happening. Keep yourself away from Twitter, even if Man United announce the signings of Cavani and Telles. Do not read too much about the game. It's over, we can do nothing about it. If you start thinking if days are going to be worse, it can be or it may not be. Liverpool at the moment wouldn't be thinking they have lost the plot. They wouldn't be thinking their title is going away. They would have got back to the drawing board to work on the next task on hand. It's good for all of us to do the same. Keep looking up from the outside, keep looking away from the inside.
They will put you down, they will rub it in, they will make you feel miserable - but what they don't know is - We are United for a reason! We have seen it all. Sports is a great leveller, a phenomenal teacher and can give celebrations and heartbreaks in equal measure. Moving onto the next match day!