Cup O’ Joe: Another Blue Monday

The Monday following the Super Bowl is commonly regarded as one of the most common days for people to call in sick for their jobs. Whether it is from too many indulgences of food or beverages or a lack of sleep from either celebrating a win or grieving a loss, the Monday after the big game is a popular time for folks to come down with mystery ailment.
    A 2004 study commissioned by Kronos Incorporated and conducted by Harris Interactive revealed that 1.4 million people — about 1 percent of the nation’s workforce — consider taking a sick day after the Super Bowl.
I would be lying if I said that the thought hadn’t crossed my mind.
Sunday night’s game was supposed to be revenge or redemption for that Super Bowl loss in 2008. Sadly for us Patriot fans, the same outcome befell the team once again. With the Patriots clinging to a 17-15 lead with three minutes to play, the Giants proceeded to march down the field and rip the hearts out of Pats fans once again to win the Lombardi Trophy.
For me, the pain was not as overwhelming this time around, but the sting hurt just as much. Back in 2008, I allowed myself to get sucked into the emotion of the game — probably because I was watching it with a number of Giants fans. And the resulting loss was a bitter pill to swallow.
Let me take a step back. Four years ago, when the New England Patriots faced the New York Giants in the Super Bowl — a game that the Patriots lost — I did take the day off. I was in mourning, for lack of a better term.
Back then, the Patriots were chasing an undefeated season only to have the rug ripped out from under them by the Giants. I was confident enough to place a friendly wager that the loser had to don a jersey of the winning team and have their picture taken with it just to add insult to injury.
This year, there was no betting on which team would win, nor was there a perfect season or record-setting offense from the Patriots. But lo and behold, the team had found a way back to the biggest game of the year. And who did the Pats face? Of course, the New York Giants.
Surely the same thing (a loss) couldn’t happen again. Could it?
This year, I watched the big game at my friend Karter’s house with a couple of like-minded New England fans. I did all the same pre-game rituals that I had done in the past 10 games (all of which New England won). I had the lucky sweatshirt, ate the same foods, drank the same drinks. Everything was exactly the way it was supposed to be. Except for the final outcome.
For Karter, it was his first Super Bowl party and he did an excellent job hosting. The food was tasty, the conversation was lively and the game played out on a massive big screen television in high-definition. His wife, Michele, though not a sports fan (much the same way that my wife Charity is not either), humored us by allowing us to take over her living room.
We repaid her generosity by unleashing a series of whoops and hollers whenever the Patriots made a big play. And yelled angrily whenever the Giants did the same. It surprised her a bit at first, I think. The spectacle of grown men hollering at a television game does seem kind of silly.
At various times during the game, I had to get up and leave the room because I simply couldn’t watch. My heart was racing and I felt like I was going to throw up. That’s how passionate I get when it comes to watching football games, particularly when a championship is on the line.
By watching the game at someone else’s house, my wife and children were spared the sight of me having a meltdown after the game. It also gave me time to scream out my frustrations on the drive back home to the point where I became hoarse. My wife was still awake when I got home, but didn’t ask me how the game went. She could tell from my face that the outcome was not a win.
I will also avoid social media for at least a couple of weeks and any e-mails from friends soliciting a reaction will go unanswered.
The same rings true at work. On Monday, our newest hire, Steve Cowett who is a huge sports fan, wanted to talk about the game this morning. I wanted no part of it. Others would try to elicit a response with comments like “How about that game?”
The “Cone of Silence” was placed above my desk and there was to be no talk of football from me. I was still in denial, which is better than mourning, isn’t it? My co-workers thought I was joking, but after repeated attempts to talk about the game generated no response from me, they mercifully moved on to other discussions.
And so it will be for at least the next few days. Or maybe until the start of baseball season, when the whole process can begin again.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.