I was rather bemused to see my dad almost shout and scream, letting rip a torrent of rich swear words, as he watched the decisive seventh game at Nagoya Dome on Sunday night between the Chunichi Dragons and the Chiba Lotte Marines in the pro-baseball Japan Series. He was apparently rooting for the Dragons (who lost 8-7) based in Nagoya, which serves as a kind of capital for the Tokai region.
I can find no plausible reason why he cheers for this team, as he was born and raised here in Sendai, the effective regional capital for the northern part of the Honshu mainland and a rival candidate site to Nagoya every time the Japanese government toys with the idea of relocating or decentralizing the nation's capital, Tokyo.
Having observed how my old man suffered because of the Dragons' demise, I find the notion of rooting for a particular sporting franchise for no clear reason not only childish and silly, but also harmful to one's health both mentally and physically. You feel great only until the team you support is defeated. It is certainly a psychological blow, causing anger, sorrow and frustration. This might well chip away at your longevity.
Moreover, siding with one particular team for a flimsy or dubious reason is likely to blind you to an otherwise superb performance by the opposition. If you can view the game on an even keel, you may suddenly realize that every great play deserves praise and admiration regardless of which team performed it. The Series this year was full of such moments.
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