PLDS: Post-Loss-Depression-Syndrome

So, since the U.S. lost in their Round of 16 game last weekend, I became quite depressed when it came to sports.  It's only now, a week later, that I've been able to get up the gumption to actually write on this blog. 

What have I learned?  

Well, I've discovered this new medical condition called PLDS (Post-Loss-Depression-Syndrom).  It's that gut-wrenching feeling that settles in after a colossal sports loss by one of your favorite teams, and it doesn't go away for a while.  For me, after last weekend's loss to Ghana, it took about 5 or 6 days to fully recover and stop thinking about it.  

When Ohio lost to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament in March, it took a good two weeks to finally realize that they weren't good enough to beat Tennessee, following their upset of Georgetown.  

In another fine example, it took me only a few days to fully recover from the Bengals' loss to the Jets in the 2o10 NFL Playoffs.  Perhaps that was because I knew the Winter Olympics were on their way, and I needed to save my energy for when it came time to recover from the sudden death loss by Team USA in the gold medal hockey game against Canada.  That one took a good two weeks. 

This is a curious condition, because now that I've finally realized that it occurs often enough to diagnose on a regular basis, I've noticed that it occurs to people I know as well, and their friends, and THEIR friends, and so on.

I was reminded of a story this past week that my old roommate told me when the Bengals lost that weekend in January.  

He told me that his grandfather, a huge Cleveland Browns fan, would be unapproachable if his beloved Browns lost on Sunday during football season.  You wouldn't be able to talk to him until the next weekend, at least.  

Poor Cleveland.  I feel like you guys and gals have had PLDS more often than any other city of sports fans in the history of modern competition.  

And with the pending departure of LeBron James to a bigger city, Cleveland may be in store for another couple weeks of PLDS to go along with that sting of losing to the Boston Celtics not even two months ago.  Let's just leave it at that.   We won't delve into the disturbed psyche of a Cleveland sports fan.  

So folks, here's the remedy for PLDS, as I found to be sufficient:  Sleep a lot, drink a lot (what beverage you actually drink is up to you), listen to depressing music for a couple of days, and have a good cry if necessary.  

Before you know it, you'll be back on your feet and in good spirits!