Irrational Relationships & Valentine's Day

Watching sports and being a fan of a particular team can get emotional. I understand this as well as anyone, and I'll spare you the anecdotes I think prove it. The long and short of it is, I get that fanbases can be irrational when things happen to their team. But here's my two thoughts:

1. I'm still going to call you on it.
2. Just because every other team does it doesn't make it OK. Because they do.

Even as the apparent majority of Who Dat nation works through their complex emotions concerning Sean Payton buying a home in Dallas, the irrational reactions must be accepted as irrational.

And you know what? It is OK to be overemotional and irrational - that's what makes sports fun. But you can't let it get out of hand. That's when you let yourself get hurt for no good reason. That's happens when when "The Idea" of Someone comes into conflict with that real someone's actions, behaviors and motivations. Once you realize that the thing you're really angry at is a figment of your imagination, you can take a deep breath and a step back and start synthesizing the reality of the situation.

Here are the facts:

- New Orleans is a great place, but it is an acquired taste. Not everyone is going to love this place like you love this place. Just because they don't doesn't mean they're trying to insult you.

- He picked Dallas because he likes Dallas. Several million people like Dallas, the last time I checked. He did not pick it just to piss you off.

- An NFL head coaching gig lasts, on average, 3.3 seasons. In New Orleans, that average is a little higher, but Sean Payton has been here a long time considering the nature of his job.

- Sean Payton entered the 2009 season facing a go-to-the-playoffs-or-lose-your-job situation. You may not want to admit this, but this was the case. You were ready to get rid of him and his family two years ago. Back then it was you talking about performance on the field and maybe finding someone else if he wasn't up to the task.

- Moving your family every 3 - 5 years is awful.

Don't take this as patronizing advice from someone who is not from here. Understand that, as a fan of the University of Georgia Bulldawgs, I've been listening to the ravings of one of the most irrational fanbase factions in the history of football. I'm primed for calmly discussing overemotion and irrationality. Home football losses to Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech will force you to examine things from a more reasoned perspective.

And don't get mad at my role, I'm just one of the buddies who will sit with you as you drown your sorrows, telling you that the relationship you are pining for only existed in your own head, and that you're only breaking your own heart and inviting ridicule from others by going over and over it. It is time you remembered that your real relationship is with the Saints, and the Saints are bigger than Sean Payton.

And as long as where he lives doesn't affect his performance coaching the Saints to wins, he could live on the Moon for all I care.

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