Begin the World Over

I was once told that I was in an abusive relationship with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. It is true that they have rarely made me happy. More common emotions I feel on fall Saturdays are relief (after wins) and anger and despair (after losses). I do not expect the Irish to make me happy anymore. But even if they did, even if they brought the national championship back to South Bend, however much lasting joy it would bring me—there would still be next season, and more seasons after that, to worry about and then, inevitably, despair over. So why do I stick around, why do I I choose to get mad at a television screen for three hours instead of doing literally anything else with my limited time in this world? It’s a hard question to answer.