Taking What Comes
by Parker Molloy
The season was over. The Bears had come back from another deficit, forced overtime in the divisional playoff, and then lost 20-17 on a field goal. Elimination. That’s the kind of ending that’s supposed to hurt. And it did, a little. But what I mostly felt, sitting with my coffee and looking at my phone, was that I’d just watched something good happen. I hadn’t felt that way about anything in quite a while.
I expected to feel gutted the morning after. I didn’t.
I’ve been trying to figure out why, and I think it’s this: for a few months, I got to hope for something without bracing for its loss. The dread was gone. I didn’t realize how rare that feeling had become until I experienced it again.
I should probably explain why I’m writing about sports.
This isn’t really my lane. I write about media, about politics, about the various ways powerful people manipulate information in order to serve their interests. I’ve spent the past several years watching things fall apart, and trying to document the collapse as it happens. It’s not cheerful work. And right now things are bad.
The Trump administration is back and worse than before. ICE conducting raids. Multiple people gunned down and even killed in the streets by federal agents. Journalists arrested. Trans people (my people) targeted at every level of government. Every day there’s something new to be afraid of, and angry about, something new that makes you want to throw your phone into Lake Michigan and never look at the news again.
Keep us breathing fire!
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