Know what season it is? Nope, not football season. It’s schadenfreude season – especially for those of us with crappy football teams. Schadenfreude: Etymology: German, from Schaden damage + Freude joy : enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others. Think about it – when the team you love is struggling, what makes you feel a little better? That’s right. When a team you dislike struggles right along with you. Most Ole Miss fans took great pleasure in the ass-whipping LSU bestowed upon the Bulldogs. It’s not that we yearn for the State Fair, and the scent of corndogs wafting through the air – we hate LSU too. But the feeling is, if we have to suck, then State needs to suck too. Most State fans are loving the almost certain 1-3 start the Rebels are destined to have after Florida comes to town this weekend. They’ve sucked like Linda Lovelace for 6 years, and besides winning, the one thing that makes that suckage more bearable is for us to suck too.
And it’s not just in-state teams that engage in schadenfreude. A major part of the country took great delight in Appalachian State whipping Michigan. Notre Dame’s 0-3 start, while being outscored 102-13, warms the hearts of many of us who are fans of mere mortal schools. The bottom line is that misery loves company. You know that girl you see in traffic sometimes? The one so hot you miss a light just so you can look at her in the rear-view mirror for a little while longer? There’s that same beauty in a scoreboard showing a hated rival being on the losing end of a game. People use pictures of them for their message board sig pics. Now that’s some serious schadenfreude.
Is schadenfreude nice? Nope. Is it an ugly side of human nature? Yep. Does it feel good? Hell yes. It gives one that warm feeling in the middle of one’s cold little heart. For some of us, it helps us through the football season. “We might suck, but so do ya’ll.” Just be careful with the gloating or somebody might go Mortgage and try to kick your schadenfreude. If not in person, at least on a message board. And that’s where it matters, right?
