SIA, For the love of the game

The other day at the allergist's office, my doctor expressed concern that I might be developing sports-induced asthma. I believe he was mistaken. However, I do appear to have a related condition; One that often goes undiagnosed but based on my observation, is very, very common. The condition I am referring to is Sports-Induced Anxiety (official abbreviation: SIA).

I am trained to assess general anxiety, so I know what is is supposed to look and feel like. Generally, I can honestly say that I'm not very anxious. I do have some anxious tendencies, but for the most part, I'm pretty chill. However, if you throw on a sports game that I care a lot about, everything changes.

I diagnosed myself with this condition after observing myself during Michigan State's tight 2nd round matchup against USC last night. Symptoms of restlessness, feeling 'keyed-up' or 'on edge' (apparent from my incessant pacing, jumping, stretching, and general erratic movement around the bar), irritability (if you texted me during the game, I did not respond for fear of saying very vulgar things and subsequently losing friends), muscle tension, and a combination of sleep disturbance and fatigue (present later that night) were all present more often than not yesterday. And I don't think yelling at the TV is really a normal anxiety symptom, (although perhaps it goes along with irritability?) but that was definitely present as well.

Luckily, for my heart and the hearts of those watching with me (especially Tom Izzo's), we stayed in the game and pulled out the W. Next game is Friday evening versus the Jayhawks. Now that I've identified this condition, I know how I'm going to feel on Friday (okay, I probably didn't need to identify a condition to know that, but still). But let me be crystal clear: I am NOT complaining, just stating facts. Bring on the SIA. Until April would be nice. I'll just borrow some valium from Tom, he's gotta have a mega-stash somewhere.

Side note: I've been known to propose to standout players in Spartans (okay all) sports. A side effect/symptom of SIA?!? Who knows. But Travis Walton, you keep this up... and you might just be next. Its called Spartan Love, baby.