Sebastian Vettel, Tina Maze & Man United Are Sans Pedestal.

Favourites falling out of favour makes it fun for them and us viewers again.

Last year's season of F1, Vettel won almost every race he started. Great in one way but not very exciting for us to watch. What is the fun of it when you sort of know the outcome already. Now this season ( 2014 ) has had changes in engine etc and Sebastian is not winning races. So far.

That is one of the incentives to watch the next races because we know that now he will fight his way back to winning. It makes him a human sports hero. You see, just like us, he has ups & downs.

Take soccer for example. Manchester United has had a change of trainer. The idol has left or rather retired and is it really fair to assume the man stepping in his shoes will do exactly as he did? Yes, Man United is not winning matches. Yes, at times it seems like they are jinxed. But if you are a proper fan, you need to be even more supportive of them now than at any other time.

For all of you true Man United fans: When your club starts winning again, your chests will swell as if you had scored the goals yourself. Wait, it won't be long..

In the sport of alpine skiing Tina Maze seemed to win every race she skied in the last season. Fantastic for her, but at times rather a let down to watch. When one person is so good and winning every time, it takes away the fun of seeing the underdog / newcomer or old & written off, win. This season, Tina didn't ski so well (apart from the Olympics, of course) and you should have heard the hoopla around it...yet, I loved watching her ski because she tried like blazes to gain an extra milli second or two. Gosh, she smiled a lot of the time and was pleased as punch to get a good result. Yes, she had fun at the office again!

Of course it is oh-so-easy being a fan ( or a spouse for that matter ) when times are good. The trick to being loyal, supportive and growing in character is to accompany our sports heroes through bad times too. Believe me, they feel bad themselves and booing a performance that is not to your expectation, is just plain rude.

As a society we tend to be hung up on winning and being the best. But how fatiguing and silly. Being normal and going through ups & downs of our lives...is life. Being normal is good. Being normal lets us rather enjoy what we have without always feeling the need to strive for more.
If the " fans " in your life are complaining that you don't win every race, maybe it is time to find new ones...

Biggi