I am a die-hard Seattle Mariners and Seahawks fan. These days, people understand the Seahawks allegiance as we are the reigning Super Bowl Champions. No one really understands my undying loyalty to the Mariners. What can I say? I’m a fan, which means that I currently think that the Seahawks will repeat as Champions (semi-rational thought process) and the Mariners will win the World Series in 2015 (highly delusional thought process). And I will not be one of those pessimistic thinkers that bring down my team every year, well at least not in professional sports.

As alum of both schools, I follow the Washington State Cougars and the Tennessee Volunteers sporting programs. And let’s just say, I am not nearly as optimistic when it comes to my college teams. I just can’t get the negative vibe out of my head. This weekend both teams played winnable games, at home, against fairly equal opponents. It was shaping up to be a nice football weekend for me. Tennessee played a solid first half against Florida, and WSU’s offense was amazing all game. In fact, the Vols held the Gators scoreless in the first half for the first time since 1955 and the Cougar quarterback set an all-time NCAA record for most yards passing in a game. Ever. And then I ruined it.

To start the second half, Tennessee intercepted the first pass of the half and had the ball deep in Florida territory. The very next play the Volunteer quarterback threw an interception in the end zone to give the ball right back. Ouch. And then I did it. I said out loud, “That’s going to come back and haunt them. It’s going to be decided by less than a field goal and that’s going to sting.” And then I proceeded to say it multiple times throughout the rest of the game. In the end it did, as the Vols lost 9-10.

Later the WSU game flashed on TV because their quarterback was setting records and it showed the Cougars driving for the winning score. I then said, again out loud, “The kicker is probably going to miss a chip shot field goal to lose during an all-time record setting performance. Wouldn’t that be Cougary?” WSU drove to the 1 yard line and their kicker missed a chip shot field goal to lose 59-60. In hindsight, I think the “wouldn’t that be Cougary,” comment was the real kicker (or lack thereof in this particular case). My son later said he would probably only miss that kick once out of 100 tries. I replied, “Apparently, the same can be said for the WSU kicker, although with more verifiable data.”

College sports are difficult these days. Recruiting is brutal, fans are impatient, good coaches get snapped up by better programs, and well, athletes aren’t the easiest group of people to deal with on the planet. It’s tough. And then there is the obnoxious fan in Tennessee who brought down two teams, on the verge of good wins, with his negative thoughts.

No more.

From now on, the Vols and the Cougars get just as positive of cheering and mental vibes as my beloved Seattle Mariners, although hopefully with slightly better results. You certainly can’t blame me for any of the Mariner losses.