passion faux pas

Though I admit that it’s not the best movie in the world, Fever Pitch is just one of those movies that I like to watch. Directed by the Farrelly brothers, it stars Drew Barrymore and former SNL-er Jimmy Fallon. The humor isn’t as gag-oriented as Something About Mary, but Fallon and Barrymore are just so damn cute together (what woman wouldn't crush on a guy that's nice enough to take care of a girl with food poisoning -- for their first date).

Okay, back to reality. Fallon plays Ben Wrightman who is the ultimate Boston Red Sox fan who inherited season tickets from his uncle that are located right behind the dugout, and he attends every single game. And when he’s not attending, he’s watching at home. Life completely revolves around the Sox between spring training and the World Series, having resulted in – no surprise, really – difficulty with the lady folk.

This was a little too familiar to me, as my Ex was fanatical about the Dallas Cowboys. And UT football. And the San Antonio Spurs. And the Boston Red Sox. October, to me, was the sports version of the perfect storm when there is pre-season basketball, baseball play-offs and regular season pro and college football. It’s not that I minded periodic games, especially when it involved parties and barbequing, but every other day with something to plan around was a little much.

When Ben finally has the big reveal to Drew Barrymore’s Lindsay about how much of a fanatic he is about the Sox (as if the Red Sox-adorned apartment wasn’t a clue), he said “it’s good to invest in something you can’t control.” Her response was “You have a lyrical soul. You can love under the best and worst conditions.”

I thought about myself and if there is anything that I am that passionate about -- something that I would schedule all other plans around. Sure, I love movies, but I can see those on any night. When I couldn’t come up with something for which I'd turn down a date with a great guy, I asked myself if that was good or bad. Am I boring or perhaps flexible? Or, it may just be my cynical side that has difficulty in adoring something that's not only out of my control but also can't love me back.

The downside is that when you have such zeal about anything, there’s a substantial high but then there’s the other extreme at the bottom. If a team loses, some can take it so personally that he/she is irritable for the rest of the day and is difficult to be around.

Before we were married, one time (just like in the movie) we entered a restaurant in Vegas that just happened to be playing the UT game. Well, my Ex was having it taped back home and he literally did the close-the-eyes, put-hands-over-the-ears, and make-a-noise-so-he-couldn't-hear-the-soundtrack move. And my family had the same reaction that Lindsay's parents also had in the movie of "are you sure you want to be with this guy?"

So, it caused me to think of two questions: at what point does a passion become an unhealthy obsession? And, do you have any type of interest that you organize your personal life around, and if so, has it caused problems?