Post Football Depression Syndrome (PFDS) is real! Thanks Google Insights for Search

I was born in 1976 in Baltimore, MD and so my formative football years were the mid to late 80s. My father wasn’t a sports guy, but my grandfather certainly was. I was a little too young when the Colts left town (ask any Baltimore native to describe that night, it will include the phrase “dark and snowy”) but I certainly understood my grandfather’s reaction to the news. I was instantly ingrained to dislike the football team in Indianapolis (hate is a little too strong of a word), and as an aside also dislike John Elway (which is fun living in Denver).

I remember watching the great 49ers teams and Elways drive and the Icky Shuffle. I would play football every chance I got with the neighborhood kids. I loved football and still do. I watch the NFL draft; I read up on internet forums on team trades, I watch the 4th quarter of the last preseason game to see if there are any gems at the bottom of the depth chart. One could call it an addiction (my wife does).

So after the Ravens laid an egg against the team from Indianapolis and the seconds were ticking away (tuck the darn ball away ED REED) I felt it coming on. It’s the feeling I get every year when the football season ends, and I decided to give it a name. Post Football Depression Syndrome.

I wanted to see if I was the only one like this and a quick virtual poll of friends determined that I certainly am not. No real interest in the current season and a feeling of emptiness. Apathy. Lethargy. General ennui. And the data (kinda sorta) backs it up. Google Insights allows you to track trending data, and compare trends across terms, regions, etc. One issue I had is that I had to wait for today to get Monday’s data. That isn’t quite as real time as I thought Google Insights data should be.

Interest in the teams spike on game day and continue through the weekend, while depression interest takes a slight nose dive. Come Monday interest in the losing team has significantly dropped below that of interest in depression. So I’m pretty sure I just empirically proved that when your team loses (especially to its most disliked rival) you become depressed. Anyone know of the proper therapy?