Game. Of. Thrones.

Has there ever been a cultural phenomenon that has captivated the attention of everyone like GOT has? I doubt it.

Every Sunday at 10PM I’m watching HBO with the volume louder than my neighbors would like, just waiting for the madness to start.

Don’t text me, I’m not answering. Don’t call me, cause I probably won’t pick up, even if I wasn’t watching the best show ever.

Send me all the memes, but I won’t see them until afterward. For one hour a week in the springtime my attention is completely given to whatever is happening in Westeros.

Literally everybody has an opinion on it.

But wait, I hear you thinking, what about the people who don’t watch GOT? Well…

There are two sorts of people. Those who watch GOT, and those who are proud that they haven’t.

Only four episodes left.

I. Can’t. Wait.

***

My Mondays are always the same. I wake up, massage my aching knees and take a few ibuprofen. The pain will last until the next day or so. Some days are worse than others.

The toll that Team Handball has taken on my body is easily visible through the scars on my knees and that Monday morning limp. But not once have I ever thought of giving it up.

Why? Maybe I’m a little crazy. Maybe I just love the smell of Bengay too much. I mean, who doesn’t??

This past Monday was especially bad. My team had lost the championship game the night before, and the aches are always worse after a loss.

So why do I do it?

Maybe it’s the competitive side of me.

I don’t know, I think sports appeal to me on a deeper level. There’s something about the idea of it that brings people together.

Take the Winnipeg Jets, for instance. I love the Jets. I own three jerseys and I go to as many games a year as works with my schedule. But there isn’t a single Winnipeg born player on the team, as far as I’m aware.

But they represent Winnipeg. And they bring the city together in a way that I’ve never seen before. Last year’s playoff run was great. There were Jets flags everywhere, people actually smiled at you when you walked by on the streets.

It was magical. It was as though the entire city knew that we were mixed up in something bigger than ourselves. The first real playoff run that Winnipeg had ever experienced. It was a small piece of history in the making, one that only Winnipeggers would understand.

But we also feel the lows. This year wasn’t our year. It happens. There’s always next year.

Maybe it’s for the best. Every time I go to a playoff game, they lose.

SO

What did we learn this week?

1. If you dislike GOT, your opinion is like an asshole, if you know what I mean
2. Whiteouts DO happen in April and May. Hopefully they happen in June, too. Just not this year.
3. There’s nothing in this world that self-medication and icepacks can’t fix
4. People don’t like it when I don’t end my blogs with a top five list
5. See above

Later days,

M.