sour grapes?

Hello children, as some if not all of you know, I a rabid sports fan. I am a: game attending, at my T.V. yelling, sports paraphernalia purchasing, stats researching, (insert color of my favorite team from whichever sport I am watching at the time) blooded sports fan, but I have been struggling with my sudden aversion to what used to be one of the three major U.S. sports, since sometime last year. yesterday my favorite football team the New York Jets lost in the conference finals, and I was filled with mixed emotions. I wanted desperately for them to succeed, and when it ended I was naturally a little despondent. yet at the same time I felt immense pride for the amazing season they had, the type of men they seem to be (no arrests, lots of local charity work, and at least in the public eye decent humans), the manner with which they represented/acknowledged their loyal fan base (me), and am eagerly awaiting what I fervently hope they will achieve in the future.
unfortunately this is the exact opposite of the feeling I was left with after the last hockey season. The blatant disregard for anything resembling fair, and un-biased refereeing was shocking, disappointing, and left me honestly feeling cheated for my support over all the years. to think that a major sport would influence the outcome of a series final so that their young and upcoming superstar "poster boy of the league" could win was stunning to me. since then some people have accused me of having sour grapes, and/or being a sore loser. they have insinuated that I saw only what I wanted to, and maybe my view of things is distorted by my love for my team. I had no concept of how to explain myself other than to point out the fact that I had previously watched my favorite hockey team lose in the playoffs, and even the finals but never in my life had I felt this way. I also pointed to the fact that I watched the finals with a good friend who supports a different team then I do, matter of fact he supports one of my team's most bitter rivals, and he saw exactly what I did. He found himself in a unique position last year, normally he revels in the fact that my team gets eliminated but this year even he had to say "sorry dude you got jobbed". still is this sufficient reason to write off a sport I have been an avid fan of for going on twenty years?this recent defeat for my football team, seems to have crystallised things in my mind a little bit.
I have often been asked why I am so "passionate" about sports in general, and this plays directly into why I am so disappointed in the NHL. in sports we see a little slice of life. there is drama, suspense, heroes, villains, professionalism, respect, glory, humility, suffering, and yes defeat is also a part of the equation. these are the things every human deals with on some scale in every day of their life, just try driving down a So-Cal freeway, and while I will never be connected to something on so grand a scale as playing for a football championship, I can't help but feel connected on some small level when a man who played two games with a broken hand and is on the verge of tears from losing what may be his last best shot at winning the big game, takes the time to talk to the media and thank all of us who supported his team this year and say how much that support from us have meant to him. I also can't be bitter when I can see the effort with which these men strove to reach their goal. there were missed calls for sure, no referee can be perfect all the time, but both teams went out on the field and gave it their all, with heart and courage and these men left all discussion and doubt about who was the better team this night behind, and I applaud them. this simple graceful gesture, one heartfelt thank you to the fans, binds us to him and the team we love, and at the same time gives us something to bind our families and friends together. for how many relationships between fathers and sons, brothers and sisters, or even long lost friends are rekindled, repaired or expanded through the simple act of going to a game or sitting in the same room to watch one? sometimes the truth in your own life is easier to find. while sharing a tough moment like this, for your mutual team, you may find the forgiveness in your heart for past transgressions of your loved ones, or in sharing the joy of victory you may look around and finally come to the realize how much you truly do value the family and friends you have chosen to surround yourself with. Sports may be on a much larger scale than any of us, like the world cup when it's country vs country, yet at it's core are you and I watching the games. they may provide an entire country "bragging rights" for four years, but it's real value is to the man who shares a moment with his wayward son over a game and possibly re-starts a relationship that was at one time thought lost.
this then is the core of the disappointment that I feel over last years hockey finals. these moments can't be manufactured. they aren't something that you can decide would be better if you had the right person to market your league. and the men who give us these moments deserve better, I know they are out there earning paychecks and fighting to win themselves a championship, but the first thing they do when they are victorious is acknowledge their family, friends, and fans who supported them. they connect with us on some level and through them we connect with others. To me it was summed up succinctly by a writer for "the new york times?" who wrote something to the effect of "this morning all jets fans will wake up and count the seconds until game time, that is if they could sleep at all. I will go and get my favorite jets hat and meet my father. I will sit with him and explain how much he would have loved this coach and how proud he would have been of this team, then I will leave the hat on his headstone and go to the game." the NHL may see it's sport as a business and that is their right, but these small moments are bigger then all of their giant championship moments, and they should be ashamed for forgetting that. I may watch hockey in the future, but I will never be as connected as I was, and it will never move a lot of us the way it once did.