Most of the national media has focused on Jake Plummer’s turnovers or the prolific Pittsburgh offense in the painful AFC championship game. But I am the real reason they lost. You see, on Saturday, the day before the game, I sat in my office, crumpled up an orange piece of paper, and eyed the trash can 10 feet away in the corner of the room. “If I can make a basket from here,” I told myself, “then the Broncos will win tomorrow.” I took aim, and without any warm-up, threw the paper toward the basket. I was short by 5 feet! I knew the Broncos were in trouble.

During the game, we tried to help in our own way. I moved to a different part of the floor. Nick changed chairs. Michelle left to walk her dog. Nothing worked for long. It was an awful day.

When I was a kid, I lived in Los Angeles and rooted for the Dodgers. If they were playing an important game, I would go into me backyard and stand 15 feet away from the basket attached to the top of the roof of my garage. If I made the shot, then the Dodgers were going to win. Why do we do things like that? We know that wearing orange socks, or not shaving for 2 weeks, or making a basket with a piece of paper don’t really have an impact on anything. We feel powerless (because we are) so we pretend that an unrelated act might make a difference. It is important to know the difference between things we can control and things we can’t. Want to ace Miss Smiley’s Algebra test? Study. Want to learn to play Clair de Lune on the piano? Practice. Want the Dodgers to win Game 2 of the 1965 World Series? Shoot a 15 foot jump shot in your back yard.

I am asking myself why I let a “meaningless” football game make me so upset. The problem is that if I don’t let losing make me unhappy, then winning will not make me happy either. To experience happiness, we have to be willing to risk unhappiness.

When I was playing in YMCA or high school, there were some big games I lost. My father used to try to console me by telling me there were 2 billion Chinese people who didn’t even know I had played and didn’t care that I lost. Let’s just say that compassion was not one of his strengths.

On February 5, the Steelers will play the Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Right now, I am so upset that I am not sure I will watch. I still wish I had taken a few warm-up throws at my trash can before taking the one that counted. That was dumb. And I will console myself by remembering that 2 billion people in China don’t care who won.