ARLINGTON, Texas 鈥 As a parent, I really don't need a refresher course on dealing with not only my own emotions, but those of others.
If you have kids, or even if you deal with different classmates, coworkers and friends, you know a thing or two about emotional distress.
Personally, I've seen my share of the movie Inside Out, a clever Disney Pixar animated film that deals with about 10 of the most common forms of emotions. Trust me, this game had moments of all of them.
In the end, "Joy" won out for the Cowboys, who somehow survived this epic back-and-forth contest that had fans looking like they were sitting at Wimbledon, especially in the fourth quarter.
From the number of tweets, texts and just press-box observations from my colleagues, I wasn't the only one dealing with this emotional rollercoaster.
At one point in overtime, I thought to myself, This is like the movie my kids watch, Inside Out, because it's got everything and then some.
Well, after a little research, I realized just how accurate that statement proved to be.
Here are the original 10 emotions from that movie, which are considered to be the most common. And here's my characterization of them according to this game:
Joy 鈥 As mentioned earlier, this is the current state of emotions. And I'm sure Cowboys fans can relate. All's well that ends well, right? I guess you could say that, but despite all of the other emotions that are about to be listed, the joy of victory always prevails.
Fear 鈥 Obviously. Could the Cowboys really go 0-2 to start the season? Could they lose to the Giants at home for the first time since Dak Prescott was a rookie? This one crept up more than the others.
Disgust 鈥 Yes, at times just the overall flow of the game was pretty gross. And let's blame the officials for that, too. They threw themselves (and the flags) into the mix over 30 times. There were 26 penalties enforced but many more that were declined. But the overall game, especially in the first half, was certainly not a thing of beauty.
Envy 鈥 I mean, when you see the Cowboys without a real pass rush and know the reason for it, and had to watch that guy wearing No. 1 in Green Bay wreck the game Thursday night 鈥 not to mention the fact the Giants were getting home with plenty of pressure 鈥 you had to feel envious about the lack of a rush.
Embarrassment 鈥 Losing to the Giants at home and giving up 500 yards of offense to a Russell Wilson-led offense 鈥 check.
Sadness 鈥 If this team had really gone 0-2 to start the year, with a loss to New York, it pretty much tells what the season is going to be. Two games in, knowing the uphill climb that you're facing, that would make all of us pretty sad. Hey, this team isn't out of the woods at all, but getting the win certainly makes it better.
Ennui (boredom) 鈥 It's an NFL football game so rarely do I get bored by anything I see from the press box. It wasn't really boring, but the action wasn't that entertaining at the start. The back-and-forth because of the flags doesn't make it aesthetically pleasing.
Anger 鈥 The "fan" in me was getting angry with what I was watching. I know fans get a lot angrier than I do. (Trust me, I felt plenty of that Saturday night with my Arkansas fandom). But once again, if I was sitting here writing about a loss, maybe anger would creep in a little more.
Shame 鈥 Taking the lead in the fourth quarter, only to watch the Giants hit a deep ball on fourth down to take the lead. And then drive back and go ahead with 55 seconds left, only to give up yet another deep ball for a TD with less than 30 seconds remaining 鈥 that coverage was shameful. I know this, it would've been a damn shame to lose to the Giants, but they overcame it.
Anxiety 鈥 And we have a winner! I'm not sure any fan of either team or any media member covering either team or any player or coach didn't feel their share of anxiety in this game. There were too many ups and downs 鈥 and that's just in the final minute of the game 鈥 for one not to experience anxiety.
There you have it. That's at least 10 common emotions that one might feel, and they all seemed to pop up here in this nearly four-hour game at AT&T Stadium.
I'm not sure if it's the first or the last time we'll be able to take such an emotional journey like this one, but man, it sure was fun 鈥 especially since this one ended with joy.
