Why Do College Football Fans Let The Sport Ruin Their Mental Health? The Answers Are Epic

How much does college football impact a person's mental health during the season?

The greatest sport we have officially returns for week zero Saturday, and it's crazy how the offseason is already behind us.

Feels like it was just yesterday we were all watching Michigan win the national title following a massive and unprecedented cheating scandal.

What does the season starting Saturday mean for millions of fans? Well, according to people online, it means our mental health and happiness is no longer in our control.

College football fans are very passionate people. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

College football fans explain why they let the sport impact them so much. 

I found myself scrolling through the internet today as I often do, and I was reminded of an all-time classic tweet from 2022 that the guys group loves to resurface.

It's the absolute home run tweet below that sums up how a guy's favorite team losing will destroy his entire world.

Now, I've always believed that tweet to be a joke, but the feeling behind it most certainly is not. Men love tying our mental health to whether or not our college team wins on a Saturday.

Just a couple weeks ago, some friends and I were trying to explain to my fiancée about why we're willing to let our entire week be ruined over a college football game. She didn't really understand, but that's alright.

Well, turns out that I'm far from the only one who feels that way. Fans are flooding Reddit in a debate about how we let this glorious sport mess with our minds so much.

A thread titled "For the next 20 weeks mental health is now in the hands of a group of college students" asks one very simple question:

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Don't worry because people have plenty of answers. Check out some of the responses below, and let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com:

• My liver asks me the same thing this time of year. We are all in for a fun ride.
• I’m going to have to figure out a more effective stress management strategy this year. Last season I had to leave the house and go on walks because I was nervous to the point of having heart palpitations.
• I ask myself the same question every damn year.
• "Because for my team this year will be different" -every fan base at the start of the season
• Lindsay Bluth Fünke : Well, did it work for those people? Tobias Fünke : No, it never does. I mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but... but it might work for us.
• This is where pre-emptive nihilism about the season does wonders.
• The mental health of this group will be a lot healthier if no school cheats this year, mmmkay?!
• It's why I love the NFL so much. Someone made a quote and it was "If Ohio State loses I am sick to my stomach for a week, if the Browns lose I get another beer"
• In college if you lose one game your season has drastically changed, in the NFL its usually fine, if mildly upsetting.
• They can't hurt me if I'm already dead inside.
• This gets better with age. I promise. In my 20s my mood was determined by the success of my teams. It was very unhealthy. In my 30s I don’t even get worked up over my pro teams anymore. I still get annoyed when Mizzou loses, but I’m not going to let it ruin my day. Life’s too short.
• Man I have gotten WORSE with age! When I was younger I was too poor to worry about anything besides bills. I'm WAY more invested than I used to be.

I even asked OutKick readers on Twitter how much the sport impacts their mood, and the answers were clear:

A lot.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Because it's the only life we've ever known. It's who we are as college football fans at our core. We ride the highest of highs and lowest of lows. There's simply no other way. Just embrace the carnage and roll with it. It's the only choice you have as a college football fan. How much will you let the season impact your mental health this year? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.