Sports Fan Coach: The column

TO THE COACH’S BOX BLOG READERS: This is my introductory column for the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati.com. Many thanks to sports editor Jason Hoffman and the Enquirer for agreeing to share this here with you.

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Mike Bass
Columnist
Special to Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY NETWORK

Editor's note: This is an introductory column from Mike Bass, a former sports reporter and editor turned professional coach. Bass will be contributing to The Enquirer offering advice for sports fans, athletes and youth sports parents and coaches through a weekly Q&A. To ask a question of Bass for potential publication, email him at mikebass3838@gmail.com.

Sports is your passion. You would sooner forget your Social Security Number than the Big Red Machine’s lineup. March is Madness. Who Dey is in your password.

As a sports fan, you don’t just follow a team, you follow your team. It is part of your identity. You are part of a community that supports your team and each other. Your connection is so powerful, you wear your heart on your sleeve of your team jersey and hate changing shirts or positions on the couch during a winning streak.

Sports can be your great escape. Fandom can be your joy ride. Until it isn’t. The stress can get to you. Your emotions can overwhelm you. You are not alone.

Maybe watching the Bengals lose eats at you, leaves you feeling miserable long after the game, wishing you could let it go instead of obsessing about Mike Brown or some 30 years without a playoff win.

Maybe you are having a hard time getting past a Reds season delayed, shortened, fanless and sabotaged by a rough start, when this was supposed to be your year.

Maybe you are confused or angry over mixed messages about your kids playing sports, as if the decisions you face as a youth sports parent weren’t hard enough.

I am here to help.

Starting Nov. 5, I will be writing a weekly column for The Enquirer/Cincinnati.com, answering the types of questions you never get to ask – about you. I will help you deal with what has you stuck or struggling, so you can make decisions that enrich your fandom and your life.

I am a certified professional coach, specializing in helping sports fans, youth sports parents and sports widow(er)s deal with the stress of the game, the pain of defeat and even the loss of sports to COVID-19. And that is just the beginning. Time. Money. Relationships. Balance. Kids. Health. Fantasy teams. Gambling option. Social media. Social issues. All can weigh on you.

I know. I am a sports fan, too.

And Cincinnati is special to me. I spent the heart of my career with you, living my dream as a sports writer and editor, witnessing so many memorable moments. I was there when the Reds won their last World Series, when the Bengals played in their last Super Bowl and when Pete Rose hit No. 4,192. I sat on the bench with Bob Huggins, went fishing with Deion Sanders, followed Boomer Esiason on the picket line, attended a basketball game with the Griffeys and accompanied Chris Sabo to David Letterman’s old talk show.

After decades in journalism, in Detroit, Cincinnati, the Twin Cities, Atlanta and Chicago, I left the business and found a new love. Coaching. Even if I am unique.

Apparently, nobody had ever gone from longtime sports journalist to certified professional coach. So maybe it’s no surprise I am the only coach specializing in sports fans.

Everyone else in sports has coaches. Head coaches. Assistant coaches. Position coaches. Performance coaches. Mental-skills coaches. Why not you?

Fans always lament that nobody listens to fans. Nobody helps them. They were right. You were right.

One client wanted to stop unleashing F-bombs on social media after his NFL team would lose. Another wanted to stop feeling so distressed over her daughter’s basketball performance. Another wanted to figure out how to enjoy watching college football with her spouse. And so many people now are trying to figure out the best way to approach sports in a COVID-19 world.

It is a privilege to help.

I look forward to helping you.

Mike Bass is an International Coaching Federation-certified professional coach. To contact Mike about individual or group sessions, or speaking engagements, email him at mikebass3838@gmail.com. You can learn more about him and his business at his website, MikeBassCoaching.com.

The top of the column, as it appeared in the actual newspaper ...

… and in the E-edition of the Sunday paper.