re: Anyone have the philosophy "it's just a game"?

The only time that I buy into the "it's just a game" philosophy is for pee wee football.

Once you hit high school, games start to have meaning, outside the game itself. Rivalries between schools involve people that don't even play on the teams and bragging rights are at stake for the entire year.

This is inflated x10000 at the college level, where people gather by the tens of thousands in support for their school every weekend.

In the NFL, of course, it is more than a game, it is a career for the players, as well as the entire team's organization. Business owners make money off of the area team's success.

College and NFL teams stimulate the economy of their surrounding area, so it's hard to call it "just a game" beyond a certain point.