I started watching football just a few years before that and became a Pats fan. I was less knowledgeable about the game and could have been called a "homer" in today lexicon. Although I knew the Bears were better, and all the pundits picked them, I held out hope that the Pats might, just might, somehow pull a miracle, or at least put up a battle.
Well, it hurt. We were at a colleague's house for SB party, and a guy was so sick that he didn't come in the next day. This same fellow, who was a Red Sox fan also, later that year (after the world series), vowed that he would quit being a sport fan forever. I didn't check if he lived up with that vow .