What a week.

On Saturday we let La Liga slip from our grasp, defeated at home by our arch enemies from Madrid. On Tuesday we are agonizingly eliminated from the Champions League by bitter rival Chelsea. I feel like I have spent most of my time in the last few days either justifying these poor results, or consoling fellow Cules, including many members of the tB staff.

The emotion we all feel in moments like these is worthy of reflection. On the one hand, it makes me appreciate the amazing moments that this team has offered to all of us over the last few years. The recent performances of this team will be a global reference in a sport played my millions the world over. But this week also demonstrates how emotionally invested we all are in events over which we have no direct control: no matter how hard I wanted Messi’s penalty to sneak in under the bar, it was always going to hit the post. And therein lies the agony.

And make no mistake: this week has been pure pain.

For me, the immediate aftermath of both matches was a state of shock followed by a numb acceptance of the result. I managed to resurrect myself from depression by checking out of the football world for 24 hours, intense exercise, profoundly reveling in the Madrid defeat on Wednesday, and finally by writing this post. I assume that many of you have been in a similar situation, and I imagine that we might all benefit from your remedies.

How have you dealt with the blues?

Free of charge: a little group therapy