I'm never going to be entirely comfortable going into a finals match. Deep inside me theres a puppy who's been kicked too many times.
The reason sport rates so highly in every country around the world is that it is the only place you can see unscripted drama (except for wrestling of course). The sheer, raw, immediate emotion of watching your team play is difficult to beat.
I saw grown, gruff, hardened men cry when the Panthers won in 91, when Liverpool lost in 2007, when Southampton were relegated, when the Raiders beat the Panthers in 1990. I have been a sports nut since I was a kid and the only thing I know with certainty is that at some point your heart will be broken, no matter how good your team is.
My puppy has been kicked so many times, it yelps as soon as it sees a pair of boots being put on. "There, there, boy" (strokes dog), "there is still a chance the boots stay in the cupboard this year.....".