Maybe I’m reading this wrong, but I have the sense that a lot of sports journalists are very political. And not talking “college football poll” here. I’ve been in press boxes and heard rants from people at both ends of the political spectrum.

My theory is that elections are rather like sports, which is why sports journos gravitate toward them. The whole dynamic. The preparation. The campaign. The buildup. The predictions. The projections. And then the numbers being counted at the end, and the winning and losing. It’s a lot like a football game … just not contested as often.

Anyway, many of my colleagues seem quite into the presidential election. Even agitated about it.

And I have decided it’s possible to get through this and not be overwrought, as a results-oriented sports dude or dudette.

If your guy wins … hurray! That’s easy enough. You win! Do a victory dance. The evil opposition has gone down.

If your guy, gulp, loses …

Here’s what you do:

Look forward to four years of complaining!

I think many of us underestimate the joy that comes from being the “Out” party.

Anything goes wrong? It’s not your fault. It’s that idiot who got elected. You don’t actually have to have solutions to anything, when you’re on the outside. But you sure as heck can have criticisms.

Republicans actually loved the Clinton years. Seemed like he was always a minute away from some ethical crisis. And, remember, the GOP took back the House (after being the minority party for 40 years) in the 1994 congressional elections. So despite all the GOP complaining, it was a pretty good time, lobbing grenades at Bill, impeaching him …

And Democrats have enjoyed George W. Bush’s time, as well. That idiot! That moron! A friend of mine recently declared W to be “a murderer.” He said it quite casually. “Because of what has gone on in Iraq.”

The loathing gets the blood circulating. And, too, W’s hi-jinks prompted the Democrats’ reclamation of both houses of Congress in 2006. Good times!

So, yes, there is an “up” side to losing. You don’t have to apologize for/defend everything “your” guy does, subsequently. (Unless you’re ready to be handle the “flip-flopper!” criticism.)

Playing defense can be hard, when your guy is perceived to be screwing up. It’s a burden. Democrats tired of defending Clinton (or Carter) at the end of his presidency. Republicans tired of defending George W. (or Nixon) at the end of his. It really is draining. And we sometimes forget that.

So, yes, here’s how I’m going to approach this. (And I recommend you do, too.)

U.S. political discussion occurs in a fairly narrow band, philosophically. We think it’s a big spread, and this country has a legion of pundits whose careers hinge on that perception. But it’s not accurate. I’ve been through, oh, a half-dozen “history turning” elections in my life, and I’m not sure any of them really were, looking back.

We aren’t choosing between fascism and communism here, despite what zealots might insist. On any given day, maybe Party A and Party B handle an individual issue differently. But over four years, the direction the country goes isn’t going to be that much different because the system doesn’t allow truly radical change, I am convinced, and the constant striving to reach the middle of the electorate shaves the hard edges off both parties.

The faces around the Oval Office will change … but how this party vs. that party affects your life … I really believe it’s marginal.

So if you win … throw a party.

And if you lose, settle in for four years of running your mouth about the moral/intellectual/ethical dwarf in the White House. You know it’s fun. And he really isn’t likely to be much worse than your guy would have been.

Then get back to parsing the game happening in front of you.