The Psychology of Sports- The End of Boating Season



Dr. Richard Lustberg, Ph.D.

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abc News
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Tiger Woods

Cleveland.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
changing fan and player allegiances

CBS Sports
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Delonte West's problems

NBC Sports
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
fan behaviors

Columbus Dispatch
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
college football rivalries

Eye of the Storm
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
superstitions

Newsday
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
what the fuss is really about

The Daily Sundial
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One-Year Wonders

The Phoenix
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Rivalry Exploits

Equinox
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Superstitions not crazy

NASCAR.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
burn-out

The Orion
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
subject Fan's superstitions, rituals

seattlepi.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Mike Hargrove

reviewjournal.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Michael Vick and Dog Fighting

Newsday.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
fan behavior

STL Today
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Barry Bonds and why he's a polarizing figure

Athens News
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
fan support

InfoSports
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
youth sport

KansasCity.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Post Traumatic NFL-Football Disorder

FresnoBee.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
focus, concentration, and preparation.

SignOnSanDiego.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
fan's behaviors

BerkshireEagle.com:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
how the fans relate to the players

Daily Herald:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
the psychology of Rex Grossman

Courier News:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
being a sports fan

Examiner:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
the Baltimore Ravens and the positive energy fans create

PajamasMedia:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
the psychology of autographs

ESPN.com:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Teammate sabbotage

VC2:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Steroids

Kane County Chronicle:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Superstitions

Christian Science Monitor:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Issues about youth sport

smh.com.au:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
World Famous swimmer: Ian Thorpe

NewsReview.com:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
the psychological importance of having a sports franchise in your city

Philadelphia Daily News:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Terrell Owens

Winston-Salem Journal:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Athletic Competitiveness

The Boston Globe:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
The Minds of NFL Kickers

USA Today:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Baseball Players' Fatigue

Journal Gazette:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Mental Illness in Athletes

The Associated Press:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Hero Worship

Newsday.com:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Alex Rodriguez

ReviewJournal.com:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Ben Rothlesberger

PJM News:
Phil Mickelsohn Infatuation

Unabated Sports:
A Doctor In The House

Sports Central:
Dr. Lustberg speaks on Trash Talking

PE
Dr. Lustberg speaks on Rituals

Canoe
Dr. Lustberg speaks on Lucky Charms

Coloradoan
Dr. Lustberg speaks on Superstitions

Orlando Sentinel
Dr. Lustberg speaks on The Death of Tony Dungy's Son and Depression

Star Telegram
Dr. Lustberg speaks on fan and owner loyalty

Jacksonville
Dr. Lustberg speaks on losers

Belleville News Democrat
Dr. Lustberg speaks on emotional reaction to games

Star Telegram
Dr. Lustberg speaks on the line between players and spectators

Des Moines Register
Dr. Lustberg speaks on "how young is too young?"

DenverPost.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on perpetual losers in sports

dailypress.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on players and their uniform numbers

SignOnSanDiego.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant

latimes.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant

PE.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on athletes who have returned to their old teams

OCRegister.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on athletes and their jersey numbers

Mets Inside Pitch
Dr Lustberg speaks on the psychological aspects of being employed in the major leagues and having your position reassigned.

post-gazette.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on enduring a long string of losing

Hartford Courant
Dr. Lustberg speaks on athlete's sudden illnesses

NorthJersey.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on the Yankees/Red Sox epic rivalry

Mercury News
Dr. Lustberg speaks on Barrett Robbins and Mental Illness in Athletes

phillyBurbs.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on the passion of sports fans

York Daily Record
Dr. Lustberg speaks on superstitions in sports

Denver Post
Dr. Lustberg speaks on trash talking in sports

The Duquesne Duke
Dr. Lustberg speaks on fans and sports

Chicago Tribune
Dr. Lustberg speaks on superstitions

Sunday Herald
Dr. Lustberg speaks on Barrett Robbins’ struggle against bipolar disease

New York Daily News
Dr. Lustberg speaks on the impact of the Jets playoff loss

The San Diego Union-Tribune
Dr. Lustberg speaks on the history of player/fan violence

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outsports.com

'But I miss my boat!'

(Or How To Get Out of the Bunk And Onto the Couch)

By Paula Ganzi Licata

09/22/2002

THE END OF SUMMER signals the beginning of the year for school children — and the beginning of the end for many a boater. Cruising skippers, racing sailors, courageous kayakers, all are part of a boating crowd that enjoys a paradise offshore for a good seven months a year. Who can blame them when the cold weather signals that they must say goodbye to cruising, sailing, racing, fishing, waterskiing?

Jean-Pierre Trebot of Roosevelt Island has been boating for almost 25 years and makes his escape for as much of the year as possible aboard a 27-foot Watkins. Like many boaters in Long Island and New York waters he tends to put a positive spin on the inevitable fall season. “I look forward to this time of the year which is great for ‘rag’ sailors. The winds are good and the climate of Indian summer is the best.” It’s pretty good for the power boat crowd too. Last year’s mild winter had some cursing their luck for having put away their boats too early. Obviously, everyone wants to avoid the first freeze, but who wants to miss out on fair seas? “Most people are holding off for one last weekend,” says David Bloom of Hauppauge, owner of a 36-foot sport fisherman. “And then you’re down there a week before Christmas trying to get everything done!” Paradoxically, some northeasterners feel that winter’s interruption enhances the boating season in an odd sort of way.

“At Fire Island I can get slips right away,” Bloom says of his fall trips. “It’s so beautiful! There’s no one out in the water. Later on in the season you can go anywhere you want. And you meet nicer people, those that really enjoy boating.” There’s a definite camaraderie among those veterans who love to go out on the extreme ends of the season. “Old-time boaters wave,” said Bloom, in contrast with the height of the summer season, when “there are no rules and you’re not sure who’s going to pass you on the left or the right.” But if you’re not about to become one of those hardy souls who brave the cold Atlantic waters much beyond Halloween (or even Labor Day), how do you get through a long dark season without missing your boat?
Perhaps what’s needed is a little time on the couch.

MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR LAND-BOUND SELF.
Ask Long island psychologist, Dr. Karen L. Siegel, what’s a boater to do on land until spring and she’ll tell you: “Fill time, never kill time.” An enthusiastic boater who enjoys fishing — everything from striped bass to an 8-foot shark — she currently is enjoying the sense of peace (paired with the challenge of wind, water and vessel) that only sailing can bring. In the off-season, she says, “Learn alternative ways to have fun; to be with and in nature; to use your body, your mind and your exhilarated soul as one.”

BUT TELL WAR STORIES TOO.
There’s also a hairy-chested side to all this psychology. Dr. Richard Lustberg of Rockville Centre, who deals with issues in sports with a psychological focus, notes that: “The men also have to adjust to missing the guys. A lot of men hang around the dock, club, even the bait and tackle shop, and it is the camaraderie they enjoy and miss.” A contributor to the Sports News Network, the psychologist adds: “I find that men have both long- and short-term plans for fixing up their boats, getting a new boat, trading it in, etc. They tinker throughout the winter... it allows them to look forward to the next season.”

AVOID SCANDINAVIAN SYNDROME.
This is not the Arctic with a suicide-inducing winter that lasts seven months of the year. So there’s no use getting depressed. Bloom, the almost-year-round boatman from Hauppauge notes that Long Islanders actually are lucky compared with boaters in warmer climes: “When springtime comes, there’s a renewed sense of appreciation. Winter makes you appreciate boating... I just wish it wasn’t so long.”

ENVISION A BRIGHTER TOMORROW.
By spring, area boaters are so eager to get back into the water that one Manhattanite likens it to opening day at Yankee Stadium. Dave Polakoff, who has been on the water regularly for the last eleven years, regards boating as a year-round mental excursion: “Basically, you’re using your brain and your body to have this manmade machine use, but not abuse, what Mother Nature has to offer.’’ He says abuse because, “Every sailor gets humbled by Mother Nature. She’s in control. You never get too cocky.”

AND JUST DON’T GET TOO PRAGMATIC.
“Every time you pack up for the season, it’s a reluctant acknowledgment that winter is lurking and that you’ll be another year older before you sail this boat again,” says Howard Weiner of New Jersey who has been putting his boat away every season for 25 years.

But putting the boat away is no reason to get too depressed, insists Weiner. “It’s my personal farewell to summer, even if I don’t get to it until Halloween — the best time of year to pretend you’re still a kid.’’