As someone who routinely watches Minnesota sports teams, schadenfreude is a feeling with which we are all too familiar. Once seasons here are over, the best we can often hope for is the pleasure derived from the losses of other teams -- the very definition of schadenfreude when it comes to sports.
This expresses itself in things like the Packers' Increasingly Lost Season (copyright RandBallsStu) and manifests itself in happy dances when the Packers lose in the playoffs, as they did a season ago.
It also expressed itself in a massive concentrated wave last night when Percy Harvin announced via Twitter that he will need hip surgery -- a procedure that will cost him most of this upcoming season (the fact that he said "half to" instead of "have to" made it all the richer).
This massive schadenfreude (or percyfreude, copyright David Brauer) is understandable on some levels. Harvin was a pain in the butt last year after he got hurt, and he hardly left Minnesota on the best terms. The Vikings traded him for a nice haul and seem to be, for now, the winners in that trade. And the Vikings/Seahawks have a wee bit of a history, so sticking it to Seattle is fun.
But we'll also say this: While he was here, for the most part, Harvin was one of the toughest and most electrifying players to watch. Rooting for his injury doesn't feel nearly as tasty as, say, a collective game loss by a rival. This is something physical, and hopefully once Vikings fans are over the idea of winning the trade, they will also wish Percy the best.
