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Dr. Richard Lustberg, Ph.D.


On The Couch:
 The Week In Review
(3/03)


NEW BLOG!
New Regular Posts

Print Media Appearances

NYDailyNews
Dr. Lustberg speaks on Sports Stars and Celebrities dating

Courant.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on office pools

Wave Magazine
Dr. Lustberg speaks on youth sport

ABC News
Dr. Lustberg speaks on ABC News

The Free Press - Mankato, MN
Dr. Lustberg's quotes are pure fiction

The Vail Trail
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
being a sports fan

OrlandoSentinel.com
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Forgiving Fans

Birkshire Eagle
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Red Sox's Nation

SignOnSanDiego
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
sports fans' emotions

Time
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
the fans' reaction to the Mets' collapse

New York Post
Dr. Lustberg speaks on
Met Fans lost season

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

New York Times

USA Today

Dallas Morning News

Denver Post

Chicago Tribune

The Baltimore Sun

Philadelphia Daily News

Daily News Sports

Denver Post

San Francisco Chronicle

Newsday

Orlando Sentinel

San Diego Union Tribune

timesunion.com

WebMDHealth

The Providence Journal

The San Diego Union-Tribune

UK Casino News

CBS NFL Kid Zone

The Kansas City Star

The Dallas Morning News

Star Telegram

San Diego Union Tribune

Forest Grove News Times

Scroll Online

The Daily Free Press

MyrtleBeachOnline.com

Toronto Star

San Francisco Chronicle

Orlando Sentinel

Femmefan.com

Monterey County Herald

Lincoln Journal Star

ChicKnits

Reveries Magazine

The Mercury News

International Network on Personal Meaning

Christian Science Monitor

Preteenagers Today

San Antonio Business Journal

eSports Media Group

The Marion Star

PsychNet-UK

The Record (Hackensack, NJ)

The Plain Dealer

delawareonline.com
The News Journal

iparenting.com

Christian Science Monitor

The Journal News

El Tiempo

The Observer & Eccentric Newspapers

outsports.com

 

 

Pratfalls by Padres, Chargers stir loser's lament in San Diego fans
By Michael Stetz
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

October 3, 2007

Once again, San Diego sports fans stand bloodied and bruised and wondering how many times they can withstand the pain of a freight train running them over.
Even worse, this time it was two freight trains.

The supposedly high-powered Chargers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs at home on Sunday and fell to last place with a woeful 1-3 record.

Then on Monday, the Padres lost to the Colorado Rockies after closer Trevor Hoffman blew a two-run lead in the 13th innning and are out of the playoffs.

How will fans overcome the double dose of heartbreak? Will they come back? Why, why, why do they keep coming back?

“Why not be disappointed? It's normal. It's a real big letdown,” said Richard Lustberg, a psychologist from Long Island in New York who runs a Web site called “Psychology of Sports.”

“It's OK to feel lousy for a while,” he said. “If you're not unhappy, you're not a fan.”

Lustberg is a New York Mets fan, and he has been dealing with that team's horrific slide at the end of the season – one of the worst collapses ever.
“I took it rough,” he said. “I was very upset.”

San Diego sports fans may be locked in one of their biggest funks ever. Although the Padres have lost two World Series and the Chargers one Super Bowl, this week's disappointments – coming so close together – seem to be taxing fans' abilities to cope like never before.

Sports talk shows are taking blistering calls. Online forums are packed with sour and, in many cases, mean-spirited comments.

The Chargers were favored to win the Super Bowl. They may not even make the playoffs.

The Padres were in first or near first place for much of the season. Their meltdown is considered the 10th biggest baseball collapse of all time, according to recent story by Baseball Prospectus.

So on fan forums online, this is what appears:

“In all sincerity, this is one of the lowest times to be a San Diego fan. Our city has seemingly endured worse (I remember the '03 season, when the Padres and Chargers were both laughingstocks), but this year was supposed to be different. . . . ”

Michael Shadroo, a longtime Padres fan, figures he'll recover from the loss when the next season starts. These kinds of setbacks happen, he said.

His toughest job is consoling his 10-year-old son, Connor, who took the loss hard, he said. Connor also had a tough time absorbing the Chargers' loss last year to the New England Patriots in the playoffs.

Shadroo worked Monday night as the Padres game unfolded, but he kept in touch with Connor by phone. He told him: “(Hoffman) did his best. But sometimes best is not good enough.”

San Diego has been criticized for having a tepid fan base. Facing the Rockies during the final homestand of the season, with pitching ace Jake Peavy on the mound and the playoff race heating up, the Padres drew only 31,000 fans. Think that would happen in New York or Boston?

Still, San Diego has its share of diehard fans who seem to be growing more upset and disappointed with the two major professional sporting teams, of which neither has won a world championship.

“If you're a diehard, you're a diehard. That defines you,” Lustberg said. “It's no different than politics – Hillary (Rodham Clinton) has her diehard supporters, her political base.”

The diehards always come back, regardless of the team's finish, he said. And that kind of deep-seated loyalty isn't necessarily unhealthy.

Choosing sports to focus on rather than, say, the war in Iraq or the U.S. housing crisis only makes sense, Lustberg said. “It's escape. It's entertainment. It's not the war in Iraq.”

To get over the “loser blues,” Lustberg recommends that downcast fans begin following another team. In this case, that would mean cheering for the Chargers. But that presents another problem. There's always the San Diego State Aztecs. Oops. Another problem.

Ron Costa, a Mets fan who helps run the Web site metsfanclub.com, can relate to local fans' woes – but not completely.

“It must be tough watching Trevor blow another big game,” Costa said. “But the bottom line for San Diego is that the San Diego fans still get to go home to the nicest region in the country to live in after the game's over, so things can't be that bad. We Mets fans go home to concrete.”