Whether it’s joy or pain, postseason emotions hit hard

State champions also cry.

At this time of year especially, It’s important to emphasize that fact. And it is a fact.

I’ve seen the gamut of emotions through the decades — caused by everything from buzzer-beaters to walk-off homers — but the end of a high school season always hits the hardest. In a tick on the clock, months worth of backbreaking work come to a jarring end in the postseason.

Whether it’s joy or pain, though, the emotions strike surprisingly similar. No one wants it to end, not even the champions.

I’m speaking in generalities, of course. I’ve been around successful teams (none to be mentioned here) that were completely miserable and longed for the season to end.

But I’ve also seen struggling teams that loved playing together. They were the types of teams you couldn’t help rooting for, just so they could experience a taste of winning.

Each season and each sport is different but the feelings are generally the same. For football, the common mantra is “one more week.” Everyone’s trying to get one more week together in the playoffs.

The key word: Together.

Basketball is a marathon culminating in a sprint. The long season drudges through the winter as days become shorter and practices seem eternal. All building toward late February and March.

Then, suddenly, the survival instinct kicks in with the playoff sprint. Regionals flash into sectionals, then into supersectionals, and ultimately into the semifinals and finals.

The end is so stark in the playoffs. Remember, these basketball teams have been working together since last spring. Through dozens of games at summer shootouts. And that’s not even counting time with club teams.

The work to reach this point begins way before Thanksgiving tournaments. The investment is vast.

It’s the same in the individual winter sports like wrestling, perhaps the loneliest of all sports. Sure, there are team titles in wrestling, but it all comes down to that one-on-one matchup.

When any season ends, there’s always a feeling of loss. Win or lose.

The amount of pain obviously depends on the level of expectation. Athletes and teams falling shy of championship goals hurt more than those realistic about their limited postseason runs.

But regardless, it stings. The tears are born from commitment and bonds as much as wins and losses.

Emotions will run high throughout the next month for players, coaches, families and fans as we tiptoe through the playoffs. Understandably so.

It’s difficult to let go of the highs and lows of a season. The team meals, the long bus rides, the nagging aches and pains that always seem to fade away with the opening tip of the game.

Embrace it all, knowing the feelings are normal. And it’s been normal for generations.

Win or lose, the end hurts.