Hopes don't exist so that you can get them down

As preface to the following interaction, retired Detroit Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood is my favorite hockey player.  He entered the 2010-2011 season (his last before retirement) four wins short of becoming the 10th goaltender ever to record 400 NHL wins.  For a 3-time Stanley Cup champion and probable future Hall of Famer, it seemed like a given that he would get those four wins over the course of a season, but he was relegated to backup status that year, and the 400th win proved frustratingly elusive.  It finally came at an overtime, career-high-46-save game that aired over Christmas when my fiancé was in Detroit, and with 13 minutes left in the third period, he stuck a videotape in his mom's VCR, pressed record for me, and walked away.  The videotape sat forgotten for four years (I don't remember ever learning of its existence) until my fiancé came across it yesterday and we played it.  Knowing he had only pressed record towards the end of the game (in which Osgood makes hardly any saves) and not knowing when the recording had ended, he was far more nervous watching the tape than if the nail-biter of a game were live, because he was unsure how much was on the tape and if he had recorded any post-game interviews, including the all-important interview with the goalie.  Once Osgood was finally interviewed following the win, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, asked me to confirm that this meant our engagement was in fact still on, and got up off the couch. Then I heard the announcer say that the game would be re-airing at 2am following the Pistons game.

Me: Wait! He just said it re-airs at 2! Did you get that? You might have the first two periods after all!

Jonathan:  Don't get your hopes up.

Me: Of course my hopes are up. That's what hopes are for.  If you went to bed after you pressed record, you might have accidentally gotten the beginning of the game in the re-air.

J (zipping forward on the tape): Maybe, but just don't get your hopes up.

Me: Hopes are up.  Hopes are there to get them up.

J: Well yeah, but this isn't an instance where you should get them up.

Me: Tough. They're up.

J: I'm just saying it's unlikely it recorded that long, so the game's probably not there.... so if you get your hopes up, you're just going to be disappointed.

Me: Yeah, but if you never get your hopes up if you might be disappointed, then you'd never get your hopes up.  Then what are you supposed to do with them? That doesn't work for me.  My hopes are up.

J, laughing: Ok, fine......................     Just don't get your hopes up.

(continues to fast forward)

Me: OOOOOOHHHH -- WHAT'S THAT?! That's the GAME! Mmmhmm. Yeah.

J: Are you glad you got your hopes up?

Me: Yep.