When I was a kid, my favorite two baseball teams were the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Redsox. From 1970 to 1978 were my formative years in becoming a sports fan. The Braves plain sucked, and the Redsox were further perfecting the ultimate in ways to visit heartbreak upon their loyal fans. I won't go into how many times the Braves finished in last place vs. how many times they were grateful that San Diego was in the same division. Nor will I recreate the '75 Redsox loss to the Reds or the 78 collapse.
No, what I have here is a philosophical question from two divergent backgrounds in futility:
The Braves, for the most part, were very honorable in their incompetence. They had the common decency to put their fans on notice very early in the year that they were not going be competing for division titles, playoff spots or World Series championships. It allowed a fan to get over the disappointment early in the year. It also allowed the fan to enjoy the 2 or 3 weeks when they invariably won 14 out of 16 or 18 out of 24 as a sign of better things to come next year. Small things, like Ralph Garr chasing a batting title and big things, like Hank Aaron chasing down Babe Ruth, and absurd things, like how many times could Sonny King throw the ball into the stands on routine grounders to short, were the moral victories that we fans followed while we could not follow a pennant chase.
The Redsox, on the other hand, went about business in such a way that showed their fans that they were very capable of competing for championships. They approached such heights again and again, only to fall short in ways that left their fans hungover and emotionally drained. They would take their fans to the brink, only to turn their backs as if to say, "Nah, no thanks, not interested, just kidding."
Now the question is simple. It's a fan question for a real fan, not a sunny day fan, who only shows up when the team is winning, but a fan who wears the hat even when the team can't seem to get it going, and even when they have blown it once again. Is it better for them to drop into the cellar with a long losing streak at the beginning of the year (Braves of that era), or is it better for them to hold your attention, build up your hopes, then blow it in some gut wrenching exposition that makes the fan want to swear off all sports like an alcoholic fresh off a bender?
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3 comments:
I'm probably not the right one to answer the question correctly.
See, I'm a fan. End of discussion.
Through thick and thin, loss and win... my teams are just that. My teams!
With The Packers, Brewers and Devils, I've been witness to greatness and futility, both on monumental levels.
Either way, I figure it's part and parcel of choosing to live and die with the team you've chosen.
Way better to have them win and build up your hope. At least there is something to cheer for and a reason to keep watching the games. It's hard to watch a team have a horrific season. It just gets harder and harder to tune in or even look at the box scores the next day.
We watch sports for the excitement. Not the business of building a team. Being a Redsox fan you know what a gut wrenching loss is and it just made the win that much better.
I've got an extra White Sox hat for you if you are interested ... : o )
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