BASEBALL!

[Wolfsong]

Originally Posted by Kobi

Pathetic rabid fan devotion? We differ there. It is not pathetic nor rabid to me. It is part of being a fan, in good times and in bad, when they do well and when they suck the big one.

If you only support a team that is doing well, are you a fan of the team or a fan of winning?

This is why I noted specifically a difference between a team that loses and a team that does not try. I'm blessed in my life to have seen a team that I love win the World Series and am aware of fans that cannot (most notably my neighbors to the north who have suffered through 100 years of dismal heartache.) I am also aware that this, for White Sox fans, may never happen again (during my lifetime). I've sat through games where it was literally sleeting and others so hot and the air still it was nearly unbearable and they LOST. That does not stop me from coming back.

What WOULD stop me is if I saw a bunch of guys on the field that didn't give a crap because win or lose they are still getting a paycheck, and/or an ownership or team management that did not care about the players or the fans. Ozzie was headed in this direction with the team and we are blessed to be rid of him.

Chicago experianced this firsthand during the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Charlie Comiskey was for underpaying his players for years. At that time, players either had to take the salary they were offered, or couldn't play in the majors. They were property of their original team, and no other team was allowed to sign them. He cheated them out of their bonuses and pay that they were due so they said the hell with it. (I am of the firm belief that neither Shoeless Joe Jackson or Buck Weaver had a part in this thing but were convicted nonetheless)

What I mean by pathetic and rabid is the fan that allows the team to take their money, treat them like shit, and keeps coming back. To quote the 2005 film Fever Pitch;

"You love the Red Sox, but have they ever loved you back?"

If the answer is no it's time to consider a break-up