Saturday was a horrible sports night for me.
The night seemed to have promise. I was at Mohegan Sun with my parents, won some pocket change from Deal or No Deal, saw that LSU had lost their game, and witched the first three innings when the Sox staked a lead and got to the Indians' pitcher. That's when I decided to start the ride back home so I can catch the end.
The long road leading from Mohegan Sun to New Haven gets bad sports radio reception. I was able to tune in and out of the Sox game, but I really couldn't understand what was going on, so I popped in my iPod and listened to my random music for the rest of the trip. I got home, turned on the tv, and suddenly, the score has gone up, Schilling was out of the game, and there were Indians runners on base. WTF!
I quickly flipped over to the Cal game and saw that we were losing with two minutes remaining. On top of that, Longshore wasn't in. WTF SQUARED! After calling Rohit to get the lowdown on Longshore (he had a sprained ankle), I watched as Cal charged down the field, get in field goal position, and.... COMPLETELY MESS UP in a horrible, horrible ending. In the company of my floormates, I was livid and went nuts. I called Rohit, who was on the verge of crying (personal note: despite what he wrote on his blog, he totally cried. You all know it), spewing rage and threats of violence, then called Jason and continued on this rampage. It was horrible and after a bit of grievance, I moved back to my Sox.
The game lasted forever even by my standards. It didn't end with a bang, but with a whimper in the form of Eric Gagne. Horrible. After giving up 6 runs in the 11th ending, I couldn't stand it anymore and shut my tv off.
Bill Simmons said it best about how it sucks being a sports fan to a specific team because probability wise, they can't win all the time and will break your heart. I sure realized how true his words were last Saturday.
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Monday, October 15, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
The Bandwagon Fan
It's a common phenomenon. Your team sucks for a few years and suddenly enters a very good year or a few good years. Before you know it, you enter a stadium, arena, or some other sports venue and while before the scene was empty seats or the hardcore, loyal fans cynical of the team's potential success... it's all replaced by "born again" fans, people who claim they were always fans all along, and other people who really look like they've never been to a game before, but it's the in thing to do so they're there. People suddenly start wearing clothing reflective of your team, whether at the games or on the streets. Maybe at work. Yes, this is the sign of the Bandwagon Fan.
I first experienced it a few years ago when I started going to Oakland A's games at the Coliseum. I've gone to a lot of random games, but each year, I made it an effort to go see a Red Sox game in order to represent. During the first few years, there were fans and Boston ex-pats scattered throughout the stadium. When we bumped into each other at the food stand or in the seats, we'd give each other the knowing nod and continue on our business. During the playoffs in 2003, I remember vividly being the only Red Sox fan in my entire section. When we eliminated the A's, it was easily the scariest walk I've ever had to take from walking from the 500 level to the BART station.
The 2004 World Series changed all that. During the next year, I went to the entire Red Sox series in Oakland and I was surprised that over half the fans were Red Sox fans. Honestly. They literally appeared overnight. It became harder to get seats. Suddenly, instead of being the only Sox fan in my section, my friends were usually the only A's fans. Instead of seeing green all around the stadium, there were significant patches of Red, Blue, and the occasional pink. Yes, pink. If anything, that was a smoking gun that we now had bandwagon fans. It's those damn pink hats. Who really wears pink baseball hats? Not to be a snob, but true fans don't wear that.
So I always scoffed at those who jumped on a team's bandwagon. It didn't seem cool.
And now, I find myself being a big Warriors fan. Well, not a big fan, but a big sign of my changing attitude towards the team is how I've talked at lengths at work with people about the games, I get worked up watching the playoff games, and when there are highlights on SportsCenter, I don't flip the channel anymore. Now this is especially hilarious since I've never watched a Warriors game in my life until maybe a week and a half ago. Will I ever call them my home team? No. The lousy Celtics are. But I am considering getting a hat or a t-shirt. Does that make me a hypocrite?
I first experienced it a few years ago when I started going to Oakland A's games at the Coliseum. I've gone to a lot of random games, but each year, I made it an effort to go see a Red Sox game in order to represent. During the first few years, there were fans and Boston ex-pats scattered throughout the stadium. When we bumped into each other at the food stand or in the seats, we'd give each other the knowing nod and continue on our business. During the playoffs in 2003, I remember vividly being the only Red Sox fan in my entire section. When we eliminated the A's, it was easily the scariest walk I've ever had to take from walking from the 500 level to the BART station.
The 2004 World Series changed all that. During the next year, I went to the entire Red Sox series in Oakland and I was surprised that over half the fans were Red Sox fans. Honestly. They literally appeared overnight. It became harder to get seats. Suddenly, instead of being the only Sox fan in my section, my friends were usually the only A's fans. Instead of seeing green all around the stadium, there were significant patches of Red, Blue, and the occasional pink. Yes, pink. If anything, that was a smoking gun that we now had bandwagon fans. It's those damn pink hats. Who really wears pink baseball hats? Not to be a snob, but true fans don't wear that.
So I always scoffed at those who jumped on a team's bandwagon. It didn't seem cool.
And now, I find myself being a big Warriors fan. Well, not a big fan, but a big sign of my changing attitude towards the team is how I've talked at lengths at work with people about the games, I get worked up watching the playoff games, and when there are highlights on SportsCenter, I don't flip the channel anymore. Now this is especially hilarious since I've never watched a Warriors game in my life until maybe a week and a half ago. Will I ever call them my home team? No. The lousy Celtics are. But I am considering getting a hat or a t-shirt. Does that make me a hypocrite?
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