The Unwavering Dedication of a Sports Fan
It’s raining cats and dogs, and the only thing they have to protect themselves is a cheap poncho. This poncho not only stops them from getting soaking wet, but also protects them from ruining their favorite player’s jersey, the jersey they only wear on game day. Looking around, the faces of those who turned out to the stadium to watch their team play on Sunday can be seen, the expression on those faces all filled with disappointment.
The disappointment of the fans doesn’t come from the weather or the fact that their shoes are filled with a rain/beer combination, but from the fact that their team is losing, again. Another year filled with cussing out their coach, yelling at the quarterback, and questioning the intelligence of their general manager. They long for the day filled with good news, a team with good players, and a coach who doesn’t have such a punchable face. If all that happened, they would be proud to wear that hat around in public, with the constant thought that this is their year.
No matter how delusional that thought may be, a true fan, a fan who roots for their team no matter what, will always have faith in that team. People may ask them why they have such high hopes for a team that was last place in their division the year before, and that fan will always have something up their sleeve. Whether it’s the fact that they have a top ten defense, a new offensive coordinator, or because they looked good on HBO’s Hard Knocks, they always come prepared.
For most, being a fan of that team isn’t a choice, it’s almost as if they were born with a connection to that franchise. For those of you who believe this is complete nonsense, those of you who flip-flop the team you root for every year, you are not a fan. These people, these fugazi, think you can pick a team off of the shelf every year like they are a pair of shoes. Wrong. You wear those old shoes every year, no matter how battered and bad they get. Remember this when those phonies try to tell you that your team sucks, and that they will never win. Most of them have never seen your team play, and are judging solely on a box score.
The true fans know or convince themselves that their team is capable of winning and can look for the positives in a game where they didn’t score a single point. True fans watch every single game, no matter if their team was eliminated from playoff contention weeks before. True fans hold onto the hope that their quarterback will get better, no matter how miserable he is to watch. True fans will show up to the game even though it’s raining cats and dogs and the only thing they have to protect themselves is a cheap poncho. It’s okay, their favorite jersey won’t get wet. If any of this doesn’t sound like you, you are not a true fan.