Does it make sense to be a team sports fan?

[VAfan]

I'm a fan of 2 main sports teams, the White Sox being one of them.  I've been a fan since I switched off of the Cubs in 1970.  I grew up in the Chicago area but haven't lived there since the mid 1970s.  

Thankfully the White Sox have won the World Series in my lifetime.  (They didn't in my father's lifetime.)  That 2005 season was magical in all respects.  I wrote a 17-page tribute to that season mostly from memory.   

But I've found myself this season to have a very hard time watching the White Sox.  This little run they've made once Tony LaRussa left for medical tests has been nice, but so much of the season was just painful.  Whenever I start to watch a game, I find myself falling into griping and moaning about the Sox' many failings.  Poor lineups, poor pitching, really bad hitting, swinging at bad pitches, defensive lapses, etc.  The negative seemed to usually outweigh the positives, even in Sox wins, which have often been tight affairs.  

My other team is in football.  It's not the Bears.  They were once very good, but have been through an exceedingly long championship dry spell.  Like the Sox, they had a poor offseason and it's coming home to roost.  

Which leads me to pen this post.  

Is it really worth being a team sports fan?  I'd have to say the only real positive I can think of is that it's been part of how I've bonded with my son.  But I wonder if that part could have happened if we didn't get so caught up in any particular team.  

Otherwise, I'm mostly in a place of negativity and stress about my teams, without a whole lot of joy.  

Should I just abandon the whole affair?   I used to have a basketball team I followed and rooted for, and I gave that up, and the NBA in general, a couple decades ago.  Should I do the same for baseball and the NFL?  

What is your fandom experience?  

[ThirdGen]

I think that as long as you, as a fan, have a basic understanding that the players, owners, front office etc don't really give a s%*# about you and all they are really, in the end, interested in is making money you can make the decision as to whether the entertainment is enjoyable enough to continue. I think the recent Nightengale article that suggested Cairo needed to tell the players to try harder is very telling.  Players didn't care they were letting the fans down on a daily basis.  They got their paychecks.

[JTB]

As I grow older the thrilling wins still thrill, but the losses roll off the back.  I’m not exactly sure when that happened.  The last loss that really stung was Wisconsin losing to Duke in the ‘15 title game, but even that has extenuating circumstances as Gardo and Bo have been friends for a long time.  Prior to that it was probably the Packers losing the SB to Denver.  I think part of it is that I’ve been a HS or college basketball coach for over 30 years.  I’ve got my own teams to suffer with.  
 

My thought would be to not give it up.  There aren’t many things in life that can give you the thrill of a last second victory by “your” team.  It’s life’s best reality TV without, generally speaking, life altering outcomes.  And if “your” team stinks, so what.  It’s just sports.  Your kids love you.  Your family loves you.  I just think you need to find things in life that can occasionally bring you great joy.

Sorry for the long post.  A lot of that was free form writing…just letting my thoughts roll.  Good luck to you. 

[hi8is]

No.

[Snopek]

You might find this interesting. I enjoyed it. Pretty quick read. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58845782-rethinking-fandom

[T R U]

It doesn't make sense, but there's nothing we can do about it. You love what you love.

My two loves in sports are the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Dolphins. Im 38 years old, and have seen 1 championship in my lifetime. Both teams have sparingly to non existent playoff seasons in my time as a fan. Its draining and frustrating, but still a fan and always will be even though 90% of my fandom is disappointment.

[Lip Man 1]

Having been born and raised on the South Side, I've been a fan for 62 seasons now and am a White Sox historian. My attitude is that I'll always be a fan because they are a part of my life for as far back as I can remember and I'm a loyal individual.

However that doesn't stop me from being objective when looking at ownership, the team on the field etc. 

By the same token I can criticize them, I feel I've earned that right, but an outsider damn well better not especially if they are a Cub fan! 

[The Mighty Mite]

The thing to remember it's entertainment, unfortunately in my 70 years of following the White Sox and about 64 years with the Blackhawks I haven't been able to look at it as entertainment but more as a part of my life and DNA. As a resident of Florida for almost 30 years now I'm starting to lose my love for the Blackhawks as I've really become a big fan of the Lightning. I also follow the Rays and watch all their games unless the Sox are on TV but the Sox are a different story, they still are in my heart and mind but what is weird is that the city of Chicago means nothing to me anymore. I was born about a mile from Comiskey but moved to Roger's Park spending my youth and teenage years there which I wouldn't trade for anything, it was like paradise in the 50s and 60s and the White Sox made it even better with all those winning seasons in the Go Go era.

Edited September 13, 2022 by The Mighty Mite

[wegner]

I grew up close enough to Comiskey that we would hear the fireworks when they hit a homer....I fondly remember my Dad calling out from the backyard "WHO HIT ONE?!"

It's in my blood and I don't think I could quit the White Sox if I wanted to....plus what would my wife and son do if they didn't have new Sox caps to give me for bday, father's day and xmas??

[Jack Parkman]

I think the newer generations have sports fandom right. Root for the name on the back of the jersey instead of the name on the front. The on-field talent is why we watch the games. 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Jack Parkman

[wegner]

8 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

I think the newer generations have sports fandom right. Root for the name on the back of the jersey instead of the name on the front. The on-field talent is why we watch the games. 

So when I was at the Sox game at Wrigley last season and the drunken 20 somethings across the aisle were cheering " Justin Fields" name were they doing it right?  To the delight of everyone in the section, they did leave to hit the bars in the 3rd inning.

[greg775]

3 hours ago, VAfan said:

Whenever I start to watch a game, I find myself falling into griping and moaning about the Sox' many failings.  Poor lineups, poor pitching, really bad hitting, swinging at bad pitches, defensive lapses, etc.  The negative seemed to usually outweigh the positives, even in Sox wins, which have often been tight affairs.  

Otherwise, I'm mostly in a place of negativity and stress about my teams, without a whole lot of joy.  

Should I just abandon the whole affair? 

What is your fandom experience?  

Good questions. Re. your first paragraph ... I think your problem there is with baseball more than the Sox. It's become a horrificly dull experience, Poor pitching you say? It's cause there are WAY too many pitchers being used all over the league in games. You throw five, six pitchers a night, it's guaranteed some will suck.

Hitting? I was reading the league BA average is in the .240s? That means almost everybody in baseball is a bad hitter. They almost all swing feebly at those sliders that come after players foul off the fastballs. It is horrendously dull experience watching 'most' players at bat.

Thing about negativity and stress, not much joy? Well, you know the answer there. Watch the games, enjoy em with the kids, and wait patiently for the year everything comes together and your team dominates and/or wins it all. I'm in Kansas now. I've told rabid bball fans to relax. Kansas will win it once every 20 years in basketball if it is fortunate. It's that hard to win it all. KU won it in 1988, 20 years later in 2008 and then "only" 14 years later in 2022. Those peeps who stress about every game need to look at the big picture I've laid out. Peace and love, Ringo Starr. 

p.s. of course in this day and age of tank/rebuild, u could get fortunate enough to be one of the teams with a 2-3 year window. you in that situation 'might' make the WS one year, lose, then win it the next before u have to rebuild again. Those are outliers tho.

Edited September 13, 2022 by greg775

[kitekrazy]

 I'm getting closer to divorcing myself from this organization.  The owner is very good at alienating a fan base.  It happens even in small things like Beckham in the announcing booth.    I will never ridicule Cub fans because this organization has become a complete joke.

 It depends on what happens after this season that I will finalize my divorce.  I don't live in the viewing area so I have to fork out $130 to watch baseball.   It's worth it to me anyway since I have basic cable. I'm in the West Coast viewing area just up the street from the Sox/Dodgers DT facility.  I've grown fond of watching the Dodgers.

 There's hopes of new ownership and that can be worse because owners rarely live in their boundaries.  If I were to leave the only way I would come back is if they are a solid organization like the Rays or Dodgers.  I couldn't deal with trading great players for prospects and be like the Royals where you might be great once a decade.  The problem with this organization is they litter it with former players.  Sox have more often been mired in mediocrity because of loyalty.  There is no outside influence.      

 This team has ruled the Chicago media but only because it's been nothing but a soap opera.

Edited September 13, 2022 by kitekrazy

[South Side Hit Men]

in terms of fandom in general, it is somewhat silly to root for laundry, but it’s not any less silly than other entertainment alternatives or hobbies. If you enjoy it, good for you.

In terms of my fandom, here is the ranking of most followed to least, and why I have (or will in terms of MLB) discard each:

MLB: White Sox and Montreal were my two favorite teams. Jerry and Bud killed both teams in 1994, Montreal literally. Heavily into Rotisserie (since 1985), followed day to day until I was 21 (1990), then Sox (2003-2006 and 2019-2020). Still went to several plus games the other seasons, just not vested in every game.

Boycotting since 2020 because of JR and TLR, done with the sport again in three weeks once my Rotisserie is over. I’m not watching any playoffs, haven’t watched or listened to any regular season games except a few after Tony was gone (did watch highlights and play clips, followed gameday and box scores). Will see what happens after Jerry dies, but following day to day is likely over, as I’m shifting to other life priorities than sports.

Also disgusted with the lockout and yet another playoff expansion, and bullshit changes coming next year. The season has become a mostly meaningless 162 exhibition schedule to eliminate a few teams. Sox/Cle, SD/Mil, and NL East seeding are the only “races” entering September, since playoff births are now handed out to nearly all teams with a pulse.

NHL: Been to hundreds of games, full season ticket holder in the 1980s-1990s. Excited during the SC run, now completely disgusted and don’t follow anything and won’t until Rocky Wirtz has completely sold or is dead. Rocky is far worse than Dollar Bill and Jerry combined. Also loved Montreal and Las Vegas until I gave up NHL completely post rape scandal.

Horse Racing & Boxing: My next favorite sports. Boxed a bit as a kid, worked at the local tracks and liked all versions (Thoroughbreds, Harness and Quarterhorse). Between the tracks closing here, and realizing the depressing cruelty of the sport on the horses, I don’t follow anymore. Boxing lost interest for me as well, Aldo never cared for the popular ultimate human cockfighting.

CFB/CBB: Big Alabama, Penn State and Northwestern football fan. Gave up the sport after the wrist slap was the only punishment for a half century of child rape at Penn State. Several other rape scandals have broken out across the Big “Ten” and elsewhere. Loved Georgetown and Indiana Basketball, but gave it up once John Thompson and Robert Montgomery Knight left.

NFL: Never a big fan since my family were Chicago Cardinals fans who left before I was born. Taught to hate the Bears, which worked out for me as they have sucked all but a couple of years. Rooted for the Steelers and Green Bay, went to games in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. Gave up NFL completely after Rae Carruth & Ray Lewis homicides, final game at Three Rivers in 2000 the last game I watched or attended, including Super Bowls.

NBA/Pro Wrestling: Followed until 8th grade once I discovered both were fixed.

[wegner]

39 minutes ago, kitekrazy said:

 I'm getting closer to divorcing myself from this organization.  The owner is very good at alienating a fan base.  It happens even in small things like Beckham in the announcing booth.    I will never ridicule Cub fans because this organization has become a complete joke.

 It depends on what happens after this season that I will finalize my divorce.  I don't live in the viewing area so I have to fork out $130 to watch baseball.   It's worth it to me anyway since I have basic cable. I'm in the West Coast viewing area just up the street from the Sox/Dodgers DT facility.  I've grown fond of watching the Dodgers.

 There's hopes of new ownership and that can be worse because owners rarely live in their boundaries.  If I were to leave the only way I would come back is if they are a solid organization like the Rays or Dodgers.  I couldn't deal with trading great players for prospects and be like the Royals where you might be great once a decade.  The problem with this organization is they litter it with former players.  Sox have more often been mired in mediocrity because of loyalty.  There is no outside influence.      

 This team has ruled the Chicago media but only because it's been nothing but a soap opera.

My wife occasionally watches some of the games with me and without any prompting, when she heard Beckham she said "I don't like this guy" ?

[kitekrazy]

Colts fan.  Owner failed to fire the GM which led to the Luck retirement.  An organization that was blessed having franchise and 2 HoF QBs are just like the rest of the league.

NHL - anyone ever by the season pass to watch online?   Spend a $130 and most games are blacked out.  Should be a class action lawsuit.

I find the NFL boring.

NBA - don't care.   I miss the days when athletes played the game and didn't spout their opinion on everything.  Most of the famous entertainers kept their mouth shut.

 

[greg775]

2 hours ago, wegner said:

My wife occasionally watches some of the games with me and without any prompting, when she heard Beckham she said "I don't like this guy" ?

I don't like his voice but I'm trying to give him a chance cause I like what he stands for, a former Sox player who clearly loves baseball. Anybody know his personality? Was he a willing autograph signer as a player? Nice guy or a jerk? I am glad hes in the booth.

[greg775]

3 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

There's hopes of new ownership and that can be worse because owners rarely live in their boundaries.  If I were to leave the only way I would come back is if they are a solid organization like the Rays or Dodgers.  I couldn't deal with trading great players for prospects and be like the Royals where you might be great once a decade. 

The Royals style disgusts me. Cause it involves tanking. I hate tanking with a passion. It goes against every fiber. I want to win every game If the Sox are 25 below .500 I still want to win the final seven games. I do not care one iota about draft position, especially with Sox scouts.

[wegner]

1 minute ago, greg775 said:

I don't like his voice but I'm trying to give him a chance cause I like what he stands for, a former Sox player who clearly loves baseball. Anybody know his personality? Was he a willing autograph signer as a player? Nice guy or a jerk? I am glad hes in the booth.

I like him better on pre and post games but I'll admit he has gotten better in the booth.  I, for one, thought he worked better with Len when I heard them.

[Lip Man 1]

1 hour ago, greg775 said:

I don't like his voice but I'm trying to give him a chance cause I like what he stands for, a former Sox player who clearly loves baseball. Anybody know his personality? Was he a willing autograph signer as a player? Nice guy or a jerk? I am glad hes in the booth.

Well I know he's married to former Sox infielder Scott Fletcher's daughter.

[Lip Man 1]

5 hours ago, kitekrazy said:

 I'm getting closer to divorcing myself from this organization.  The owner is very good at alienating a fan base.  It happens even in small things like Beckham in the announcing booth.    I will never ridicule Cub fans because this organization has become a complete joke.

 It depends on what happens after this season that I will finalize my divorce.  I don't live in the viewing area so I have to fork out $130 to watch baseball.   It's worth it to me anyway since I have basic cable. I'm in the West Coast viewing area just up the street from the Sox/Dodgers DT facility.  I've grown fond of watching the Dodgers.

 There's hopes of new ownership and that can be worse because owners rarely live in their boundaries.  If I were to leave the only way I would come back is if they are a solid organization like the Rays or Dodgers.  I couldn't deal with trading great players for prospects and be like the Royals where you might be great once a decade.  The problem with this organization is they litter it with former players.  Sox have more often been mired in mediocrity because of loyalty.  There is no outside influence.      

 This team has ruled the Chicago media but only because it's been nothing but a soap opera.

Kite: In many ways the Sox are like the Royals when it comes to success on the field, I mean think about it...since the start of the 2007 season, only five winning seasons, two playoff appearances and two first round exits.

The Royals at least got to a couple World Series and won one in that time. 

Given the advantages market-wise, population-wise, advertising-wise it's simply mind blowing the Sox haven't come close to dominating a division where by all accounts they should be in charge for years.

Cleveland did it in the 90's, Minnesota in the 00's, Detroit had their run shortly afterwards and the Royals around 14.

The Sox can't seem to get out of their own way.

[PitchatRisktoZisk]

5 minutes ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Kite: In many ways the Sox are like the Royals when it comes to success on the field, I mean think about it...since the start of the 2007 season, only five winning seasons, two playoff appearances and two first round exits.

The Royals at least got to a couple World Series and won one in that time. 

Given the advantages market-wise, population-wise, advertising-wise it's simply mind blowing the Sox haven't come close to dominating a division where by all accounts they should be in charge for years.

Cleveland did it in the 90's, Minnesota in the 00's, Detroit had their run shortly afterwards and the Royals around 14.

The Sox can't seem to get out of their own way.

Tough to overcome bad ownership. 

[The Mighty Mite]

5 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Kite: In many ways the Sox are like the Royals when it comes to success on the field, I mean think about it...since the start of the 2007 season, only five winning seasons, two playoff appearances and two first round exits.

The Royals at least got to a couple World Series and won one in that time. 

Given the advantages market-wise, population-wise, advertising-wise it's simply mind blowing the Sox haven't come close to dominating a division where by all accounts they should be in charge for years.

Cleveland did it in the 90's, Minnesota in the 00's, Detroit had their run shortly afterwards and the Royals around 14.

The Sox can't seem to get out of their own way.

As long as Reinsdorf owns the team, it will be more of the same, running a big market club like the Kansas City Royals.

Edited September 14, 2022 by The Mighty Mite

[brijames1957]

I wouldn't start questioning your fandom strictly because of this season. 

This has been an exceptionally frustrating year for White Sox fans because of the fact that everything was setting up for a very competitive team and legit WS contender until the day JR decided to hire TLR. And to make it even more incredibly frustrating we now know that JR not only hired a 78 year old with a drinking problem but a 78 year old with a pacemaker installed. You can't make this up.

And even not knowing about the pacemaker we all knew it was the absolute worst hire he could have made.. And it has played out exactly as we all knew it would. And to make it even worse, we are now seeing what might have been with different leadership in the dugout and it's too friggen late. And it was totally avoidable. The front office totally let it's fan base down with not making every move possible to take advantage of this window of opportunity to be a serious contender. 

 

[Superstar Lamar]

No, but then again, people spend hours catching a fish and then throwing it back in the water.