For as long as I can remember, I was a fan of bad sports teams. Whether it be the Houston Astros, or the Houston Texans, or the houst...you get the point. But this isn't about looking for sympathy, no it is to help those who have suffered as I've suffered, and let you know you are not alone. It is going to be alright. Here are the pros and cons of rooting for a bad sports team.
Pro: Seats are not hard to come by.
When your team is widely popular, and usually wining, good seats are hard to come by. You normally have sit up in the nose bleeds, or have obstructed views, and don't even get me started on the prices. But when your team sucks, the organization is just happy you are there. They really don't care where you sit, as long as you move when the real owners of the seats show up. Cheating the team out of the money they are asking for, just to be closer to the field, is what a true fan would do.
Con: Buying a jersey is a crap shoot.
Buying a jersey when you don't know if the player will be there in five years is a nerve-wrecking experience. When your team is purposely sucking to acquire draft picks, or "tanking," most of the established stars get traded for prospects. You are then out of $70 because this guy from San Fransisco's minor league is hitting .310 with a .870 Ops and then your favorite player is shipped off. You now have that jersey in your closet to mock you. UGH. Sorry, it just brings up bad memories.
Con: "Playoff" is a foreign word to you.
I have only experienced the playoffs with my favorite football and baseball team a few times in my life. Does that make me sad? Yes, does that make me angry? More than you can imagine! But, the difference is that it hasn't happened in such a long time that I have become numb to it so its whatever...
Pro: But when you do make the playoffs its a HUGE deal.
When the Texans made the playoffs for the first time EVER back in 2011. it was like we won the Super Bowl, we didn't obviously, we lost twos week later, but it was a great two weeks while it lasted. Yeah, we only went one time since then, but nothing will ever feel as great as that first time tasting playoff football.
Con: Getting dominated by your rival team.
If you are a true sports fan there is one team or several that you just hate with every fiber in your body. For me, it is the Dallas Cowboys, or the Texas Rangers, or the Dallas Mavericks, notice a pattern. The reason I hate these teams is that they are better than my teams, and their fans always let you know it, every single chance they can. I get it, the Cowboys have a bunch of Super Bowl titles, and the Rangers exist, but there is just something about these teams that will make my blood boil until...
Pro: You beat your rival!
BOOM your team is the best in the world when you beat your rival. The days leading up, your friends remind you how their team is better than yours, how historically they dominate you, how you'll draft in the top five and how stupid you must be to root for them...all valid points. But then it happens, you beat them and shock the world. It does not matter if you lose every game for the rest of the season, it was worth it to shove it in their faces for one glorious night.
Pro/Con: You are full of unwarranted optimism.
Every year is a fresh start for you and your team. You have a long off-season of throwing darts at a picture of your team's general manager, while also telling all your friends that the guy has figured it out.
Seriously, you go into the start of every season with this unwarranted optimism hoping that the guys in charge of your team have finally found that QB that we have been missing, that Ace to solidify the pitching rotation, that super-star basketball player who is about to blow up.
Sports are one of those things that change everywhere you go. Everyone you talk to has different experiences and different highs and lows, but the deciding factor that brings us all together is the passion that the fans have for the teams they love. So long story short when your team sucks, and you know there is nothing you can do about it, just accept it and remember, you could be a Auburn fan...
