You're Not a Fan

The Red Sox have made a lot of pitching changes
(Photo: Frank Franklin II/AP)

Let's just get this out of the way: This is not a post to bash the Boston Red Sox or their fans.

OK, now let's carry on.

I just saw a tweet that boggled my mind.

Essentially it talked about how hard it must be to root for the Boston Red Sox right now.

As in, fans must be abandoning their beloved team.

Yeah, the Sox stink. You see, in sports, that happens sometimes.

I saw the Yankees be middling in the early 70s, become a small dynasty in the late 70s, and go through the mess that was the 80s before utterly falling apart in the early 90s.

The Yankees were, in short, a joke.

But I didn't run.

Ever.

While George Steinbrenner's decision-making (and he belongs in the Hall of Fame and you can all fight me) was ludicrous, I remained loyal, even as I heard how unsafe the south Bronx was.

Yet, I never had a problem at the corner of E 161st St and River Ave. I felt safe literally every time I was there, but that was George's MO for getting a new stadium.

At one point, a threat was thrown to erect a new stadium in the Meadowlands. That, friends, was the only line that I wouldn't cross.

Go to Jersey? Stop being the Bronx Bombers? That was the only moment I said I'd walk away.

Thankfully it never came to be.

I've always liked Red Sox fans (especially pre-2004, before the bandwagon) because they loved their Sawx. Oh, sure, we could ahgue (I meant to spell it that way) Munson/Fisk all day but we'd pawp open a 'Gansett and listen to Ned Mahtin call the Sawx on TV 38!

The point is, the Boston Red Sox fan was always loyal, and I'd be really disappointed to find out that bandwagon isn't quite as full.

But what it also comes back to is that maybe -- no, let's not give them an out, no "maybe" -- you aren't a fan.

"Fan," as in "fanatic." You live and die for that which you support.

You interest may wane a bit but they're always in your mind.

Well, a "fan" stays true. It's like a relationship. For the years of Cliff Stoudt and Mark Malone and David Woodley and Scott Campbell and Steve Bono and Bubby Brister and Neil O'Donnell and Mike Tomczak and Kordell Stewart and Kent Graham and Tommy Maddox, I never wavered from the Pittsburgh Steelers as they tried to find a quarterback to win like Terry Bradshaw did.

Enter Ben Roethlisberger. Finally, in 2004.

Hard to root for the Boston Red Sox?

Hard to be a fan?

No -- that's when the team needs their fan base most.

The fan that is "struggling" is the one coming up with excuses.

WAH! The three-batter minimum.
WAH! The runner on base in extra innings.
WAH! The seven-inning doubleheader.

And, yes, even...

WAH! The Nike swoosh. (And I still hate it)
WAH1 The awful Sunday Night Baseball broadcast (easily resolved with the mute button, and I saw an MLB Network broadcast that was so bad that they should just go announcerless).

But I'm still a fan.

However, as I've said numerous times, you are probably not a fan and, at the very least, should take the rest of 2020 off.

But, then I know you have to focus on trying to ruin college football and the NFL for those who still want to enjoy it.

Hard to be a fan?

You're NOT a fan.