Being a fan sucks. Really, it does. For some reason, we decide to live and die with a team (or teams, for the clinically insane) whose wins and losses do nothing to directly impact our lives, yet can greatly affect our moods at any given time. It’s certifiable. But we do it. And when something bad happens to the team we love, we throw things. We yell at the television. We drink away our sorrows. All for a game. And for some reason, we absolutely love it and wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I’m an Angels and a Rams fan (we’ll get to basketball later). For the Angels, they haven’t won a World Series since 2002 and have been the most disappointing team in baseball for the last two seasons. Watching them last year physically made me sick to my stomach. And that’s all I’m going to say about the Angels here, because I currently feel like I want to throw up, that team has absolutely no hope, and nobody cares about baseball anyway. See how stupid being a fan is?
The Rams are another story. True, they haven’t won a Superbowl since 1999, and haven’t been to the playoffs in what feels like 873252 years (it’s really been 8 years), but at least that team has hope. That glimmer of hope is an amazing feeling. In about 5 months the NFL draft will take place, and I’ll sit happily in front of my TV for 3 days dreaming about all the the different scenarios that will play out in order to make the Rams 13-3 and Superbowl champions the next year. (Will that happen? Not in my life. But hope is amazing. SEE HOW CRAZY THIS MAKES ME SOUND?)
And here’s where I get to basketball. Being a Rams fan, I can actually empathize with Laker fans this year, because I know exactly what you’re going through. The Rams were once nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Turf,” which is essentially the football equivalent of the Showtime Lakers. All offense, all excitement, all the time. And yet now, both franchises have only one thing to grasp on to: that slight glimmer of hope. So even though I’m currently loving the Laker struggles as the certified Laker hater that I am, I can at least understand what their fans are going through.
The unfortunate thing for both of us is that hope is fickle. The Rams may have the #2 overall pick in the draft next year, but they also play in a division with the Seahawks (13-3 this year, currently in the playoffs), the 49ers (12-4 this year, currently in the playoffs), and the Cardinals (10-6 this year, somehow missed the playoffs which I’m sure drove any Cardinals fan FUCKING CRAZY). What that means is that next year, I’ll wake up on opening day, dream of the playoffs, and subsequently watch my Rams get the shit bit out of them on their way to a 6-10 record. I’ll drink a bunch to numb the pain, scream into my pillow a few times, and then wake up the next year ready to do it all again. And maybe, just maybe, one of these times they’ll reward my loyalty.
And the Lakers? They play in a division with the Warriors (currently 24-13, young as fuck), Clippers (currently 24-13, stole the L.A. crown last year), Suns (currently 20-13, also young as fuck), and the Kings (currently 11-22, hey, at least you guys get a punching bag). Even if Kobe comes back next year, even if the Lakers get a lottery pick, even if they make a splashy free agency signing, the odds of them returning to greatness quickly are not high. Yet all of the Laker fans will wake up on draft day smiling, hoping for the next big name to come to LA. And all of the Laker fans will wake up on opening day next year, ready for the next Laker championship. And all of the Laker fans will be disappointed, but they’ll do it again the next year.
Why do we do this to ourselves? I honestly don’t know the answer to that question. But I keep waking up every day, and I keep cheering. I keep hoping. I keep yelling and screaming, dreaming of a championship that I literally would have nothing to do with. And millions of fans around the world do the exact same thing.
Are we crazy? I like to think so. And for some inexplicable reason, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Image from www.rnw.nl
