Die-hard fans – Where are you now?
After four games of the best-of-seven World Series, the New York Yankees have a three-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies, looking to repeat after beating the Tampa Bay Rays in last year’s World Series, must win the final three games remaining in the series. (One game tonight in Philly and the last two in the Bronx.) Now, personally, I am a fan of the Minnesota Twins, however, my second favorite team is the one that plays the Yankees that day. So yeah, it’s safe to say I hate the New York Yankees. “Hate” might not be the right word. I think “despising” might sum up my true feelings for that “one year rental team”. Please don’t get me wrong, I am a true baseball fanatic. I respect what the New York Yankees organization has accomplished by winning 26 World Series titles. It’s easy for a team, like the Yankees, to be successful when they spend 3 times more than the rest of the Major League teams. There is only one thing I hate more than the New York Yankees as a team, and that is the millions of fans that have jumped on the bandwagon over the years. In fact, not just Yankees “band car” fans, but fans of the “band car” in general. “Bandwagon” fans, “wagon jumpers” as they are more commonly known, are people who claim to be true fans of a sports team, but only when they are winning.
I now currently live in the Tampa Bay area, and witnessed thousands of these gutless people last year when the Tampa Bay Rays pulled off one of the biggest turnarounds in professional sports history. The Rays literally went from worst to first in a season and went to the World Series. Unfortunately, ever since the Rays expanded into the major leagues, they were a franchise that had a losing record every year leading up to their championship run. They’d be lucky if 15,000 fans showed up to watch them play every day. Most Major League teams have double the attendance at every home game, regardless of who they play. All that seemed to change midway through the 2008 season when they won the American League pennant and went to the World Series. All of these people who had laughed at the Rays and used their home team as the punch line for their office pranks suddenly became “Die-Hard” fans of the Tampa Bay Rays. These people were quick to say, “I’ve been a fan of Ray since they came to Tampa Bay.” These people know who you are and you make me sick. (In fact, I feel a bit dizzy at the moment.) Unfortunately, this season, the Rays didn’t make the playoffs, but they did finish with a .500-plus record. However, attendance at the Tropicana field this year was much the same as previous years.
Where are the “Die-Hard” Rays fans now? Probably buying a New York Yankees cap right now, and claiming to have been a lifelong Yankees fan of his. (Excuse me for a second, I’m starting to feel bad again).
With the new PED (Performance Enhancing Drug) policies in Major League Baseball, the League can ban a player who tests positive for the rest of his life. I think these “band car” fans should apply a similar rule. I think they should be banned from baseball for life. If you were wearing a Tampa Bay Rays jersey last year right now, and now you’re wearing a fresh new New York Yankees jersey now and a Yankees hat that probably still has the price tag on it… banned for life! Not only do you make me sick, but I almost feel sorry for you. You were probably the kid coming home from school and begging your parents or the new pair of jeans that “the cool kids” were wearing at the time.
All I ask is that you support your team through the good and bad years, like true fans do. It’s not too much to ask. Just remember, it could always be worse… you could be a Kansas City Royal fan. (No disrespect to “real” Royals fans.)