So, I took some of the "fair weather" Pittsburgh Pirates fans to task for their cynicism toward their Opening Day win. I was told, "It's called being a realist". When has being a sports fan EVER been about reality?
I was 2-years old in 1960 when Maz hit his walk-off Game 7 home run to beat the vaunted NY Yankees. My Dad assured me I was right there, on his lap listening to the game.
I was in 8th grade in 1971 when the Pirates beat the Orioles. The nuns let us listen to the games in school.
I was delivering refrigerators in the pouring rain in 1979 when they once again came back to defeat the Orioles for their 3rd World Series title in my lifetime.
I'm not sure about 1960, but I guarantee you there were both screams and tears at the beginning and end of the decade of the 70s. But there were tears of a different nature in 1992 when my Buccos were one out from again reaching the Fall Classic. Francisco Cabrera will forever be a name that will live in infamy in Pittsburgh. And anyone who claims to be a fan of the Atlanta Braves will be denied food and water for a circumference of 100 miles from the city.
After that crushing 1992 playoff loss, the Pirates went 20 consecutive seasons without a winning record. They were still my team, though. And "Just wait til next year" became a common mantra in the Steel City.
None of those reactions, happy or sad or the frustration of 20 losing seasons had anything to do with "reality". I grew up 86 miles from Pittsburgh and moved there in 1983. The World Series, the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup have all come to my city more than once during my lifetime. My Pirates, Steelers and Penguins have also put down right awful teams into the arena during my now 63 years. I didn't love them any more when they won, nor any less through their adversity. Hope springs eternal at the beginning of every season. It always will. I was ecstatic when our late mayor Richard Caligiuri kept the Pirates in Pittsburgh by securing funding for a new ballpark. I was equally joyous when Mario Lemieux saved the Penguins and kept them where they belong. I will be, just like my Dad, a Pittsburgh sports fan until I die.
Being a fan isn't easy. Just ask the Cleveland Browns faithful. Ask Red Sox fans who waited 86 years for another World Series title after winning 5 of the first 14. You hope, you wish, maybe you even whisper a small prayer. You'll be the favorite and lose. You'll be the overwhelming underdog and pull victory from somewhere in your nether regions. Through it all, true fans never give up on the teams they love. It makes no sense, don't even try. It has nothing to do with reality. It's all about emotion. The joy, heartbreak, frustration and anger that all fans FEEL can't be avoided. Being a fan isn't easy. But it sure is a lot of fun!