10-25-07: The World Series

The Sox got off on a good note last night with a win. I don’t normally dwell on big wins, since they count the same. They could’ve won 1-0, it still counts the same. That being said, it was still a great start by Beckett, and hopefully they can keep it going tonight against a rookie pitcher from the Rockies.

The only bad thing about your favorite team making the World Series are the bandwagon fans who decided to join in on the fun. A lot of hardcore fans, of any team in any sport, hate bandwagon fans. It’s usually a combination of jealousy and frustration. Hardcore fans are jealous of bandwagon fans because they didn’t have the same feelings of dread when their team lost. It can get pretty serious with a lot of people, and I’m no better than most. It was harder for me growing up because I moved to a town that consisted of mostly New York area fans, when the Yankees were great. It wasn’t fun, so when I see bandwagon fans, it just reminds me of the jerks I had to deal with in high school.

The way I see it, though, bandwagon fans don’t have the same feeling of satisfaction. All the suffering does help make things that much better, and that’s something that can’t be fabricated. When you follow a team when they’re terrible, and they get good, even for one year, it’s glorious. You feel like you got them there, even if you had absolutely nothing to do with it. There’s a real satisfaction, and it only comes after some pain.

What’s scary, though, is that some hardcore fans, the really hardcore fans, dislike bandwagon fans of their team more than ANY fan of their rival team. I can see why that is so, but I don’t quite feel that way. I don’t really care who supports my team. That’s out of my control, and doesn’t really affect me. I think Red Sox Nation is bullshit, since it only came around when the team was good. I think it’s wonderful that a lot of fans around the country support the same team I do, but it’s not the same. When the Sox mailed it in at the end of last season, people were selling their tickets on eBay for $5. Five dollars. That’s a bandwagon fan, or at the very least it’s not a big fan. But, being the fan that I am, I was more than willing to pay the $5 for the ticket. I just like baseball.

It’s looking to be a good series. Should be interesting.