bandwagoners

man, i used to love to write about baseball. i don't know what happened. i still watch it constantly but i just haven't had much to say about it recently.

my team, the yankees, were eliminated from the playoffs last night by the texas rangers. i don't normally dislike the rangers but i started to get really sick of seeing some of their stupid faces on my tv. i'll get over that though. what i'm really here to complain about are all the bandwagon fans that are popping up on my facebook newsfeed. people who don't even like baseball are suddenly huge rangers fans? give me a break, people. i've been accused of being a bandwagon fan before because i like the yankees. the yankees taught me to love baseball. watching and loving the yankees is a bond that my father and i share that i wouldn't trade for anything. i like them when they're good and i like them when they're bad. i even like them when they pitch aj burnett (even though i hate that guy).

last friday in game 1 of the alcs in arlington the yankees came from behind in the 8th inning to climb out of a 4 run deficit and win the game. the majority of the people in the stadium looked truly stunned and heartbroken. the looks on their faces proved to me that they're not true baseball fans. people who watch baseball constantly from april until october know that anything can happen at any time in a game. one team can blow the game wide open in the first inning and be up by 7 runs only to have the other team catch up and go ahead 5 innings later. it's totally unpredictable and that's one of the reasons i love it. also, it was only game 1! a best of 7 series is just as unpredictable as a single game. to be that devastated by a loss in game one shows me that these are people whose only knowledge of the rangers is that a man by the name of nolan ryan once took the mound for them. when the playoffs are over they'll all go back to watching football or basketball or whatever it is that they really do in their free time. they won't feel the ache in their hearts that real baseball fans feel when the season is officially over. they won't count down the days until pitchers and catchers report in february. they won't keep an eye on off season transactions to see which teams are acquiring which players. their 15 minutes of baseball fandom will be but a distant memory by the time spring training starts.

i have a couple of friends who are genuine rangers fans and i could not be happier for them. i really mean that. i can't imagine the excitement they must be feeling, seeing their team make it all the way to the world series for the very first time in franchise history. it's huge! those people deserve this as much as the rangers deserve it because they've experienced the highs and the lows right along with the team. if the rangers do win the world series i will be happy for my friends because i know how it feels to see your favorite team celebrating that they truly are the best team in baseball. there's no other feeling in the world quite like it.