Is it better to be a Miserable Sports Fan?
The Oxford definition of Stockholm Syndrome is “feelings of trust or affection felt in many cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by a victim toward a captor.” In my 18 years of life, for the entire time I have been a Jets, Rangers, Mets, and USC Trojans fan. I have never been alive for a winning championship, USC won their last national chip in 2004, a year before I was born. I have been alive and present for multiple losing championships however. I was in my mothers womb at the oh how so famous 2005 Rose Bowl Chip, where Vince Young gave the biggest f-you Southern California has ever seen.
I would say the first chip that I could remember though would be the 2014 Stanley Cup between the Rags and the Kings. Another unforgettable tragic Greek Epic esque ending with Alec Martinez banging that rebound behind Lundqvist with Doc Emrick’s voice orgasming an oprea of joy. In the history of hockey there has never been a more open and fatter rebound.
Of course, the next year the Mets welcomed me to the world and broke my childhood blissful ignorance. The 2015 Mets was the first team I felt as a team of destiny. A masterful five game series over the Dodgers with the Chase Utley attempted murder on Ruben Tejada (Met Legend), a clean sweep over the Cubs for the pennant, and Danny Murphy’s random shot of greatness there was every reason to believe that the Mets were going to win the World Series. Then, the World Series started, and the first better was up, and it was Alciedes Escobar, and he hits an inside the park home run on the leadoff bat of the MLB PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP.
Oh why did that happen you ask, an answer simple and old as time: Because it’s the Mets. If there are any French Film connoisseurs who happen to be reading the blog of my merchandise website they might know the story of the Rabbi in La Haine. The story is of a rabbi who falls off the top of a 50 story building and at each floor he passes he says “I’m Fine,” but the story is not about the fall, it’s about the landing. I think the French would do a poetic job of how any hope and dreams I held as child fell watching that World Series.
Before I get into the Thesis of my blog, i’ll add a few more memorable moments of my sports fandom
Mark Sanchez, a USC QB, leading the Jets to a AFC Chip game and having the lead at half before not scoring a single point in the second half and losing
The Rangers in 2022 having crazy 7 game comeback series against the Penguins and Hurricanes, taking a 2-0 lead in Game 3 on the road, while up 2-0 in the series against the Lightning, only to lose the series 4-2
The 2022 Mets having a 10 game lead in July and seeming like they could have a deep playoff run, only to lose the division to the Braves and then die in the Wild Card to the padres in the fashion of a cat hit by a dumpster truck
The Clay Helton years of USC watching; watching USC lose 52-3 to Alabama, finally getting Lincoln Riley and Caleb WIlliams, a heisman winner, only to have the defense with the equivalent strength of the Italian Navy lose to Utah twice, then Tulane.
I could continuously dwell on the past of my favorite sports teams, however by the time this blog would be over I would have written myself mad. So here is why being a miserable sports fan is better than being a winning sports fan. All of those moments were heartbreak for me, but I have been beaten so badly into submission by my fandom that to me the wins are not the championships anymore. It’s the little moments that give the happiness that another super bowl would give to a Patriots fan. Watching the Rangers trade for Patrick Kane today, was a feeling of such utter amazement. By how I was acting, you would have thought the Rangers made the Stanley Cup. With USC, even though this season had its soul crushing moments with the Cotton Bowl and Pac-12 chip; a 10-3 season with nothing to show for it, except an individual Heisman gave me more joy than an Alabama fan would get from making the championship. Yes, the Mets lose whenever they make it big, yes the Mets lose whenever they make a great trade or signing, but those moments where Stevie Cohen shows just a second of competency which is utterly astonishing from the human brain in comparison to Wilpons I am the happiest man in the world.
Ask yourself, who was the most annoying kids when you were a kid. Was it the kid who got picked on or had a rough life. Or was it the spoiled brat when he cried in his Mom’s face that he got an Xbox with the Madden from last year, instead of the one for this year. It’s the spoiled brat who cries. I’d much rather except absolutely nothing from my teams and be amazed when half of something impressive is delievered than to rot in a state of purgatory like Patriot fans who except a superbowl, but are now left with prideful DUI owner Mac Jones and all his 8-9 glory. By the way the biggest plus of the NFL having a 16 game season was that teams could finish 8-8, the ultimate symbolism of midness.
To my Met, Rangers, USC, and Jets fans of the world, to every sports fan of a truly heartbreaking team. To every fan of a tragic story that William Shakspeare could even not write, I hope you see it the same. I leave you with this passage.
“[...]the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”- Jack Kerouac
