Today won't be so much sports specific as in football or hockey, but sport specific in general and an issue that continually burns my ass but today just sort of hit an all time high, or low if you will.
Sports are a wonderful thing. To the fan of the game, regardless of the league or team, sport brings so much to a person's life. Life is life and things have to be done and things have to go a certain way in order to maintain your desired standard of living and so on. Sports aren't like that; they provide us with the opportunity to relax, spend time with friends, give us a common topic of discussion around the water jug, etc.
From a young age, a sports fan will gravitate to a team and as the years go on they become YOUR team. They are loyal and optimistic regardless of the circumstances. Whether you are 10 - 0 or 0 - 10, you can't wait for the next game. Whether it is a chance to continue a hot streak or curb the tide of complacency, each game bring a new set of circumstances but more importantly a tie game and a new opportunity.
With Rider season right around the corner, it sickens me to read all of these blogs in which people post comments lamenting how badly their team is going to be, and belittle those with optimism and hope for the season to come. Today alone, I responded to a blog post from an individual, he posted as an anonymous of course, who thinks the Riders suck and have no chance to host a play - off game. You would think in a football crazy province like this, some would agree with me when I was optimistic about our chances this year. Nope, nothing but negativity and 'piling on' if you will. You know the Riders have hosted two play - off games in twenty five years so why would we expect change? We may not expect it, but we certainly hope for things to go well. That is why you play an 18 game schedule...to see who is and is not worthy of moving on. According to some of these fickle fans, we may as well just fold up the tent, play out the string only to relocate in the off - season.
Regardless of the moves made by Brendan Taman, Jeremy O'Day and the Rider's front office, that has nothing to do with the point I am trying to make. If you want to be seen as a true fan remain loyal, and be optimistic rather than pessimistic. Or if that is too much, keep your negativity to yourself. Sure the Riders struggled last year, that was our reality. That never once stopped me from going to every home game with the firm belief that the team WAS going to win. Not hope that they would win, but be almost certain today would be their day.
Granted there are times I have taken to this blog to lament a poor showing and suggest ways the team could improve moving forward. That is what a true fan does, they look to the positives and think of ways next week could be better. Even when I was suggesting changes need to be made at certain positions, I never once stopped being a fan of the team. And even those players I may have pointed the finger at as not playing to the level required, you can be damn sure I hoped for their sake, and the sake of the team that next week would be better.
Did the Riders win the Grey Cup last year? No. Did they look strong all season long? No. Did I continue to cheer for them all year? Yes. Do I enter this season with high expectations and optimism? You bet. This is what a true fan does, he cheers and supports and remains optimistic. If you can't do these things for your 'team' cheer for someone else and shut your mouth as nobody who is a sports fan for the right reasons want to listen to you.
Sorry about the rant. Go Riders.
No comments:
Post a Comment