Here is the email that I just sent him. It's 6 in the morning, so I probably should have proofread this later before sending, but oh well....
SG:
I read your article on Friday about the Pats and felt compelled to respond. You are missing a couple of big points that can explain the hatred toward Boston right now.
First, I think you miss a big point. American society - in general - is NOT a zero-sum game. The fact that you personally are succeeding and doing well in you career as a sportwriter has no bearing on my career as an engineer. We both can become affluent and retire well, generating money and cash for America. We are not "competing" for one spot on the success curve.
This is certainly not true in sports. There's only one championship given in each sport each year, so all but one teams' season will be a failure. Even though I live in Cincinnati, I am a Cleveland fan... every championship that is won by another city (St Louis, Pats, Miami) is another title that passes me by and another year of failure. That's just the truth.
So you have to expect hatred from other cities if your team is successful - you are stealing "spots" at the title table from them. If I live to be 80, that means there are only 240 chances for my teams (Indians, Browns, and Cavs) to win a title. Right now, I am 0-for-112. So you have to expect some bitter jealousy from others, especially if your team has won 2 or 3 titles in a short time.
This is why I can't understand your comment about you not understanding how America can turn against the Patriots. You wrote... "At no point from 1960 to 2001 did any Patriots fan EVER think to himself, "Some day, this will all be worth it ... become known as 'the team that just keeps winning,' break the hearts of fans across the league and, eventually, we'll turn into first-class villains ..."
Why not? That's why I - and most other sports fans - dream about! To become that dynasty that keeps winning and pisses people off from Kansas City to Tampa, from Seattle to Atlanta. I have come close - close! - to that twice with my teams - with the Browns in the late 80s and the Tribe in the late 90s.
You remember Sam Wyche's comment in Dec 1989? "You don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!!"? That was made during the 3 division titles in 4 years that the Browns had. People - especially in the AFC North - did not like us. And we wore that quote as a badge of honor.Likewise, in the late 90s, people hated Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, and the Tribe. And I enjoyed every minute of that hatred - it made the cold cold Aprils in Municipal Stadium kind of worth it.
Let's be clear - nothing so far is personally directed toward Boston in general.
And you are correct that America should appreciate the team and how it was done. People do respect the Pats and part of me does love the overachieving group of players that keeps winning over flashier showboats (Chargers) or the overhyped stars (Peyton and the Colts).
The team we are ok with. The fan base? Hmmm... not so much. Bill, I really think you underestimate the damage that was caused by the Oprah-fest that occurred after the 2004 Red Sox.
For 6 months, the media and Boston fans tried to convince America that 1) these fans were the longest suffering in all of sports, and 2) they DESERVED IT.
Well, if one of those fans were somehow a fan of:
- the Red Sox;
- the Buffalo Bills;
- the Rochester/Kansas City/Sacramento Kings ; and
- the St. Louis Blues;
then I can understand how that fan can be deserving of one title and then would be able to die in peace.
But the common Red Sox fan had seen the Celtics' titles in the 80s and had just seen 2 Super Bowl wins for the Pats.
So the common argument that these fans were "long-suffering" and "starving for a title" just is lost on me. And the constant cries of "we did it!" and "We deserve this!" made me sick.
If you deserve that for your Red Sox after seeing 5 titles for your city's sports teams in your life, what is waiting for me in the future? What is waiting for the citizens of Seattle? San Diego? Arizona? Buffalo? Philadelphia?
The promotion of the "woe is us, be happy for us now that we won!" is both sickening (because it was overblown) and misleading (becuase Boston had multiple titles over the past 20 years).
And that's why America hates the Boston Sports fan.
We respect the team and the coach.... although let's remind ourselves that in the 5 years he coached my team, he won exactly ONE playoff game.... but we can't stand the fan base.
Accept the fact that your teams are successful and now hated (ask yourself - why DID you hate the Steelers and Canadiens in the 70s? ) and drop the "our fan base is the best in sports and deserves this" attitude, and then maybe - maybe - we'll drop the hatred.
Right now, Boston fans are the 10 year old boy at the end of the lunch table that keeps asking: "but WHY don't you like me? I can get new clothes! I can ask my mom to cut my hair differently! Guys, I just want you to LIKE me!"
And that makes him - and you - even more annoying.
7 comments:
Bravo!!!
weel statted.
Speaking of the annoying ten year old at the table - here is what I hear when I read this diatribe:
Blah blah blah, Cleveland, blah, blah, blah, Cleveland Cleveland Cleveland blah blah. Don't forget about Cleveland, nobody talks about Cleveland blah blah blah.
We have had this discussion forever (The Sox win vs Pats and Celtics title and what the Sox win meant). My argument is always the same. When the Cleveland Cavs and LeBron win the NBA title in the 2008-2009 season, I suppose the following winter if the Browns lose in the playoffs we won't hear any bellyaching from you!?!? Because, hey - the Cavs just won it all, you had your parade, what is there to complain about??? The Cavs got a win, the Super Bowl should really mean THAT much right?
See how silly that sounds?
Jay:
You mean the Browns are only 3 years away from the playoffs? Wow! Not too bad. Will Romeo still be coaching? Or does Cowher take over next year?
What do you mean by bellyaching? Sure, I will complain and probably be just as bad as Sports Guy is today about the game...
but all I want is one championship.
Look at the numbers. If it was pure randomness - every team has an equal shot at the title - then a team has a 1/30 shot (let's call it that to make it nice and round) to win a title.
So going 30 years of one team not winning is (29/30)^30 = 36%. Pretty damn likely.
Now - what are the chances that the Red Sox don't win in 80 years? Well, conservaitely, it's (29/30) ^ 80, or 6.6%. Obviously it's small, but geesh - that's just 1 in 15 odds.
Now face the fact that 3 of your teams haven't won anything in 35 years - that's (29/30) ^ 115, or 2%, or three times as unlikely as the Sox going 80 years without a title.
The numbers don't lie, Jay. I realize that I may not be lucky enough to see the Browns win the Super Bowl - it's like sitting at the roulette wheel betting on #19 - and now we have 35 spins were the number has not come up on #19. It pisses me off, but nothing to think something abnormal is going on here
(except for the three spins where the table was mysteriously moved across the room without my permission, and then a new table was isntalled with one of those roulette tables with a board over the #19 like in that Bugs Bunny cartoon... oh never mind...)
But now I've been there for 115 spins. Pardon me if I roll my eyes when I keep hearing that you won on your 91st spin.
Your final statement does not sound silly at all. Can't I enjoy one - ONE - championship in my life? One? That's all. I want to riot, buy all the SI memorabilia, T-shirts galore, etc.
And if it the title team is the Cavs at this point, then I'm smart enough to know that that may be the only chance I get, and will enjoy it.
Do I want it to the Browns? Of course. Will I complain of a jinx if the Cavs win but not the Browns? Now that in itself sounds illy as well. Of course not.
Whoops! For anyone following the math, I've been there for 105 spins, not 115, and that means the % is 2.8%, not 2% - still twice as unlikely as a 80-year Red Sox drought.
Wow. I was fact-checking your manifesto and had no idea the Indians were 0-fer in the 1990s.
While checking on Wikipedia, I saw some sick SOB updated the Indians 40 man roster yesterday. I hope he/she is on some sort of watch list.
wow, this one got sidetracked. Wasn't the point to this post about why Football fans aren't rooting for the Pats and how annoying Boston fans are trying to convince everyone to get behind the Pats and Sox?
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