Some Lack the "Fan" Gene

Hooray for Red Sox fans. 

Your team won the 2013 World Series.  I enjoyed watching the last few weeks of baseball.  I must admit: I am a fair-weather fan.  I don't buy tickets to any professional sport.  (As I have said before, I don't pay to watch other people work).  And I did not watch a single regular season game for more than half-an-hour. Most of the year, baseball games are tedious, but when there is a title on the line, any sport can be worth watching.    ( The chief exception to this rule is golf, which to me is the most boring "sport" to watch (or play) ever devised by man.  And that includes synchronized swimming.)

I did not wake up today happier than usual.  I did appreciate the entertaining spectacle of the Post-season games, but it has no more to do with me than if I went to a good movie or stage performance. I don't identify with a group of total strangers who get paid to play a game.  How can I identify with them?  Some of them were the enemy last season, fer the love of Pete.  Only a handful of players have been Red Sox employees for more than a few years.  My team?  Hardly.  

Don't get me wrong, I don't disparage people who are die-hard fans.  I just don't have the same patience and self-esteem needs.  I know people who willingly spend more than the price of a case of good scotch for seats at a baseball or football game - outdoor events which maybe played in the rain and freezing cold with no guaranty that your favorite team will be entertaining or even good. Where the beer is expensive, the seats are small, maybe the guy next to you hasn't bathed or brushed his teeth in weeks, and when you leave it takes another hour to clear the congestion around the stadium.   

I guess I lack the "Fan" gene that invites you to bestow magical blessings on sports workers for no better reason than the fact that you like the uniform they are wearing.  Some people need to cheer for something, and lord knows, the political leadership in this country has given us precious little to cheer about.

But don't let my grumpiness spoil your day, you loyal, needy fans. 
Go online and buy more Sox memorabilia that you can wear proudly to show your loyalty. (It helps the economy and cushions the coffers of local merchants, because you never know when the players will go on strike, again.)  

Enjoy the Day, the thrill of Victory and the strutting arrogance of your joy -- keep acting as if YOU had done something special.