’Pen Pal
SPRING TRAINING camps have closed and Major League Baseball has officially begun its season. The teams have set their rosters, beginning their run at baseball's utopia, the World Series. Fan’s last hope:
Everyone’s tied on
opening dayTeams in big money markets usually have an advantage because of the money they have to spend in obtaining talent.
Looking at the World Series and the League Championship Series, how many small market teams make it? When was the last time Pittsburgh, Kansas City or Milwaukee was fortunate enough to get to the dance?
They don't even make it to the door! But each year, they begin with hopes of getting there.
I guess that's the way it's supposed to be. Why would any ballplayer begin a season thinking they're not going to have a chance to go all the way? It's one of the tenets of sport. To participate at any level, you must have confidence that you can do the job.
That's if you're a ball player. What about the fans? Do they have high hopes for the season or is the inevitable truly inevitable?
THE WORD "FAN" is derived from the word "fanatic," and to be a fanatic means to be a zealot beyond reason.
So to be a real fan means that you are supposed to have similar hopes that your team heroes do. You have to believe that your team is going to go all the way.
If you're a Boston Red Sox fan, however, how can you think that? There seems to be an aura in Boston, and I've experienced it, that it'll only be a matter of time before the team falters, so hopes usually die early.
Especially since Nomar Garciaparra is hurt and huge bucks were spent for Manny Ramirez, a player to whom the word defense is in a foreign language. But no matter. For all fans, you MUST believe, and it's imperative that you continue to do so.
Yes, I know you're sick of the rising costs of attending a ball game -- when you have an opportunity to attend one -- and you shake your head at the exorbitant sums spent to secure player services. (This will be a subject of a future article). But you must stand fast. You must stick with your guys.
HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED the caps, jerseys and T-shirts for the winning team that people wear after the World Series, NBA Championship or the Super Bowl?
How many of these did you see before the event?
So when you see these items, do you think as I do? Are you a real fan or a fair-weather, front-runner? If you're proud of your team and it came in near the bottom of the standings, you're a person I respect, because you've stuck with your team!
In Hawaii, we love winners, and on occasion, we don't support, attendance-wise, a team that isn't winning.
I don't agree with that. You should attend a sporting event because you enjoy the game, you appreciate competition, and you want to support your team.
Appreciate the hours of dedication it takes to participate in sport, and appreciate the fighting spirit of its participants.
Regardless of the sport or the win-loss record of the team you choose to follow, be committed to it. Stick with 'em!
Pal Eldredge is a baseball commentator for KFVE
and former varsity baseball coach at Punahou School.
His column runs Mondays during the Major League Baseball season.
Star-Bulletin sports can be reached at 529-4785 or: sports@starbulletin.com