Why do you follow the team, win or lose. Hope or nope.

[doclinkin]

THIS exchange between cock-eyed optimists smoking that HOPEium, and grim jawed realists squinting at the cold hard facts.

He really has been superb! He's been the guy some of us were thinking we might get here. At the same time, for sure it wasn't working out.

Here's hoping KP plays well. Not sure where your confidence in that comes from, badinage, but I hope you turn out to be correct. However unlikely that is....

Where it comes from? It comes from irrational optimism. The same irrational optimism that I feel with every acquisition — could this possibly be …? have we just gotten a steal …? are we looking at a potential star …? The same irrational optimism that has enabled me to be a fan of this benighted franchise for all these many decades.

Without it, I’m done; I throw in the towel; I stop watching the games; I stop reading all of you.

…

I really would like to know how so many of you do it. I ask in all seriousness, with the hope of learning something: How do you do it? How do you keep coming back on here — keep investing in this team — keep thinking about a future with this franchise — while maintaining what seems to me to be a very cold, flint-eyed perspective. Maybe at bottom you’re all irrationally optimistic, like me, but you just don’t ever permit yourselves to show it in public? Because it’s unseemly to be too high when they win or too low when they lose? Too unseemly to get giddy at times? Better to be even-keeled and hyper-realistic? Again, I don’t have the answers. I don’t know. I’m asking. I don’t know how you can be a fan, and care, and come to a forum like this, day in and day out — and be so shorn of optimism, or fanaticism, or willful naïveté, or whatever you want to call it. Or, to put it another way: to be so clear-eyed — siphoned of all illusion, of all delusion.

Truly: is it fun? Because it doesn’t strike me as fun. Now, I’ll grant you: I’m sure it’s better for your mental health, to not allow yourself to be seduced or tempted; to never be lured too high; to never let yourself fall too low. But that doesn’t strike me as an escape from reality; it strikes me as reality — as using the same survival skills necessary to get by in this life of ours; as taking the same approach to opportunities and problems as we do in our workaday lives, our personal lives.

Let me airdrop some links to this thread then see if I have something to add to it.

[9 and 20]

I'm sure doc will write something much more eloquent, but I'll say that it would have to be impossible to have been a fan of this team for the past several years (decades) and still be optimistic about everything. Even the most optimistic among us would have to roll their eyes when Ted ignores the dumpster fire on the court and instead talks about urinal cakes, no?

With respect to the players, everyone has guys they love and guys they can't stand. I hated Bert. It was not totally rational. The guy was legitimately a great shooter. I just disliked his demeanor, how he got fat, how he didn't seem to really care about playing like garbage. There are also players who legitimately bad that I can't help but think are going to be greats. This is a deep cut, but I remember watching Randell Jackson play and thinking he would be all-world - https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jacksra02.html. 6'11" and skinny with hops - that's Kevin Garnett! Completely irrational, but I'm a fan.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

CW4 Thomas Edward Holmes
1930-2014

I'm actually feeling a bit emotional...

We didn't agree on a lot but sports back in the 70s. The war hero...turned out he loved me after all and was proud of me by 2014. My father took me to a Baltimore Bullets game. Played at Cole Field House IIRC...might have been the DC Armory.

I recall Wes Unseld throwing a pass...a flick but with two hands...ALL THE WAY from one basket to the other. His under arm fat jiggled, too!!!

(My other great memory was similarly going to see Lefty Driesell and his UCLA East Terps, circa 1974)

I've been a fan since The Fat Lady sang.

Greg Ballard attended church at Grace United Methodist, and I'm pretty sure my mom fried chicken for him and his young fsmily; (as well as for Sr, Pastor Grainger Browning way back in the day).

I also vividly recall Larry Wright and Roger Phegley coming to our outdoor courts at Friendly HS. (Wright couldn't dunk that day. Same rim I could at least touch at age 15 and at about 5'7")

[J-Ves]

I've tried to quit the Wizards but its not something that is easy for me to do. I think I lack willpower. I'm just happy that I haven't been addicted to drugs in my life because I know that I wouldn't be strong enough to stop.

As for hope I have none. Not hope for today, tomorrow, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, or 40 years in the future. I believe even if I live an average or above average life span I will be dead before this team is a actual contender never mind an actual champion

[gesa2]

I think even those of us who profess to be completely rational or objective still have a fanboy at our core. If all we wanted was rationality we’d stick to things like economics and social policy (-:
As for me I haven’t lived near DC for 23 years and only stayed there for 8 years when I did. Why I stick with this team doesn’t make any sense other than the Cap Center was the first place I ever saw an NBA game. 10 game packages for 4 years for the 90s bullets sucked me in? Sucker is the word.

[penbeast0]

Because the Caps moved to Richmond (then folded) and the Bullets moved down here or else I'd still be an ABA fan. I grew up with the team and formed bonds. The mere fact that they have been incompetently managed since 1980 doesn't mean you give up on them. Then, going to college in NY state, surrounded by Knicks and Nets fans, just hardened that fandom into a protective shell. I could become a Heat fan; I've lived down here for 15+ years now, but that would be taking the easy way out. I've always despised the frontrunners who like whoever the hot team is (Cowboys, Lakers, etc.); as a Wizards fan, no one can accuse me of that!

That said, at least the friggin Knicks know how to tank. 1-9 to drop below us leaving us in the absolute worst possible place, 11th with the more talented Hawks in 10th.

[Ruzious]

To each his own as a fan, but I'm not sure how you stay a fan if you don't have some optimism for the future - be it reasonable or unreasonable optimism. Gotsta have hope somewhere.

[miller31time]

I think the actual reason is that the Wizards are part of my identity. Not an identity I have for others but rather a part of myself that’s totally internal. I’m a Wizards fan because I was when I was 11 and now I’m 33 and I’m not sure if I know anything different for myself. If I stop obsessing over this team, then I lose a part of myself.

Sounds insane, I know.

[nate33]

The whole concept of sports fandom is totally stupid and illogical. I guess it somehow taps into to our instinctive hunter-gatherer desire to be part of a tribe. We need an "us" to root for, and having a "them" to root against makes our bond to the "us" even stronger. In the modern age, sports fandom has filled that void. It makes a bit of sense at the high school or college level where there was at least some common ties between the athletic participants and the fans. Maybe the high school basketball center was your lab partner in chemistry. Or maybe you dated the sister of the point guard. But at the professional level, we have no ties whatsoever with the athletes. They're just a bunch of mercenaries who put on a uniform to earn money for some billionaire jerkoff.

I can't justify why I root for these guys because there is no logical justification.

[DCZards]

I'm an unapologetic "homer." I feel a natural and organic connection to ALL of the local teams and the men and women who play for them. So I root for them! It's fun rooting for my favorite team (Zards), playing my favorite sport. In fact, it's BIG FUN!

Yes, I HATE losing. Who doesn't? But at the end of the day, it's a game, it's a sport. It's not life and death, and it's certainly not something worth being depressed about if you lose. (Ok, maybe it's depressing to lose...but only for a few minutes or a couple of hours.)

[payitforward]

The whole concept of sports fandom is totally stupid and illogical. I guess it somehow taps into to our instinctive hunter-gatherer desire to be part of a tribe. We need an "us" to root for, and having a "them" to root against makes our bond to the "us" even stronger. In the modern age, sports fandom has filled that void. It makes a bit of sense at the high school or college level where there was at least some common ties between the athletic participants and the fans. Maybe the high school basketball center was your lab partner in chemistry. Or maybe you dated the sister of the point guard. But at the professional level, we have no ties whatsoever with the athletes. They're just a bunch of mercenaries who put on a uniform to earn money for some billionaire jerkoff.

I can't justify why I root for these guys because there is no logical justification.

I grinned reading this!

But it's not just in "the modern age." We know about the chariot-racing teams in the Roman Republic more than 2000 years ago -- they each had big, loyal fan followings!

& it's not just sports either -- there are guys who like Ford trucks & guys who like Chevy trucks. The ones who like Dodge Rams don't like either of those first 2 groups.

But, all 3 of those groups can agree to hold a Volvo driver in contempt!

[payitforward]

One other thing -- fandom also allows people who might not get along AT ALL to find ways to get along. Which is humanizing -- a good thing.

[payitforward]

I'm an unapologetic "homer." I feel a natural and organic connection to ALL of the local teams and the men and women who play for them. So I root for them! It's fun rooting for my favorite team (Zards), playing my favorite sport. In fact, it's BIG FUN!

Yes, I HATE losing. Who doesn't? But at the end of the day, it's a game, it's a sport. It's not life and death, and it's certainly not something worth being depressed about if you lose. (Ok, maybe it's depressing to lose...but only for a few minutes or a couple of hours.)

Another great post on the subject!

One more thing about being a fan of a losing team: you have the opportunity to "know" (or pretend to!) why things go wrong, who to blame, etc.

E.g. being a Wizards fan while detesting Ernie -- two sides of the same coin, no?

[penbeast0]

I grinned reading this!

But it's not just in "the modern age." We know about the chariot-racing teams in the Roman Republic more than 2000 years ago -- they each had big, loyal fan followings!

& it's not just sports either -- there are guys who like Ford trucks & guys who like Chevy trucks. The ones who like Dodge Rams don't like either of those first 2 groups.

But, all 3 of those groups can agree to hold a Volvo driver in contempt!

Hey, gotta respect the Volvos. When I was a firefighter over in Elkridge, my Lt. told me that the Volvo was the only car you couldn't use the Jaws of Life on, it was too tough to rip open.

We can still all despise BMW drivers though.

[ozthegap]

For me I have absolutely less reason to root for this team than anyone . I’m not from DC and have never lived there. I checked a box score for a basketball game for the first time when Michael Jordan came out of retirement at 38 because he was Michael Jordan. I followed the team just by looking at boxscores and reading the play by play for every game. Despite numerous times trying to quit this team I’ve never left

[doclinkin]

The whole concept of sports fandom is totally stupid and illogical. I guess it somehow taps into to our instinctive hunter-gatherer desire to be part of a tribe. We need an "us" to root for, and having a "them" to root against makes our bond to the "us" even stronger. In the modern age, sports fandom has filled that void. It makes a bit of sense at the high school or college level where there was at least some common ties between the athletic participants and the fans. Maybe the high school basketball center was your lab partner in chemistry. Or maybe you dated the sister of the point guard. But at the professional level, we have no ties whatsoever with the athletes. They're just a bunch of mercenaries who put on a uniform to earn money for some billionaire jerkoff.

I can't justify why I root for these guys because there is no logical justification.

I grinned reading this!

But it's not just in "the modern age." We know about the chariot-racing teams in the Roman Republic more than 2000 years ago -- they each had big, loyal fan followings!

& it's not just sports either -- there are guys who like Ford trucks & guys who like Chevy trucks. The ones who like Dodge Rams don't like either of those first 2 groups.

But, all 3 of those groups can agree to hold a Volvo driver in contempt!

LOL way to not answer the question that was directed at you

Or leastways that you raised.

I do think it'd be interesting to read your answer. How can you be a fan of this team, despite a highly rational analysis that they are unlikely to win. Perhaps winning and losing matters little? Perhaps the conversation about the team is more entertaining than the Win/Loss record? Analysis itself proves satisfying? All valid reasons. I'm just curious.

I'll circle back myself since it's been a busy busy weekend. So yes. Me too, way to not answer the question that I started the thread about.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

The whole concept of sports fandom is totally stupid and illogical. I guess it somehow taps into to our instinctive hunter-gatherer desire to be part of a tribe. We need an "us" to root for, and having a "them" to root against makes our bond to the "us" even stronger. In the modern age, sports fandom has filled that void. It makes a bit of sense at the high school or college level where there was at least some common ties between the athletic participants and the fans. Maybe the high school basketball center was your lab partner in chemistry. Or maybe you dated the sister of the point guard. But at the professional level, we have no ties whatsoever with the athletes. They're just a bunch of mercenaries who put on a uniform to earn money for some billionaire jerkoff.

I can't justify why I root for these guys because there is no logical justification.

This post is everything it needed to be.

Spot on. I've tried telling myself why get invested in something you at the end of the day have zero say in or part of anything that would influence a team's successes? But I still haven't been able to break away.

I also echo what some say, in that I think it's stubbornness at this point, and I feel that all of us can say we aren't fair weather fans because the weather hasn't been fair in 40 years, which means something even though it is trivial.

[long suffrin' boulez fan]

I’ve been a consistent fan since I was 6 and they were the Capital Bullets. Had a few gaps when at college and living in Europe. But mostly stayed consistent. Last two decades have been rough. Not sure I’d still be a fan if it weren’t for this board.

[montestewart]

The whole concept of sports fandom is totally stupid and illogical. I guess it somehow taps into to our instinctive hunter-gatherer desire to be part of a tribe. We need an "us" to root for, and having a "them" to root against makes our bond to the "us" even stronger. In the modern age, sports fandom has filled that void. It makes a bit of sense at the high school or college level where there was at least some common ties between the athletic participants and the fans. Maybe the high school basketball center was your lab partner in chemistry. Or maybe you dated the sister of the point guard. But at the professional level, we have no ties whatsoever with the athletes. They're just a bunch of mercenaries who put on a uniform to earn money for some billionaire jerkoff.

I can't justify why I root for these guys because there is no logical justification.

I grinned reading this!

But it's not just in "the modern age." We know about the chariot-racing teams in the Roman Republic more than 2000 years ago -- they each had big, loyal fan followings!

I rooted for the Pompeii Pompadours but man they had the worst luck.