Wiz Fan Retirement Thread

[benb331]

I'm out.

I wish I could say it's been good, but it hasn't.

For more than 25 years, I've watched this team struggle to put together a contender. The problem is, I don't get the impression that the franchise ever tried to win anything significant. Ownership has shown that it cares more about making money than winning.

This season has clarified for me (as if it wasn't obvious) that the Wall/Beal/Porter/Brooks/Grunfeld era is going nowhere, a massive 9 yearlong letdown after the overwhelming joy of seeing the Wizards land the #1 pick. And a rebuild will take years, even if management is replaced with some team that vaguely resembles competence.

By retiring as a fan, I'm saving the following per year

$1,800 on cable
$800 on tickets
$500 on hotels
$500 on travel
$250 on merchandise
250 hours of watching games (and pre- and post-)
200 hours of reading about how bad this franchise is
Thousands of microdisappointments that are not outweighed by the infrequent joy of watching good sports games

And those are lowball estimates. Right now, I spend about $4,000 per year "enjoying" Wizards basketball, but that's about to change.

If any of you have followed a personal finance blog, you might've heard of the 4% safe withdrawal rule. That rule states that an annual expense x 25 = the amount you must have in a portfolio to sustain the expenditure. With almost $4,000 annual spend, that's $100,000 in dead money required for me to maintain this level of engagement.

I'm going back to catching an occasional crappy stream, never attending a game, never buying a jersey, and just lightly following along with what you fine folks write on this board. Cost = $0. Basically what I did when I was broke anyway. Honestly, reading RealGM has been the best part of Wizards basketball since 2006 (for me), and you guys will still be here. Right?

A part of me hopes that by posting this, I'll look foolish when the team blows out the Raptors and wins the series 4-2!! And then I remember the term Stockholm Syndrome.

[TGW]

I'm retired. I watch the Wizards the same way I watch Spurs, Rockets, Warriors, and Sixers games. They're just one of the 8 or 9 teams that I somewhat follow to see what's going on with them, but I'd much rather watch a Sixers game than a Wizards game. The Wizards are boring, lack run-and-jump athletes (outside of Wall and Oubre), and are coached by a mediocre goof. There is so much good basketball being played around the league, that it's not worth time or energy rooting for the Wizards. They are an afterthought in the NBA.

[nate33]

I'm going back to catching an occasional crappy stream, never attending a game, never buying a jersey, and just lightly following along with what you fine folks write on this board. Cost = $0. Basically what I did when I was broke anyway. Honestly, reading RealGM has been the best part of Wizards basketball since 2006 (for me), and you guys will still be here. Right?

I've been at this point for the past 2 years. Ever since the disastrous 2016 offseason, I became convinced that this team has zero chance of ever even threatening to compete for a title. They are utterly incompetent at every level of management. Ernie needs to go, and frankly, I think Ted needs to sell the team before hope is restored.

[closg00]

Mentally I have pretty-much checked out, but I still gawk in the same way when I try to look at a horrific accident.

[queridiculo]

Yeah, the 2016/17 offseason pretty much removed all doubt that this franchise was ever going to break the cycle.

[80sballboy]

I'll retire as a fan when they put me in the casket or spread me somewhere. Sorry, as horribly disappointing and underachieving, they are still my team. I've seen a lot worse Wiz/Bullets teams over the year.s At least we made the playoffs but my expectations for this series was pretty low.

[DCZards]

I’m not retiring. I’m too much of an hardcore Zards fan to pretend that I could ever do that. But I am looking forward to (and expecting) some significant changes this offseason. Starting with the firing of EG. I believe that this is the year that that happens.

The Wizards desperately need a culture change, and one of the top three (Ted, Brooks, EG) has to go to make that happen. Since Leonsis and Brooks are probably not going anywhere, I fully expect--and hope--that EG is finally let go.

[gravytrain24]

I can't ever leave this team regardless of how many times they hurt me because I know, hopefully in my lifetime, there will come the day where there's a parade going down constitution. All this pain will float away, until then i'll just be frustrated and see the small good things when they pop up.

[tontoz]

I am not completely retired but.....last night I only watched the beginning and end of the game. The rest of the time I was watching a tape of Philly vs heat.

I am actually going to the game Friday.....for the first time this season. The tickets are free.

I didn't even watch most of the games over the last two months. I would typically tape them and delete them.

[Wizardspride]

Nah.

That's my squad. Warts and all.

I ride or die with the home teams.

It is frustrating though....

[James_Raptors]

Raptors fan here (I come in peace).

I'm not going to tell you how to feel about your team. I'm almost 50 and remember when I had to follow American teams to get my NBA fix. For years, as a Raptors fan, we were considered a laughing stock of the league. It's been more than a little bumpy ride since 1995 (expansion), to say the least. I'm pretty passionate about my sports and it was difficult not to live and die with each loss, each horrible season, brutal coaching, pathetic management decisions. Even this season, after nearly 60 wins, we're (fans) not exactly oozing confidence in the playoffs. We've been bitten before and made to look like fools. One of those years your team, the Wizards, put us into place with a round 1 , 4-0 sweep. Things looked pretty doom and gloom after that post-season.

This post probably won't help you though. Bottom line is, winning fixes this stuff, not posts from some old Canadian dude who bleeds Raptor colors.

[nate33]

I am not completely retired but.....last night I only watched the beginning and end of the game. The rest of the time I was watching a tape of Philly vs heat.

I am actually going to the game Friday.....for the first time this season. The tickets are free.

I didn't even watch most of the games over the last two months. I would typically tape them and delete them.

I watch the games on streaming media if I'm home and I have nothing else going on. They are not a priority though. I watched maybe half of the games this year, if that. I don't think I'd watch them at all if it wasn't for this board. I like arguing with you folks about everything.

[AFM]

I dont think I missed more than 2 or 3 games from Wall's first year up until last year. I was pretty obsessed. This year I watched 5 regular season games. They are stuck in this zone of mediocrity where they aren't good enough to get me excited, and not bad and young enough to follow and watch them rebuild. Unless Wall and Beal both get injured in the same year, they are going to be first round exits for the next 4 or 5 years.

[dcstanley]

I watch but I don't waste a dime on this team. I went to one game this season (tickets were free) and I don't buy any merchandise. But what I do contribute is time. Lots of time. I'm at the point where I'm ready to spend my time more productively.

[keynote]

Moving to the west coast has made following the team difficult. I don't know how you folks in non EST/EDT time zones have done it all these years.

The sad thing is: I had fallen out of love with the O's about 20 years ago (back when Angelos tried to submarine the team's competitiveness in order to stave off the entry of a team into the DC market). MLB hadn't fixed fundamental issues with competitive balance, and I grew tired of watching every good pitcher in the O's starting rotation end up playing for the Yankees. Moving to NYC (and working in an office overseeing the "Canyon of Heroes") didn't help.

Then, over the past two years, I had started to fall out of love with DC football. I hate the team name, along with the league's attitudes towards player safety, social justice, etc. The team's overall dysfunction is icing on the cake.

So, over the past year, I've focused my energy as a fan towards the Wizards. Now, I'm starting to wane on that front as well.

I hope the Wizards get swept this series, if only to shock Ted into action. But I don't have my hopes up. Perhaps there's a second Steele dossier that contains whatever dirt Ernie has on Ted to engender this level of loyalty.

[80sballboy]

Best way for me is to DVR the games. So when I go to the gym after work or have something else to do, I don't look at the scores and watch it from the beginning. When I get frustrated, which is often, I just fast forward that sh-t. Then yesterday my water heater exploded, water everywhere and I couldn't watch the first half, which I get is a good thing. But not really. If you want sports to be a happy distraction, the Wiz are not the best outlet for that. If you want to be miserable watching them at least 1/2 the time, then it's good for people who like misery like myself.

I think it brings me back to the good times when I was a kid, listening to the radio for late-night broadcasts or trying to sneak my black and white tiny TV, watching Ch. 20 when I was supposed to go to bed. Those teams were worth staying up for and while this team drives me crazy, they do have that potential to do something special. If they have the same cast of characters next season, same coach and same GM, it will diminish my interest to a point, where if we are playing the Nets and sleepwalking through the first half, I'll just watch the fourth quarter if the game is close. Of course, I say that now and will still probably be sucked in because I love hoops. I mean "Hoops" the former Bullets mascot.

[montestewart]

Bullets up, Bullets down, Wizards up, Wizards down, interest up, interest down, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our lives...

Stopped paying for Wizards some years back (strike season was the last), would go with free tickets, games come free with cable package. Still my team, but been working long hours since the beginning of December, have seen maybe 2-3 games all the way through since then, and parts (usually small parts, end of 4th) since then. Doesn't feel like I missed much.

Agreed, not only Ernie but Terd also holding the team back. After the season perhaps resurrect Boycott Wizards thread?

[montestewart]

Moving to the west coast has made following the team difficult. I don't know how you folks in non EST/EDT time zones have done it all these years.

The sad thing is: I had fallen out of love with the O's about 20 years ago (back when Angelos tried to submarine the team's competitiveness in order to stave off the entry of a team into the DC market). MLB hadn't fixed fundamental issues with competitive balance, and I grew tired of watching every good pitcher in the O's starting rotation end up playing for the Yankees. Moving to NYC (and working in an office overseeing the "Canyon of Heroes") didn't help.

Then, over the past two years, I had started to fall out of love with DC football. I hate the team name, along with the league's attitudes towards player safety, social justice, etc. The team's overall dysfunction is icing on the cake.

So, over the past year, I've focused my energy as a fan towards the Wizards. Now, I'm starting to wane on that front as well.

I hope the Wizards get swept this series, if only to shock Ted into action. But I don't have my hopes up. Perhaps there's a second Steele dossier that contains whatever dirt Ernie has on Ted to engender this level of loyalty.

OT, but when did you move? I don't recall that mentioned. Where are you now?

[Kanyewest]

It has been a rough couple weeks, but I'm pleasantly surprised that the Wizards made the playoffs despite Wall missing 50 games. I'm also hoping that the Raptors are actually good and no longer paper tigers like they were in the past.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

I can't ever leave this team regardless of how many times they hurt me because I know, hopefully in my lifetime, there will come the day where there's a parade going down constitution. All this pain will float away, until then i'll just be frustrated and see the small good things when they pop up.

Agreed. *sigh*