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Loving the losers is a sad existence

by Tony Basilio

To non-fans, those of us who are sports-obsessed must seem like fools. And for good reason; time and again, we give of ourselves, our time, our money and our hearts to something that yields dividends in the form of anxiety and pain. And not only do we enjoy this twisted sense of sadistic identification, we seem to relish it.

Our relationships with our teams in many ways mirror our relationships with the people in our lives, and bear the same fruits that those bonds will, including the bitter ones of sorrow, heartache and disappointment.

We sports fans live and die with people we don’t even know, reveling in their accomplishments, and seeking identification in their failures. For instance, as a longtime fan of Philadelphia sports, I’ve come to the stark realization that I am a loser.

Consider that as a Philly fan, I have four major professional sports teams to root for. The last one to win a championship was the NBA’s Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers back in 1983. That means that across four sports, I’ve suffered through 83 seasons without a title.

Also, I love the Vols, who have advanced beyond the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament only once ever. I’ve lost so often with my teams, it feels as if I’m a perpetual freshman at a never-ending senior prom, forever hoping that someone will show up and dance with me.

I received a letter this week from a disgruntled Vol follower who sums up the way most sports fans feel at some point in our lives. In this particular missive, a fan known only as Freddy proclaims that he is taking a hiatus—a redshirt year, if you will—from Tennessee sports:

“I have decided to redshirt from Tennessee sports for an indefinite number of reasons. There are many people who have loved the Vols more than me over the last 40 years, but I have loved them as much as my heart could take. Oh, I still love them. But I’m not blindly in love anymore. The problems at UT are present in other programs around the country, but I don’t love them, so they can do whatever they want.

• I’m tired of fans paying huge raises for glorified phys-ed coaches that already make millions of dollars for coaching a schoolboys’ game.

• I’m tired of an administration that demands more of its supporters than its coaches!

• I’m tired of the athlete of today. I cannot relate to their culture. Not just the urban culture, but the WWE, NFL, NBA gangsta rap tattoo culture that they glorify. They are hired guns, mercenaries if you will.

• I’m tired of NFL wannabees putting forth little effort unless the spotlight is on them.

• I’m tired of post-season press conferences from average players announcing that they are coming back for their senior seasons.

• I’m tired of hurting over a loss while our mercenaries laugh and yuk it up on the sidelines while we’re losing. Remember the Peach Bowl!

• I’m tired of paying the bills and being told if I don’t like the current situation then I can go and root elsewhere. I’ve been here for 40 years. Why can’t they go elsewhere?

• Most of all, I’m tired of being one of the many fools whose resources and support keeps perpetuating this madness! I’ve always loved the Orange, but this redshirt is looking better and better all the time.”

Sincerely,
Freddy

Of course, it’s ridiculous for anyone to get as emotionally wrapped up in the fortunes of a college athletic program as Freddy is with the Vols. But then it’s also ridiculous that I cried when St. Joseph’s was eliminated recently from the NCAA basketball tournament.

If I thought I could depend on Freddy’s steadfastness, that he could really go through with his pledge and take a year off from Vol mania, I would join him. But I know that he’ll never truly be able to break from that vicious cycle.

Like myself and so many other similarly afflicted souls, Freddy is a sports fan. In other words, he’s an addict, a co-dependent, a junkie in orange, needy and prone to falling off the wagon at the first sign of even modest success. What a sad existence. Pray for us all!

Tune in and talk sports with “The Tony Basilio Show” each weekday from 3-6 p.m. on the network (670 WMTY-AM, 850 WKVL-AM, 1140 WLOD-AM, 1290 WATO-AM, or 1400 WGAP-AM).

April 1, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 14 © 2004 Metro Pulse