I mean, here I sit with 19 games left in the baseball season, the Dodgers are trailing in their division by six games, and I’m all but ready to call it quits for the year. I’m trying to decide how I feel about it. I don’t know that I’m bitterly disappointed about it because they took a nosedive so early in the year, and they’ve never quite recovered. Assuming they don’t make the playoffs, I think it’s been an interesting enough year that I’ll probably still watch the postseason and find someone to root for. But there have certainly been years when I’ve been so pissed off that I wouldn’t bother paying attention to the playoffs at all.
So what’s your feeling? This doesn’t have to be about baseball – whatever your favorite team is in any sport. If and when your team is eliminated, how do you react? Do you sulk, or is it expected of your team? And do you follow the rest of the tournament/playoffs once your team is gone, or do you start waiting for the start of the [insert second favorite sport here] season to begin in earnest?
This year? Well, like I said, I’ll watch the playoffs regardless, and as soon as the World Series is over, the Professional Bowler’s Association tour begins their season, so I’m pretty well set.
As a fan of the Indians I grew quite used to elimination by the third week of the season. I still got out to games towards the end of the season to watch the September callups. Somehow it gave me hope that next season’s rooks would improve our lot.
Outside of that its a good opportunity to catch up your reading.
For the past couple of years my minor league hockey team didn’t make the playoffs, but I still went to every home game. Last season, we got into the playoffs in 5th place, with a one-game playoff to move up. We did it and ended up with the league championship! It sure was nice to raise the Cup after so many winless seasons. Win or lose, I’m at all the home games and as many away games as I can manage.
The Mets are essentially eliminated now (it’s mathematically possible they make the wild card, but it won’t happen). However, it’s been a decent season for them so far and they have a good basis to build on (especially the starting pitching). I’m used to them getting eliminated (hell, when I first started rooting for them, they had never made it out of last place; finishing ninth was an accomplishment). But there’s always next year.
The standard Red Sox fan response is “Wait till next year!” That attitude should get you through the next seven or eight decades more or less unscathed.
I got very used to the Indians losing. Then when they started winning it was exciting for a year or two, but then a little boring. Then they started losing again and it felt back to normal. Now they are verging on going to the playoffs and it’s pretty exciting.
When they get knocked out of contention I still follow them. Playoffs depend on whose playing. Some years I watch every game. Other years I just don’t care very much. Strangely, last year I didn’t see a single pitch of the playoffs or WS. That’s weird.
Dude, you actually had Series tickets? Why did I not remember that?
I find that my interest in postseason proceedings decreases quickly once my team’s eliminated. I couldn’t tell you who the NCAA champion was from 1999 on, because once UK loses I quit watching.
The 2003 baseball postseason was kinda weird, because the Cards didn’t even make the postseason, but I still watched because of the Cubs and Red Sox and the possibility of a colossal meltdown (thank you, Steve Bartman, for keeping me laughing for weeks.)
Technically, the Nationals aren’t out of the Wild Card race yet, but at four games back and with two other teams to leap frog, chances are pretty darned low.
On the other hand, this was the first year for the team to be here, we stand a good chance of being over .500 (and many of us expected last place), and there was a beautiful month where we actually led the division.
And we’ll do better than the Orioles. Suck it, Angelos.
I’m more bummed when the Cardinals are eliminated from the playoffs than if they don’t get there in the first place.
In 2003, when they had the gang of arsonists in the bullpen (led by Esteban Yan and Jeff Fassero), I wasn’t at all disappointed that they didn’t make the playoffs. I was too busy being pissed off at the bullpen being nothing more than a giant vortex of lead-squandering doom.
And oddly enough, I was more disappointed when the Mets eliminated them in 2000 than I was when they lost the World Series last year. I think the series with Houston took too much out of me to be as disappointed as I could have been.
My beloved Jays are stuck behind the bloated payrolls of the damn Yankees and the Sox. It was fun when they were within a game or two of the damn Yankees.
April=hope and optimism
May=optimistic teasing
June=tease
July=sorry, napping and I missed it
August=tease bordering on torment
September=fade away.
October=root for anybody but the damn Yankees.
I have second tier teams that I’ll cheer for if my team is eliminated. It is rare that I’ll find no one to cheer for. At the very least, I"ll pick the lesser of two evils. The New York subway series was a tough one. I hate both teams and couldn’t even cheer for an underdog.
The Blue Jays are DOA, but with 19 games left they’ve already won more games than all last year. Lots of good young players. I won’t start getting impatient until next year.
