Monday, September 24, 2018

FAIR WEATHER FAN


This post has a sports theme but if you substitute the word friend for fan, I think all of you will be able to relate.

Fair weather fans are those who support their team (or friend) only when things go well. Rough patches are not tolerated and criticism follows while a true fan (or friend) will hang in regardless. I am a true fan (and friend).

I have never been a fair weather anything which is fortunate this year. You see, I am a Marlins baseball fan and right now we are living in the basement with one of the worst records in baseball.  Too bad we don't have the worst record for then we would be guaranteed first round draft pick next year.   It is almost tempting to lose out in an effort for that draft pick but these guys play for pride. They are in every game.

I have to smile for a lot of you have a team still in contention for the post season.  In a way I both envy you and feel sorry for you. Each game now is so important and each loss is crushing. The stress must be awful.

I don't have that problem or pressure. I hope my guys win but don't really expect it. I just hope they have at least one good play or hit left in them and that no one gets hurt. And when they do win, it is delicious--not expected.

I will watch the post season for several  former Marlin players that we traded away this year have landed on a contender. So I will root for them and wish them well.

Will I be a Marlin fan next year??  You bet. There is always next year. Winning is great but losing is not the end of the world.

Are you a fair weather fan (or friend) or are you in for the long haul?

51 comments :

  1. I don't follow sports at all except maybe for golf and that only in passing. But I like your comparison of fan to friend and I am without a doubt NOT a fair weather friend. But after my husband's stroke we sure found out which of our friends could wear that label.

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    1. Jean,
      It is odd how some friends leave us when tragedy like an illness falls into our lives. It is almost like they think it is catching.

      Delete
  2. I cannot tell you anything about sports. My family gets frustrated with me when they are excited about a team and I ask "football, baseball or hockey?".

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    1. Annie,
      Sports are not for everyone. I think it would be safe to say though that you are NOT a fair weather friend.

      Delete
  3. I always remember from years the idiotic woman who said she was no longer a Patriots fan because they lost the super bowl. Nice support lady! I am not a big sports fan but in New England you can’t help but know what is going on with our Boston/ NE teams. And yes there were many years when both the Patriots and the Red Sox were in the bottom of everything. Who can for get the curse of the Bambino?

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    1. Smartcat,
      Those are the ones that aggravate me. I use to read the fan comments from the other teams when we would beat them. They would be so angry that the lowly Marlins had beat their team and they would think their season was doomed. Looks like your Sox are a shoe in this year. One of the few teams we don't have a former playing for them.

      Delete
  4. I puzzled over the title of your post, wondering if you were talking about a fan to cool yourself with, or a/c of some kind. And then I find you're talking about sports! I don't watch or care much about any of them, but I would definitely not bail on a team that lost. I consider that poor sportsmanship. :-)

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    1. Djan,
      You are so right--it totally is. One thing I am sure of from reading your blog--you are NOT a fair weather friend.

      Delete
  5. YEAH! I agree. I am a huge fan of baseball, but not particularly the Marlins. I am a NYY fan. I know, you hate me. I hear it all the time.
    I hate when I hear those say, "they suck this year" (yes they do) However a real fan stands by them when they stink and when they are great. How better to enjoy the fruit of a Series ring than sucking for a few years? Sure I'd prefer to win all the time but it doesn't work that way.
    So I couldn't agree more with you! Besides with Jeter at the helm, just give him time, your team will turn around and then watch all those new Marlin fans come out of the woodwork. I know it's painful now but it won't be in a few years. Hang in there!

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    1. Peggy,
      Gosh no I don't hate Yankee fans. In fact I have watched part of a Yankee game almost every night. I am a huge fan of Stanton and I would flip back and forth between games trying to catch his at bats. And yes, I have always been a fan of Jeter till he gave away all our best players. I know it is a rebuild time but it still hurts. I am getting attached to some of the AAA boys he has brought up. Next year or maybe the next.

      Delete
  6. I am a Yankee fan, so it is hard to answer that as they have alost always done well. In the early 70's they were pretty poor and I did not watch most games, but I still read the box scores rooting as you say for individual statistics, one of the charms of baseball. For sure, noone can say you are not a TRUE fan!

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    1. Joeh,
      This year per usual the Yankees are in the mix. My boy Stanton has not given you 60 HR as expected but he has stayed healthy the whole year which he could never do for us.
      Good luck in the post season.

      Delete
  7. I'm a Braves fan and when the Marlins had their fire sale I would have traded the whole team to get my hands on Christian Yelich, I think he's amazing.

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    1. Mac n'Janet,
      You do have good taste. He has really torn it up for the Brewers this year. Your Braves are really playing well and I hope they do well in post season. Acuna Jr. is fun to watch.

      Delete
  8. I'm in for the long haul every time. I loved baseball as a kid but I'm no longer interested in either baseball or the NBA. It's football and the Packers that draw me into professional sports. But I do adore the Little League Baseball World Series.

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    1. Carolyn,
      Totally agree on the Little League World Series. I just love watching them. I use to be huge on football but I can no longer see my favorite team play here in Arkansas so I have put all my passion into baseball. Good luck to the Pack.

      Delete
  9. I don't watch sports at all. But I am not a fair-weather friend. I'm a friend always.

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    1. robin,
      Sports surely isn't for everyone. However I can attest to your loyal friendship. You were one of my fist commenters nine years ago. Most of the others have left--you have not. Thank you.

      Delete
  10. I'm not a bit interested in sports, but I AM interested in my friends. I'd never forsake them when they were down.

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    1. Barb,
      I have no doubt about your loyalty. I never understood people who were only there for the good times.

      Delete
  11. Dear Patti, I used to be a real fan of the Minnesota Twins. I followed them faithfully for years--when they won the pennant and when they lingered in bottom place. They were MY team! I knew all their names and read the sports page of the Minneapolis Tribune daily to learn all I could about each player and each game.

    But when the big strike came back in the '90s, I was so disappointed in the players and the managers and the team owners and the whole concept that had grown up around baseball since the 1970s. That was when players began to move around to different teams because more money was being offered. I do understand that players want to make money while they can still play well. I have less understanding for the owners wanting to make so much money out of the players and the ball park and the concessions. I just got jaded I guess about the game and so for more than 20 years I've not been interested in baseball. It's really an example of cutting off my nose to spite to face because I did so enjoy baseball. I'd been raised on the Triple A Yankee team of the Blues here in Kansas City and throughout my youth until the convent years--knew everything about that team. Well, you see, I just go on and on. I've moved back to Kansas City, and I could support the Royals but I just haven't done it! Peace.

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    1. Dee,
      Maybe you could get interested in the AAA team if they are still there. I use to go to Dodger Town in Florida and really loved watching the AAA youngsters play. It isn't so big business in the minors.

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    2. Dear Patti, they've left and all we have are the Royals. I know that I could get into the game again; it's probably that I'm just lazy. I can no longer read the newspaper accounts and I don't have cable. But perhaps they are on radio. I"ll check. The words I was looking for yesterday when I wrote the L-O-N-G comment were "free agency." I know that's good, but it's brought about more big business than I'm ready for! Peace.

      Delete
  12. I'm a golf fan & I was thrilled when Tiger Woods won yesterday!!

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    1. Fran,
      Tiger is finally back. He really had a struggle to overcome personal and physical problems. Proud of the youngster. Yes being in his 40's is still a youngster to me.

      Delete
  13. I definitely am not just a fair-weather friend. However, I do find that often times some so-called friends are always there to support you during tough times, but when times turn good, those same so-called friends are long gone. As for sports, it seems I always pull for the underdogs. Go Marlins!

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    1. Chip Butter,
      Hum, I have never had the drama seeking friends who leave when the ship righted. The only think my Marlins are seeking now is to keep from losing 100 games. If I don't have a team to pull for, I always pull for the underdog too.

      Delete
  14. You know that I am a fan of soccer and our Seattle Sounders. They lost in LA yesterday, two in a row now after a nine game winning streak. Winning is fun, losing is not, but I would never give up on my team.
    Our Footabll team, of which I am also a fan, beat Dallas yesterday, for the first victory of the season. I didn't see much of the game because I was at my grandson's soccer game. It's a new team for him, and while I don't know much about his team, I am a fan of him :-)

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    1. Linda,
      And a very loyal fan of his also. You Sounder fans go far and above most fans. Hope you continue to do well. Your league and baseball have about the same season.

      Delete
  15. I'm not a big sports person but I am also not a fair weather fan! (or friend) I believe you support your team win or lose. I live in a metropolitan area that has both a major league baseball and football team and I support them no matter what. My example? Our baseball team is the Kansas City Royals and they are at the very bottom of our division this year, I think even fewer wins than your team! I still support them! Now our football team at least (KC Chiefs) is doing a little better so far this year.

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    1. Bonnie,
      Yep, your Royals are actually contenders for first round draft pick next year. Baltimore might have you beat but there is still time. You know how it feels in the basement. At least this time of year is stress free for us. It is rather comfortable not to be sweating out each game. Maybe next year for us both.

      Delete
  16. What’s the value of a fan or friend if they’re only around in fair weather? A saying I like is a good friend is someone who knows when you’ve made a fool of yourself that it’s not permanent.

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    1. Joared,
      I love that saying. It has just moved beside my old one. A true friend is your friend when it isn't easy to be.

      Delete
  17. I am not a fair weather friend or fan sweet Patti. I am a football fan of a few teams. I can say that none of them are out of the basement yet but I will not give up on any of them and I am looking for them to come out winners before seasons end. Hugs and good luck to your Marlins.

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    1. Maggie,
      Yes you are a true fan and if we hang in long enough, we will be rewarded. In the mean time we enjoy the rough as well as the easy. I even have hope for the Brown's fans this year.

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    2. I am really rooting for the Browns. I am a long time fan of Baker Mayfield...watch him play at OU. Glad to see you have hope for the Browns.

      Delete
  18. I'm ashamed to say that in the past I have been a fair weather friend, the reasons I gave myself at the time seemed perfectly acceptable to me, but with twenty years hindsight, I know I did wrong. I try hard these days to not be like that again.

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    1. River,
      That you recognize what you did and are trying to be different speaks a lot about your character. Kudos.

      Delete
  19. I don't know anything about American football but I love what you call soccer (and we in the UK call football!). I support Liverpool who haven't won a cup or topped a league for many years. So I'm not a fair weather friend - either in sport or for people! However, at the moment Liverpool are at the top of the Premier League, so fingers crossed this could be our season!
    Around My Kitchen Table

    Around My Kitchen Table

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    1. Around my kitchen table,
      You definitely qualify as a true fan and if history is correct, you will be rewarded. Last to First happens a lot in sports. Go Liverpool!!!

      Delete
  20. Oh, and I thought we were in the bottom. :)
    I finished my working career with the Padres as a security guard at the employee gate. I always cheered them on, and my husband had a nose bleed seat. Now that I am retired, I rarely go to games. But you can catch me watching a game or two on TV.

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    1. Mage,
      Baltimore has the worst record in baseball. I think you are about 3rd. We have you beat at being worst. How cool it must have been to have worked for the Padres.

      Delete
  21. I hate to think of myself as a fair weather fan, but on the other hand, it has been a long time since I have cared how the Rockies do. (Fun fact that seems to come to my mind that I am sure you know the answer to: The Marlins and Rockies were founded the same year.) My hubby lost interest in watching baseball a few years ago, so I find I never watch a game either. I would be cheering for the Rockies if I went to a game, or if I watched them on t.v. Of course, I must admit that the Red Sox are my true loves and I cheer for them no matter what.

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    1. Sally,
      Yes, they are both 25 years old. The Rockies are top in there division but you are backing a winner in the Sox. They are awesome this year.

      Delete
  22. As I have no interest in sport I can't call myself a fan, but I can say when it comes to music if I'm a fan of someone I'm always a fan of them, even when they bring out awful music I don't like. Once a fan, always a fan.

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    1. Joey,
      That makes you the kind of best fan who is there regardless. Way to go.

      Delete
  23. I like to think I'm a true friend. Fan not so much as the decade pass time grows short and my impatience increases. It was 1962 when my beloved Gopher football last made the Rose bowl....:(

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    1. Ray,
      I'd bet you are in the friend department. Goodness you have been in a drought though in college football.

      Delete
  24. I don't know a thing about the Marlins, but having been a Cubs fan since I first saw a baseball game, I know how you feel. The Marlins will come back up sometime soon, I'm sure. I have not followed baseball this year or any sport for that matter. I think I will remedy that an watch some baseball. It's the season, after all.

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  25. Good for you, Patti. You are a true fan. I am a (sorry about this) friend of the Cubs. The rest of my family are FANS through thick and thin. Even though we've been in Hawaii for 10 years, my husband is always checking to see how they did.

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  26. I'm not really a sports fan although I should be with the good teams that come out of Houston. I'm more of a basketball fan. I was lucky enough to get use of up-close seats when the Rockets were in their glory days and it was so exciting. TV is ok but nothing like the thrill of being there. Maybe this year I should reintroduce myself to the team. I doubt any of the players remember me!!

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