I'm currently waiting game 6 of the World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals are visiting the Boston Red Sox. Neither of these teams are strangers to the World Series. Both used to be.
For 85 years the World Series trophy aluded Boston. For 85 years, one of the most renowned teams in MLB history, with some of the best players to ever play the game, could not win the games that mattered. Some child named Bud was born, raised a Red Sox fan, had kids, raised his kids to love the Red Sox, taught his grandkids to love the Red Sox, and raised his great grandkids to love the Red Sox, all before he witnessed his team win it all.
The Minnesota Vikings are in their 53rd season. 53 years without a Super Bowl victory. That's a long time. And to be honest, I'd love to not have to wait another 32. But after talking to two of my closest Vikings friends a great deal, I've had some new discoveries on what it means to be a Vikings fan (or any sports fan in general).
The Question
Why do I watch sports? Why do I spend hours on the internet reading rumor blogs about who we are going to trade or what quarterback we are going to start? Is it simply in hopes of winning a Super Bowl? Of course not. No fan expects to win the Super Bowl every single year. If that was the case, cities like Cleveland, Miami, Oakland, and frankly, Minneapolis wouldn't be filling stadiums every week or selling jerseys.
So what is it? What keeps us fans, whose teams just can't seem to win it, watching?
Divorce
Let me change the question around a little bit. Why do husbands and wives stay together? I've talked to married couples who have had years of rough patches - years where it seemed like it just might not work. Yet, they stayed together. Yet, sadly, the divorce rates are sky high, because couples are simply not willing to work through those days, months, and years. Divorce is commonplace now.
In the same way, fans are divorcing their teams at an alarming rate.
"It's a waste of three hours. They are going to lose anyway."
"They don't care about me. Why should I care about them?"
"They just make me mad. I literally get in bad moods because of them, and they just keep breaking my heart."
It's true. I have spent untold hours watching car commercials waiting for the game to come back on that we lose 41-0.
It's true. Most the Vikings don't care about me.
It's true. They make me mad and make me cry. When the Saints beat the 2009 Vikings I literally cried myself to sleep. I felt sick the entire week. Sick to my stomach.
And now here I am. Here we are. The Vikings are 1-6 and things are a mess. Our quarterback situation is simply mind-boggling, our coaching staff is nearly incompetent, and fans are left thinking, "Is it finally time to give up?"
We were even discussing the pros of trading Jared Allen or Adrian Peterson.
Commitment
Marriage is all about commitment. It's about choosing to keep the relationship no matter how good or bad. In sickness and health. That's the kind of fan I want to be.
The Minnesota Vikings and I are in therapy right now. We have some issues. I don't like the way I've been treated this year. And yet, some of my greatest life memories are with them. Do I just throw those away? Do I not accept the good with the bad? After all, it's only been 4 years since we were a field goal away from a Super Bowl birth. That's not that long. We made it to the playoffs last year. That's not long at all.
Conclusion
Do the Vikings suck this year? Yes. Will the suck next year? Maybe. But I know that Allen is sweating and bleeding to get to that quarterback. I know Adrian Peterson won't go down until both his pumping legs are firmly bound. And I know that whoever is playing quarterback is doing everything he can day in and day out to learn the position and succeed.
This season has not been a success for the Vikings. So, I choose to make it a memorable season as a fan. I will remember 2013 as the year I chose to commit to the Minnesota Vikings for the rest of my life.
....
The Red Sox just won it all. One day...some day...I'll know what it's like.
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