At What Point Do Fans Say "I'm Done"? - Joe Chacon's Blog

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Joe Chacon's Blog

At What Point Do Fans Say "I'm Done"? Stuck

Posted on December 20, 2012 at 12:48 AM.

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This year has not been a great year for me -- as far as sports are concerned.

The USC Trojans entered the season as the preseason number one team only to spend the last week in December gearing up for the 6-7 Georgia Teach Yellow Jackets, whom they will face in the Sun Bowl on New Year�s Eve. Not to mention the pain I'm still feeling with them losing to both UCLA and Notre Dame in the same season.

Prior to that, I watched the Los Angeles Dodgers buy up half of the Boston Red Sox and fall flat on their faces as the rival San Francisco Giants won their second World Series in the last three years.

It's been a double whammy of sorts for the Los Angeles Lakers as I've had the pleasure of watching them self-destruct in the 2012 NBA Playoffs as well as go through a very rough start to the 2012-13 season.

Not since the days of Sedale Threatt and Anthony Peeler do I recall a more lethargic start to a season. It's as if this year's squad doesn't even care. Perhaps they are just coasting along the regular season and will flip the switch come playoff time. Well, I hope not, because there is no "switch" with this team.

Yes, I still Bolt Up! every week in hopes that the San Diego Chargers are going to put together one of their classic late season winning streaks and glide into the playoffs. Unfortunately, it has been a pathetic journey down the 2012 schedule.

I hate to see anybody lose their job, but damn, Norv Turner really stunk up the place. There was no consistency in anything the team was doing this year. He and General Manager AJ Smith will be fired at the end of the season and that is a decision not one single Chargers fan is against.

The lone bright spot for me? Watching the Los Angeles Kings raise their first ever Stanley Cup Bann...wait -- oh, right, the lockout.

So it hasn't been the greatest of sports years for my teams. I know, boo-hoo. I'm complaining about a Lakers organization that has won five world titles in the last 13 years. I'm depressed about USC even though their football team has won quite a few games over the last decade. The Dodgers, well, they really have stunk for quite some time. Let's face it, we'll never really ever figure out the Chargers.

This all got me to start thinking about fans of teams such as the Cleveland Browns, Milwaukee Bucks, and Chicago Cubs. You have teams that stink just about every year. Yet you still throw on a supporting shirt and go out to the games.

Year after year the playoff dream comes and goes faster than the Polar Express (I'm really not sure if that's a good analogy). You take your kids to the field, stadium, or arena knowing your team has no chance of winning a championship -- yet you go for the experience.

This goes way beyond the scope of those three teams mentioned, but I want to know if losing ever becomes just too much. So bad that it gets to the point where you say, "screw it".

I'll never stop supporting my teams. Yes, I'll turn the Laker game off when I can't stand the poor effort they are displaying, but my support grows for my teams with what I see on the field. If they lose, fine, so be it. That means ticket prices on Stub Hub will be going down and I'll be able to take the family out to a few more games during the season.

Losing is okay, it's the lack of effort that goes along with the losing that I won't tolerate. That's when teams lose me for a bit. I can't imagine plunking down $200 for two upper level seats at a Lakers game just to watch a team that looks like they don't want to be out there.

It's not all about wins and losses for me as a fan, but I will take a break here and there during a season when I've watched enough poor performances strung together in a row.

Sound Off: Have you ever thought about dumping your favorite team and jumping on the bandwagon of another? What, if anything, ever makes you say "I'm done" with your team?

Joe Chacon is a staff writer for Operation Sports and a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JoeChacon.

Comments

# 1 LetsGoBucs @ Dec 20

As a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, I've been through 20 years of losing. I always said that they have me for 20 years. If they can't have a winning season, then I'm out. Well, I gave them up for about 2 weeks, but find that it isn't that easy to give up on a team. So I'm hanging in there, trying to tell myself how sweet it will be when they finally win again.

# 2 fillmorecash @ Dec 20

I been a Wizards fan since 2001 those 4 years straight we made the playoff were my best years but since then its been painful and i even thought about jumping ship this past year to be a BKN fan but i decided to stay which even now i still question because we honestly have no bright spots. Same with the Raiders who i thought about jumping ship years ago but i still continue to support them. I think its something to staying with a team while they are down because when they come up & win it will feel 1000000000000000000000000000000000000 times better.

# 3 Invaderscs @ Dec 20

I've been a life long Cavs, Browns, Indians, and Blue Jackets fan so I know what its like to root for a bunch of loosing teams. What I ended up doing is to find a secondary team to root for while still rooting for the home team. In my case I started to root for the Oklahoma City Thunder a few years back because I like Kevin Durant. I also started to root for the Atlanta Falcons a while back. If the two teams end up playing, I just root for both teams to do well, unless one of them is trying for the playoffs. Rooting for different teams has helped make the sports interesting to watch again. Its kinda of hard for me to be done with a team since I'm used to teams being complete crap and losing most games so I don't stop rooting for the even though they suck.

# 4 man_u_treble @ Dec 20

Being a Clemson and Orioles fan, it has been rough, but it does seem to be turning around.

# 5 Jusdpn78 @ Dec 22

I'm a die hard chargers fan and I'm at the end of my rope,but for some reason I can't stop supporting them so I feel you on that ,and yes norv and aj better be gone at seasons end they ran through their nine lives bunch a bitches,lol,anyways take care man and at some point things gotta get better,laters.

# 6 ghm125 @ Dec 22

never give up on your teams! bengals reds cincy bearcats for me!,but what I do is just pull back a little...not get so wrapped up in how they are performing,excited to watch,but a let down is coming sooner or later,whether its a poor season or a world series game 7 loss coaches/players bolting to other teams/schools its the way it is!

# 7 BaylorBearBryant @ Dec 22

Don't forget about us down in Houston. Haven't had a championship since 1995. The Texans look good this year, but even I'll be surprised if Matt Schaub can win a Super Bowl... and the Astros and Rockets are a looooong way from seeing a title.

# 8 cusefan74 @ Dec 23

I never give upon my teams. Even if they are having bad seasons I still watch.

# 9 Jimbo614 @ Dec 23

I live in Northern KY. So I feel for ghm125, But.. I will NEVER root for the Bengals until Mike Brown sells the team or dies. The Reds are starting to look good, but still a ways to go. And while the Bearcats are fun, I don't live or die with them.
So what do I do?
Well, first of all, there's Big Blue Nation in every bar in my neighborhood. And we all know that UK fans scoff at polls such as this..."What's a losing season?"
I've been a Tide fan ever since Bear Bryant, Joe Namath, and Shawn Alexander.
I tend to cheer for East Coast teams, Knicks, Yankees, Nets, Pats, etc. Who ever is hot at the moment. If you root for New York teams, most years there's something good happening somewhere,And besides, people think you're cool if you wear a Yankees Shirt in Kentucky.
So my advice to ghm125 is... ALWAYS root for Kentucky Basketball! They're the Roman Empire of sports. Even when they lose, they don't really lose for long.

# 10 jWILL253 @ Dec 30

I used to be a Mariners fan, until about 3 years ago. I have no problem rooting for a team when the organization overall has a commitment to success.

It's when they pull out the Mariners routine for the last 10 years: sign and draft on the cheap, show no commitment to winning, and lie to your fans and act like you're still putting out a superior product... that's when you lose me as a fan. Maybe I'll be M's fan when they eventually sell the team, which might actually happen within the next few years, judging the last few years...