What makes a fan stick with their teams through thick and thin?
I ask this, because over the past few years, some of my favourite pro sports teams have been, frankly, pretty terrible.
Of course, I’m speaking of two teams in particular… my beloved Philadelphia Flyers and my favourite NFL squad, the Tennessee Titans.
You guys know by now that the Flyers are my #1 team above all.
The Orange and Black have a long storied history, including their two (and only) Stanley Cup victories, in 1974 and 1975.
But over the past half-decade or so, they’ve been awful. With a virtually non-existent power play, terrible goaltending, and a lack of top level stars, watching the Fly Guys has been tough.
Even this year, with all the optimism of the rebuild being ahead of schedule, by making a run to the second round of the playoffs, Philly proceeded to start the season by going 06-3 to start the season, though now they’ve won three in a row, and things are looking much better.
With young stars like Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Oliver Bonk, Cole Knuble, and Tyson Foerster, along with fantastic netminding from Dan Vladar and Joseph Woll, we Flyer fans have hope again. And, to quote the original Flyer, the late, great Bernie Parent, “it’s a beautiful thing!”
On the other hand, there are my Tennessee Titans.
Just a few short years ago, my Titans had future Hall of Fame running back Derrick Henry, and all-world wide receiver A.J. Brown. All we needed was to get a great young quarterback to succeed Ryan Tannehill, and the Titans would be in business.
However, the Titans cheaped out and let Kingn Henry and A.J. go, and the offense has been inept ever since.
What DO the Titans have? Well, they’re got one of the NFL’s top defenders, in Jeffery Simmons, a great young receiver in rookie Carnell Tate, and the jury’s still out on quarterback Cam Ward.
There are growing pains a-plenty.
When it comes to sports fandom, it can never be wine and roses all the time, but boy, would I love to see my teams break out of their funk, and make a run.
I’ve seen the Riders win Grey Cups, the Blue Jays win World Series, and the Raptors win an NBA title. Manchester United has been super-successful over the years, though not so much since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired. And my other fave NFL ream, the Philadelphia Eagles, have won a pair of Super Bowl titles.
But boy… if my Flyers ever win the Cup, I’ll be a one-man parade cruising up and down Broadway!
And I think that’s the key… you have to ride the ups and downs with your teams, and experience the lows, in order to truly enjoy the highs!
It’s one of the things that make us love sports so frickin’ much, even though they drive us nuts sometimes!
But I’ll never abandon my teams!
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