Why Do We Do It?

Why? Why do we subject ourselves to this game? Why do we continue to listen to sports talk radio, read every credible blog on the subject, and bookmark our team's home page so that we can pop in every time we sit down to the computer.

I'm asking you, fellow Royals fan. Or you, Mr. Pittsburgh Pirates fan. Or you, avid Seattle Mariners fan. Hey, you... Yeah. You – in the Giants hat... Why do we do it? Maybe you could shed some light on the picture. If you own a Jake Peavy or a Todd Helton jersey... How come? Doesn't it only make it harder when we lose? The last time the Padres and the Rockies played was almost two weeks ago and the game drew over 28,000 fans on a Sunday afternoon, so I know you're out there.

In case you missed it, the Royals lost their tenth straight game last night. But, it's worse than that. The score was 8-3 for the Royals in the bottom of the ninth inning... with two outs. Yeah. Talk about a two-out rally. Ten in a row? Did you know that the Royals have had nine streaks of eight or more losses since 2004 (Incidentally, the same year I became a Royals fan. Luckily, I know I'm not the cause because their futility extends well beyond that span). That's the most of any team. At this moment, the Royals have spent at least a third of the season mired in losing streaks.

It really sucks.
Some of us live and breathe with our teams. It's like those two G.I. Joe characters from the 1980s... the Cobra Twins: Tomax and Xamot. Remember them? They would finish each other's sentences. They were inseparable. If one of them was hurt the other felt it too. It was like they were one person in two bodies. When you live in a Major League town, that's how it is. When the Royals cough up a five run lead in the ninth inning, it's like getting punched in the gut, and then getting an elbow to the head when you bend down in pain.

So, why do we do it? Because it's our team.