Whiffers Of The Week-Hypocrite Fans
The next time a sports fan tells you that they care about winning games the right way, remember that they are talking about your team, not theirs. Want some proof? Serial recruiting cheater Kelvin Sampson, was given a standing ovation after the Indiana win over Michigan State, and I’m currently watching the Indiana/Purdue game, and Sampson was robustly cheered before the game. Remember this: Indiana has a good record, Indiana fans like to win. Is it any wonder that they wouldn’t mind it if Sampson bent/broke/assaulted the rulebook to do it?
And it’s not just Indiana fans, all fans like to say that we want things done the right way, but let us be honest with ourselves. Do you think that Tampa Bay Rays fans would have turned down a pitching staff that had Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte; and a line-up of Tejada, Giambi, and Bonds in their prime; instead of having to watch the Triple A team that gets put onto the field every year? Do you think that Eagles fans wouldn’t have idolized Lawrence Taylor the same way that Giants fans do if he had taken the Eagles to the Super Bowl? Or that Dolphins wouldn’t love to have had the Hoody manning the sidelines for the last few seasons?
And I’m part of the problem. I wouldn’t be half as mad about Tennessee’s recent disciplinary problems (a freaking punter busted for DUI and leaving the scene is the latest) if the team hadn’t been mediocre for the last several years.
Winning covers a multitude of sins. We only care about a player’s bad reputation when he’s no longer in his prime and likewise we don’t care about a coach’s methods as long as he’s winning.
But when the winning stops, the morals come out. We are sports hypocrites. I am, you are, and to the person reading this saying, “I’ll take the losing as long as my team is doing it right,” you are the biggest hypocrite of all, because you’re a liar on top of your hypocrisy.