The Phallacy of Victory

Sometimes I feel like I've lost my innocence when it comes to sports. As a child I don't think the outcome of the game was ever more important than the game itself (with the exception of any and all Knicks playoff games). In most of my early memories of going to Mets or Knicks games with my father I can't remember who won. I had little concept of what the game I went to meant in the grand scheme of a larger season or a period in a franchises' history. I'm nostalgic for a time where I could go to a game and not have my day utterly ruined if the home team lost.

On a similar note, it occurred to me today that I pretty much know for a fact that the Mets will not win the world series this year. With the exception of three or four teams a season doesn't every fan somewhere inside know that their team has no chance? But yet we still watch, we still believe even though it's like watching Titanic and expecting the boat not to sink. Sure, there is always room for Cinderella in sports. If upsets never happened people probably wouldn't bother. Maybe it just means that your average sports fan can still enjoy their team without demanding a championship. And maybe those unreasonable expectations are the cost of success. Maybe I just watch sports out of a lack of anything better to do...