VIEWPOINT By Kenney Kost/managing editor
Waiting 30 years for the Texas Rangers to make their first World Series was grueling, amazing and ultimately disappointing when all was said and done — this is the life of a true fan.
The front-runner has many excuses. “Well, I really just like Kobe Bryant, so I guess I am a Lakers fan.” Or, “I grew up in Wichita Falls, and they only showed New York Yankees games when I was a kid.” These are all wonderful excuses for instant gratification, jumping from team to team, never dealing with the inevitable downfall that a real fan suffers.
They experience the excitement of following a winning team, but the reward can’t be as satisfying. To never experience the bad times means to never fully appreciate the great times.
Dirk Nowitzki may be my favorite Dallas sports personality because he dedicated his life’s work to a team. He stuck with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban through thick and thin. He wanted to bring a championship to his team, not chase a ring around the NBA like LeBron James. This should be the mentality of a true fan.
Fair-weather fans might be an even more frustrating bunch, and Dallas/Fort Worth sports fans might be the biggest culprits. The evidence was astounding just a couple years ago when the Rangers started to make a run at the pennant.
Attendance was down leading up to the 2010 season. Then suddenly, fans started coming out of the woodwork. Attendance records were broken daily, then yearly. Where were all these people just a few years before?
Most of them couldn’t tell you a player on the team outside of Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsler but claimed to be lifelong Rangers fans. I’ve been attending games since the old bleachers of Arlington Stadium. That is why the exhilaration was immeasurable when Rangers closer Neftali Feliz struck out Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for the final out to win the 2010 American League pennant in one of the sweetest sports revenge stories of all time.
Whether it’s Jerry Jones driving the Cowboys into perpetual mediocrity or Cuban immediately dismantling a championship team and calling us idiots for not understanding the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement before we ponder his ridiculous decision-making, these are our teams. In our hometown, we are fortunate enough to have teams in all four major sports, so support them fully or go watch NASCAR.
