This is the worst time for a sports fan like me, baseball playoffs haven't started yet, hockey and basketball are still a while away, and the few short days until the greatest sport ever kicks off its season feel like a lifetime. There's still some baseball to be played and the playoff race is getting close, and I have a few thoughts about sports fans, but first I'll finish my preview of the AFC North.
Early Predictions:
Baltimore Ravens
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
I was very down on the Steelers before I did my preview, I was convinced they would be fighting for the third spot with Cleveland, though I did think they would win out in the end. After seeing the improvements they've made on offense and the difference that injured players returning should make, I'm forced to admit that they look damn good. Yes, they got swept by the Bengals last season and yes, they lost some easy games. That being said, with Mendenhall going into his first full season as starter, Flozell anchoring the line, and Mike Wallace coming into his own this offense looks ready to compete, and the defense was never i question. I'm still high on the Bengals, but I think they have more to prove than the Steelers. The Bengals have had problems putting successful back to back seasons together, and though they have made improvements I doubt they will mimic the domination over the division that they did last season. Cleveland is also much better than I thought, and I already was impressed with the way they finished the season. I still don't believe that they can move out of last place, but they should get a couple of division wins and could improve on their 5-11 record, if only by a couple of games. The Ravens are the undisputed champs in my mind. Their offense has come into its own behind Joe Flacco and Ray Rice, and now with Anquan Bolding heading up their receiving corps they should be one of the best offenses in the league. Question on defense prevent me from crowning them champs right now as others are doing, but they still have potential to go deep into the playoffs.
Hockey and basketball are dead topics now, although I did see an amusing article on the recent meeting of the Chicago sports teams that have won championships since '86, it took a well-deserved shot at the 102 year championship sporting Cubs. Speaking of championships, the Sox aren't out of the chase yet, but things aren't looking particularly good for them. It was thought that a Central team making the Wild Card was out of the question, but the Sox are neck and neck with the Red Sox for the second spot. The Division looks increasingly out of the question as the Twins continue to play good ball, oh and by the way Kenny, thanks for giving Thome to them on a silver platter, DH by committee my ass. The concern now is the way the Sox are playing against division leaders. They played good ball against Boston, but they've been getting killed by teams like the Yankees and the Twins. Even if they do make the playoffs, they need to play better if they have any hope of going anywhere. In both respects, making the playoffs and winning in them, what they need is a late season push. That's what propelled them to their World Series win in 05 and it's exactly what they need to secure a playoff berth and carry that momentum into the postseason this year. Sox fans are waiting, guys, anytime you want to make that push would be nice.
I recently chastised a fellow Bears fan for lashing out at a sports writer, and the incident was just the culmination of something that's been going on in sports that's bothered me for a while. Why is it so impossible for us fans to enjoy sports without turning into complete tools? This behavior goes on in many cities, I've seen Philly fans as the ultimate sports jerks for a long time now. Besides their complete disrespect for the tradition of the Stanley Cup recently when they lost it at home, they have a long history of heckling and antagonizing visiting fans, from getting into fights to pelting them with snowballs. I noticed this kind of behavior on a recent trip to Lambeau as well. Though my previous two visits were largely incident-free, the fans seemed much less amiable on the third. I'll admit there was always some good-natured competitiveness between the fans, the cheeseheads gave us crap before the game for our team's struggles up to that point and we gave them crap after the game for their team losing, but it never seemed acrimonious. The last time I was up there it was much different, with far less friendly insults being hurled both before and after the game and a near complete breakdown in decorum.
Though I've never been to a regular season game at Soldier Field, I have witnessed similar behavior in Chicago in the form of what Bears fans are saying. It seems that, since the Lovie era began, sports fans have become more and more willing to criticize and far more vociferous in their criticisms. I'm all for criticizing when it's appropriate, but it seems that Chicago fans have determined that time to be all the time. Everything gets criticized, everyone gets criticized, there are no good guys until the Bears are holding a Lombardi Trophy. Not only is this a poor reflection on our fanbase, but it also makes the criticisms seem less valid. When a valid criticism is thrown out it doesn't stand out, it seems like just another slight in the tidal wave of slights emanating from Chicago sports fans.
It doesn't stop with the Bears, either. That team which we call professional up on Addison street seems to attract its fair share of degenerates, from drunken hecklers and pugilists to the normal base that delights in insulting their home team, though they are worthy of insult. Milton Bradley claimed to be subject to racial slurs on a regular basis, and while some of his claims on the subject may be exaggerated I have no doubt that this behavior is the norm in that glorified beer garden called Wrigley. Now I know, maybe lumping drunken frat boys who go to watch a second rate team like the Cubs in with Bears fans who care about a team with tradition isn't fair, and maybe it's unrealistic to expect change from either the Cubs or their drunken horde, but the fact still remains that this behavior is degrading to sports as a whole. Take the movie Big Fan for instance, I sat through that entire disaster and came out disgusted at whoever dreamed up that script. The whole movie treated sports fans as either obnoxious, drunken, assholes or socially debilitated shut-ins. Though blame for the portrayal lies ultimately with the writer, do you really think it helps this perception when a section full of fans pelts two people relentlessly with snowballs, or when a player leaves a fanbase in disgust for being subjected to racial slurs on the field? I'm all for having a good time, I'm all for getting a little drunk, and I'm all for a little friendly rivalry, but there's a point when we cross that line between taking pleasure in the sport itself and having a good time, over into getting caught up in hostility and ruining the experience not just for others, but for ourselves as well.
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