For fans of Major League Baseball

As a fan of the Pirates and a select handful of other teams, we must face a harsh truth each season. We have pledged alliegence to a team that lacks resources to contend for the World Series. Luckily for us, it doesn’t matter.

To understand my arguement, it is important to find acceptance with the fact that the Pirates winning hurts the game. No one likes to admit it, but a team like Pittsburgh winning is a negative in terms of profit or marketability of the sport. Major League Baseball collectively earning a profit each year is the primary goal for ownership.

This isn’t exclusive to the MLB, this happens in every sport, every business. No one wants New Oreleans to kick butt in the NBA, because they are in a smaller market than the Knicks or Lakers. Even the recent success of Buffalo and Detroit in the NFL is not good for the game.

As Pirate fans, to expect some type of reward for “all the years we put in” is foolish. We are owed nothing. We voluntarily invest our time and money into this business. There are no promises made of any return. When you buy a ticket to a game, you are promised at least five and a half innings of Baseball, anything that happens after that is a bonus. The Pittsburgh Pirates are not a public institution, they are a privately run business with a goal of making a profit.

I may disagree with how the system works, but I do not answer to the shareholders. I am on this train ride voluntarily. Often, I convince myself that I would feel some type of validation if the Pirates won it all, or even just won more than they loss one year. Ultimately, the outcome of each season doesn’t have an effect on my level of fandom. I am addicted to the product. If anything, all winning would do is raise ticket prices and make tickets harder to obtain, such as last summer’s weekend series against St. Lous.

So I employ everyone reading this not to extend too much emotion about the lack of sizzle this offseason. I always attribute being a baseball fan to being a fan of a soap opera. We will find bonds with whichever twenty-five players head north. We will rally behind them or find reasons to dislike them. Most importantly, this product provides us with a common interest. Perhaps you disagree and believe that winning will better your experience, and perhaps it will. But wins and losses don’t really matter (just ask the Cubs).

The beauty (or the flaw) of the sport isn’t about “Who’s on First?” or “Who won the pennant in ’53,” rather it is about sharing in an experience with friends, family and strangers. For some, it is about going to that tailgate opening day, because you’ve never missed one in thirty years. For others, it’s watching the Fireworks on a summer night eating a box of crackerjacks. If you ever doubt that, just look around the ballpark and find a kid with a glove and look at the excitement on his face. The next time you find yourself telling someone that you are “done as a fan,” take a moment and think about that kid. Something tells me that he isn’t too upset that the Pirates didn’t sign a big name star.

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