In fairness, though, I think it's safe to say that any fan's joy at their team winning the first championship of their life is probably much much much more a function of how emotionally invested they are in the team and how long they have been following the team without witnessing a title, as opposed to the rich/poor championship history of said team. All other things being equal, I can't see how the history of a specific team makes something more or less enjoyable to any individual. Our emotional responses are perceived on a relative, as opposed to an absolute, level. Now, whether all other things are equal is another story... but the entire thing is a pretty silly argument to have. It works both ways. I mean, junc could just say, "No, you don't understand how much the '96 series meant to me. It was the most importantest, awesomely awesome event of my life. For that one brief moment, I knew what it was like to fly," or something ridiculous like that. And if we can't make quantitative statements about other people's feelings, who are you to tell him that he is wrong? Far more realistic to just say that there's nothing like witnessing your first championship... and that holds true for all fans, regardless of what team they root for.
I don't know your age except that you're in your early to mid 30's... 1976 falls in that range. Your statements contradict themselves... the point is you saw your team in the WS (lose) as did he. Hell I even remember the 81 world series and I hate the Yankees and the Dodgers. Just as heartbreaking defeat was part of the Sox history, which is the basis of the point being made here, no? Yankee fans were confident they would do it again, most Sox fans saw winning it all as something impossible. Throw in the GYC factor and it's hard for me to believe you were more emotional then Sox fans. It's subjective of course as everybody puts their own emotional value on events but for you to tell him he couldn't be more emotional and that your opinion is common sense is laughable... 10Pen10 gets it. Where did I do that?
I was a baby in '76, I told you in '81 I really don't rmemebr anything other than the Yankees losing so that really doesn't count. I wasn't invested emotionally at the time. Most OLDER Sox fans saw winning as something they couldn't do, Sox fans Devil's age didn't see that. Just like I didn't realize the jets would never win a SB until recent years.
You said the Yankees "NEVER made the postseason"... clearly you are exaggerating for effect. Much like you saying the Yankees fans suffered for "20 years or so". Even if your memories begin the moment after they lost the series it's still hardly the long struggle you are portraying it to be. I wonder if you polled them in 2003 what Sox fans Devil's age would have said. I guess none of them believed in "the jinx"... that was just something older fans talked about? LOL! As somebody who lived in Boston for several years I wholeheartedly disagree with you, and to me it just proves how you're totally missing the bus on this conversation.
While I was following them they never made it, the first postseason I saw as an educated, passionate fan was 1995. Why is this so difficult for you to comprehend? I guarantee you younger fans didn't believe in the silly jinx. Again I use the Jets as an example, I always thought they'd have a Championship by now but having followed this team for 25+ years I realize it may never happen but if you asked me 10 years ago I would have said it could still happen in the next decade.
Why is it so hard for you to comprehend that you're trying to have it both ways? You're trying to portray yourself as a long suffering fan meanwhile in every other thread you crow about supporting the "winningest team in sports history" (or whatever that bogus tag line is). It's just not the same... That guarentee is worthless. :wink: So when the Jets win it this season it will be the same emotional high for you that it would be for a mid 20's Redskins fan? Or might the Jets fan feel a bit more emotion???
Here's the point that EVERYONE is missing in this stupid argument: No one can say what any specific person would hypothetically feel with certainty. However, with all other things being equal (age, devotion to team, etc.), human psychology would tell us that it's a safer bet to say that the emotional highs would be very similar than to say they'd be different. Yankee fans think their team winning was more special because it was their team, and so they look for things to support that argument. Sox fans think their team winning was more special because it was their team. It happens with EVERY fan base. And with all things being equal, it's all much more likely to be a mirage than anything else. Jesus, people.
I was long suffering but that all changed a little over a decade ago and the greatest franchise in the hsitory of sports started winning Championships again. YES, if the Jets won the SB this year it would be similar for say the Dolphins, Bears or raiders who haven't won one in a long time.
"In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane". :up: With that said, I don't buy into your pshyco-babble (said with respect). I'm neither a Yankees fan nor a Sox fan I can clearly see a difference in the two scenarios being presented. I watched the Islanders win four cups in a row as a kid and none of those experiences was the same for me. Each time the emotion was different... I don't believe the emotion was the same in both experiences for Yanks and Sox fans.
That's very wrong. The idea of "The Curse" was ingrained in the very fiber of New England. Being a Sox fan pretty much meant you had to believe in it, no matter your age. Older fans passed down the stories of heartbreaking losses from the time most fans were old enough to watch the game. And 2003 all but confirmed it for my generation, at least for one year.
Real Madrid? I didn't realize you were a fan. Cruising to their 31 title en La Liga this year by the way... I guess "long suffering" is a relative term for you, do Patriots fans qualify yet? That wasn't the question.
That's great but you didn't sauffer 86 years, it was only 15-20 years. That's a huge difference. I went 15 years w/o a postseason berth, that's long suffering. At least Sox fans got playoff trips and a WS to watch. Even Met fans had 2 postseason apps and a Championship.
Right, but you could argue that knowing you are witnessing history makes it more exciting. I'm sure it was thrilling for you to watch the Yankees win it the first time for you, but nobody was saying "now i can die in peace" or anything like that. Experiencing the excitement of the championship not just yourself but vicariously from the aura surrounding it could make it seem that much more monumental. The other problem is what is your idea of "suffering". If you view suffering as having your team just plain suck or be mediocre for years, then yes thats very painful. However, if as a fan your view is all or nothing, world series or failure...well then coming extremely close only to manage to repeatedly blow it spectacularly is beyond suffering.
I disagree. "The Curse" was invented by an irritating hack thats made millions off of a terrible idea. The Curse was years of racist,alcoholic, incompetent management. Nobody with a brain actually believed that Babe Ruth was magically willing bad things to happen to the franchise that allowed him to become an icon by going to New York.
Two points: 1. Of course it was a different experience for you each time the Islanders won. In this context, we're talking about witnessing your first championship for any given team, and whether that experience is similar across fan bases, regardless of team history. 2. I'm not saying (and no one CAN say) the emotion is exactly the same for individual Sox fans or Yankee fans. I made the distinction that all other things were equal (age, devotion to team, etc.). If you want to say that there are more "die-hard" Sox fans than Yankee fans or whatever, then that changes the equation. But for any given die-hard fan, regardless of what team he was rooting for, if he personally waited twenty, thirty, or forty years to see his team win the first championship of his lifetime, it's probably a very similar experience. It's not psycho-babble. It's just how people work. If you want to disagree with it, you'd need to disagree with it that their fans are more devoted or attached to their team. And while that might be true for a more significant proportion of their fans, it's not true for any given individual fan.
Try again buddy boy. With the exception of the 1980's, the Yankees have won Championships in every decade since the 20's. Now that's something the Redsux don't even come close to.
