Ok kids...here's you Michigan Bucks update (Live from the Bucks' East Coast studios...call it Bucks Central - Philadelphia, whatever you want..) After the Bucks draw vs. Ft. Wayne in their 3rd game...just like last year, they enter the all-important 4th game needing a win and some help to qualify for the US Open Cup. The Top 2 teams from the Central Conference advance to the Open Cup, and here's what things look like as of FRIDAY MORNING: The tiebreaker is goal difference, but you are only given a MAX of +3/-3 (so if you beat a team 10-0, you only get +3 goal diff.) Ft. Wayne Fever - 10pts (4 games already played) GD: +5 Chicago Fire Reserves - 9pts (4th game home vs. Des Moines) GD: +9 Boulder Rapids Reserve - 9pts (4th game home vs. St. Louis) GD: +7 MICHIGAN BUCKS - 7pts (4th game home vs. Cleveland) GD: +6 St. Louis Strikers - 6pts (3rd game at Colorado Springs / 4th game AT Colorado Springs) GD: +5 Thanks to those great guys at www.usopencup.com (*cough, cough*) here is how it has to play out this weekend... Obviously, the Bucks need a big win vs. Cleveland (more than a 3 goal win would be most helpful) Chicago Fire Reserves have to lose to Des Moines (which is very possible) Then there's a few different scenarios with St. Louis and Boulder and their games this weekend...but in the end, it's likely going to come down to goal difference. Ok, now my head hurts....how about this? Everyone go to the Bucks game this weekend vs. Cleveland at Hurley Field (Sunday, May 23 at 6:30pm)...CHEER YOUR ASSES off...and just hope for the best. Don't hurt yourself trying to figure out all the different scenarios. GO BUCKS!
WTF do you want them to do? Drive around with a bunch of Red Wings sh!t all over their cars when they're not playing anymore? You're not a bandwagon fan for rooting for one of your teams when they're doing good. You're a bandwagon fan if you're rooting for a team that has no business being yours. i.e. a Lakers fan that lives in Detroit.
this is getting off topic, but Trevor how should hardcore piston fans feel right now? The Pistons were the kings of the town back in the late 80's and then they had some rough years and were ignored while everyone was on the wings jocks. Us basketball fans were left in the dark. So the Pistons start winning and the Wings are on the decline and everyone is coming back to the pistons. You're going to experience what NBA fans have been thru in the 90's. You're not going to be happy that for the next 5 years the Pistons will most likely start getting all the media attention while the wings will have to rebuild. And then you're going to be annoyed when all the idiots come back to the wings when the pistons are down. Stoney and Wojo did a show on this topic a few weeks ago, alot of angry pistons fans called in about it. I was suprised. I figured only a few disgruntled pistons fans existed but there was caller after caller bitching about it.
And the other side of that coin is, you're not "jumping off" the bandwagon unless you root AGAINST your former team, and/or adopt a new one as your own. Being too disgusted to think about hockey (or whatever sport) after your team gets ousted is not the sign of "jumping off" or even apathy. Don't think for one moment that Detroit is the only city where winning increases fan interest in a team. And, you can't call a city that sells out games where the home team is the Detroit Lions anything close to "fair-weather" fans. The last fair weather Lions fans enjoyed was in 1957.
Here's how they should feel: glad that the Pistons are winning, and glad that they aren't being ignored in spite of that. Of what exactly are the "hardcore" Piston fans being deprived? Do they want medals for their loyalty, exclusive right to go to games, having their asses literally kissed by Joe Dumars? What the hell is the harm in seeing the colors of your favorite team being waved wherever you look? The attitude of, "I'm the only type of fan that's allowed to feel good when my team wins" is selfish and immature. There is something to be said for backing your team through thick and thin, but you really can't expect everyone to do it. I remember this from the late 90's, when Red Wings fans started coming out of the woodwork. Fans that called themselves "hardcore" kept bitching about those who hadn't banged their heads against the wall that was the Dead Things of the 80's, back when you could go to the Joe and get lower bowl tickets outside the arena the night of the game for face value, and the Wings had about as much chance of contending for a title as the Tigers do now. I was there. The Wings' main rival was Toronto, since they were the team that we had to beat to not be the only team in a five-team division not to make the playoffs, and we often didn't. When they started winning, and selling out the Joe every, single night, and the price of tickets went up, and the Wings had more money to spend, and the team got better still as a result, if you're a true fan, you welcomed this. Isn't being a fan all about doing what you can do to help your team win? Isn't having your team win its own reward? I just don't understand the downside of a city getting energized about your favorite team. Being a fan isn't some game of Loyalty King Of The Mountain. How is that interest, even massive new-found interest, not good for the team that you claim to support? Or, isn't the success of your team as important to you as your hardcore-fan crown of thorns? Ask not what your team can do for you, ask what you can do for your team. To bring this back to soccer, if Detroit gets an MLS team, I'd be happier than Bill Clinton at a beauty pageant if I saw hordes of people all of a sudden glomming on to my team, and waving their colors. These are professional sports teams, not fraternities, for god's sake. Hell, if having bunches of fans that only come out when the local team is winning makes a city look bad, then having the so-called "real" fans wanting to not allow them to feel good about their team's success makes it look even worse.
Ted, you're my friend. Hell, you've been over to my place, ate my food, partook of my beer. So I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt moreso than most people in this forum. But you're flat out wrong in your assessment. I won't for a minute begrudge anyone thier due if they've stuck by their team through thick and thin. And maybe on some level they do deserve the joy of success than say a fair weather fan. But don't for a minute sh!t on them because they're out in full support during a good run. If only the hardcore came out regardless of success, there wouldn't be a need to cover the team at all because very few people would support them. Hell, I'm glad their doing good. I feel spoiled as a Detroit sports fan. It's rare that all four teams suck around here. But seriously, can you fault me for not really following them when they were sucking up the joint. They changed their colors. Broke tradition. Made some aweful player aquisitions. They just didn't look like an organization that wanted my support. But then they turned things around. You could feel the buzz ramping up. Basketball in this town was exciting again. And they give this town the kind of blue collar performance we like. Not only was it winning basketball, but it was Detroit basketball. You dig? Besides, you've seen me. You know that I get worked up to the point of almost being sick when my teams don't do well. It's coping method when I turn away. I rather not watch than deal with the frustration of watching my team go down in a crushing defeat. That's how I am and I'm not going to apologize for that. We'll discuss this more this weekend. You're welcomed to come over and watch the games. A-fvcking-men.
Looks like we have to shut down some long threads, but you can continue on this thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=113171 Thanks.