I envy them. I had a four hour drive yesterday that coincided almost exactly with the game. I'm pissed off the entire drive and well into the evening. 

Casual fan switched off the game, cranked some tunes, and watched the scenery go back happily oblivious to the carnage going on. 

 

You don't have to be  a "fairweather fan" to avoid bad baseball, I watched next to none of the Cleveland series, they made it clear from the jump that they weren't taking the games seriously so I didn't bother watching. You don't HAVE to consume every second of the 162 games, that's unrealistic. Also, the assigning of "fairweather fan" is extremely gross especially coming from someone who admits he'd prefer the April games weren't even played.

There’s 162 games and the Sox are going to lose at least 60 of them. 

41 minutes ago, Kalapse said:

You don't have to be  a "fairweather fan" to avoid bad baseball, I watched next to none of the Cleveland series, they made it clear from the jump that they weren't taking the games seriously so I didn't bother watching. You don't HAVE to consume every second of the 162 games, that's unrealistic. Also, the assigning of "fairweather fan" is extremely gross especially coming from someone who admits he'd prefer the April games weren't even played.

This is way too easy to say in hindsight. Sure, they ended up looking lethargic the whole time, but we’ve all seen many games where teams look like crap for a few innings and then put up a 4 spot. 

Or maybe, just maybe the fans who can walk away from that shitshow have some perspective. I’m 58.  I discovered years ago that enjoying the wins and being able to shrug off the losses makes life much more enjoyable.  Not to mention my son went 4-4 in the first game of a DH and was the winning pitcher, not that he pitched well, in game two.  That trumps anything the Sox did, win or lose.  

Edited April 22, 20223 yr by JTB

I must say, life is good for me right now

Looking at that Game 2 lineup Wednesday...only gluttons for punishment kept watching after Engel got cut down at the plate.

Same thing with the game yesterday when Leury ran up the back of Robert.

Does switching to the most exciting two way player since Babe Ruth throwing a perfect game make one a bad fan?

I think not.

 

10 minutes ago, ron883 said:

I must say, life is good for me right now

Abreu struggling or Suzuki leading the ROY race?  Well, the Sox are 1/2 game up and losing the attendance battle, but Madrigal continues to be an enigma.

13 minutes ago, JTB said:

Or maybe, just maybe the fans who can walk away from that shitshow have some perspective. I’m 58.  I discovered years ago that enjoying the wins and being able to shrug off the losses makes life much more enjoyable.  Not to mention my son went 4-4 in the first game of a DH and was the winning pitcher, not that he pitched well, in game two.  That trumps anything the Sox did, win or lose.  

Good post, I am 60 and it has taken years to learn that a sox loss wrecked my day. If the sox lost my whole day was ruined, my attitude sucked, food tasted bad and I would come to this board and hear how bad the sox were and it got me more depressed. There was no fun in watching the game and I would lose my summers because of my dedication. I cant do that anymore, so now I come to the board when I am bored or have a break and I always know the score through my phone but I wont sit endlessly through hours of baseball when there are far better things to do with family and friends. So when I take my wife to dinner I dont turn the game on the radio I play the music she likes. When my wife wants to watch a movie I dont say nope the game is on or go in the other room to get all worked up. I stopped getting into arguments with Cub fans, its just a waste of time. I still go to some games but now its more of an entertainment event rather than why the hell did he throw a fastball there?  Or screaming  get the bullpen up! I am still dedicated to this team as a fan but life gets real short when your my age and I want my time wasted... back. 

the cleveland series reminded me just how bad white sox baseball affected my mood. I stopped caring when TLR said he was batting Leury third because he "ran the bases well" and "is a spark to the offense". The organizational incompetence is such a distraction from the product on the field it really makes it difficult to feel positive about the experience. 

I'm actually a great-weather-fan

I'm not a Fairweather fan, but I'm not having a fun time. 

Fairweather fan? I watched when the White Sox lost to the Dodgers in the 1959 World Series. I'm still watching the White Sox now! But I'll be damned if I can't b**** about my White Sox when I don't think the ownership group, manager and even an announcer doesn't care about my White Sox as much as I do!

Sox fans have always been fairweather fans.  In general they pride themselves on it, except when you use the phrase "fairweather fans".  I know some feel you aren't a real fan unless you are throwing temper tantrums, but it is a damned game.  If it isn't fun, why are you subjecting yourself to misery?  With all of the things you HAVE to care about in the world, baseball isn't one of them.  Get enjoyment out of it, or get it out of your life.

I'm telling yall TLR sucks and is the reason the Sox got swept.  A manager's job is to put the team in the best position to win.  He does the complete opposite.  Can anyone remember the last time TLR made a move where you were like "GOAT status omg!!!!"  you would legit have to look back over a decade ago when he was managing the Cards and still had all his faculties.

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

Sox fans have always been fairweather fans.  In general they pride themselves on it, except when you use the phrase "fairweather fans".  I know some feel you aren't a real fan unless you are throwing temper tantrums, but it is a damned game.  If it isn't fun, why are you subjecting yourself to misery?  With all of the things you HAVE to care about in the world, baseball isn't one of them.  Get enjoyment out of it, or get it out of your life.

Has anyone successfully convinced someone else to be a different kind of fan in the entire history of SoxTalk?

Just curious if there are any examples that come to mind?

 

10 hours ago, Kalapse said:

You don't have to be  a "fairweather fan" to avoid bad baseball, I watched next to none of the Cleveland series, they made it clear from the jump that they weren't taking the games seriously so I didn't bother watching. You don't HAVE to consume every second of the 162 games, that's unrealistic. Also, the assigning of "fairweather fan" is extremely gross especially coming from someone who admits he'd prefer the April games weren't even played.

Good point. Perhaps I would also be in favor of April baseball if I followed your lead and didn't actually watch it. Ironic isn't it? 

And I'm against games when the players hands are too frozen to hold a ball and fans are wearing winter coats to games. Boys of summer and all that. Middle of April makes more sense to start the season. 

 

The fairweather fan accusation is a phony one. Regardless, there are all kinds of fans. Die-hard, fairweather, and casual. The White Sox need all of them because their fan base is, in a relative sense, a small one. And there are many reasons for that which include the franchise alienating the fan base with bad teams, bad PR, strikes, lockouts, and White Flag Trades. 

There is plenty of time for the 2022 team to right the ship and win the division like they should. But that Cleveland series was one of the strangest things I've seen in all my years as a Sox fan. I hope we don't see any repeats soon. That series was almost enough to turn anyone into a fairweather fan.

14 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Has anyone successfully convinced someone else to be a different kind of fan in the entire history of SoxTalk?

Just curious if there are any examples that come to mind?

 

Last year Balta convinced me we're a bottom five franchise. Changed my outlook. 

22 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Sox fans have always been fairweather fans.  In general they pride themselves on it, except when you use the phrase "fairweather fans".  I know some feel you aren't a real fan unless you are throwing temper tantrums, but it is a damned game.  If it isn't fun, why are you subjecting yourself to misery?  With all of the things you HAVE to care about in the world, baseball isn't one of them.  Get enjoyment out of it, or get it out of your life.

It doesn't work like this. 

I was thinking of the folks that don't really have a team but pay attention when something exciting is going on. Call them what you want. It wasn't meant to be pejorative. 

3 minutes ago, Texsox said:

I was thinking of the folks that don't really have a team but pay attention when something exciting is going on. Call them what you want. It wasn't meant to be pejorative. 

Excitement is always going to be in the eye of the beholder, though.

I thought 1977 and especially 1990 were super exciting.   Neither ended in playoff appearances.

8 minutes ago, Texsox said:

Last year Balta convinced me we're a bottom five franchise. Changed my outlook. 

LoL.  We’ve always been somewhere in the middle, all things considered.  Where do you think the phrase “mired in mediocrity” came from?

Although all the allegations directed at Jar in the last few years about targeting a second place finish on average were interesting to say the least.  Something one would never hear in NY, Boston or Chavez Ravine. 

I am a lifelong fan of the Chicago White Sox.  Learning to emotionally detach is a healthy thing.