Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Give me highly-motivated players.
I've lived in Minnesota for 44 years. So maybe it's time to become a fan of the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Maybe for the first time I'm really advidly rooting for them. Because I like the nature of these players. So unlike my Chicago Cubs, my lifetime favorites. The Twins have one of the lowest payrolls in major league baseball. Lots of young players. On the way up. When they start to qualify for high salaries, the Twins often trade 'em. To higher-salaried teams such as the Cubs and the New York Yankees. The gritty, hard-playing Twins went on a 17-4 roll to close the season in the American league Central and won their final game agaisnt Detroit to advance to the play-offs. Against the overwhelming favorite to win the World Series this year. The Yankees. Chances are the Yankees will sweep the Twins. Of course, I'd like to see an improbable upset. But even if the Twins don't win, I like the way they lose. They keep scrapping. They play with gusto. Unlike my Cubs. I'm for the Cubs dumping some of their high-salaried, unmotivated players and going instead with the lesser-light, low-salaried, highly-motivated players. --Jim Broede
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15 comments:
What a difference a week makes! Or, should I say what a difference a WIN makes.
Just last week, "...I'm no ardent fan of Minnesota's professional sports teams, such as the Minnesota Twins...often I am pulling for them to lose....The fact that the Twins lost doesn't bother me...I can take 'em or leave 'em"
Now, they are the golden boys. Get on that bandwagon! Yeehaw!
Like I say, it's taken me 44 years to get to this feeling of rooting for the Twins. I don't easily jump on a bandwagon. Not even when the Twins won the World Series in 1987 and 1991. And still, while I'm rooting for 'em, I'm not a diehard fan. Like with the Cubs. A loss by the Cubs hits me hard. I'd get over a loss by the Twins quite easily. I've gone to see the Twins play here only when they played the Cubs in inter-league play. And I always pull for the Cubs. If the Twins and Cubs met in the World Series, I'm for the Cubs. And I'd be sick if the Cubs lost. Right now I'm impressed by the Twins style of play. And I am unimpressed by the Cubs style of play. The Twins play with much more passion. And I give them credit for that. Their players have positive attitudes. I tend to like people with positive attitudes. Rather than negative ones. Have you noticed that? --Jim
Looks to me as Jim is a fair weather fan. Jumping on the bandwagon. That a boy Jim!
I have nothing against fair weather. The Twins had better damn well meet my expectations. Or I'll abandon 'em. The same goes for you, dear anonymous. Meet my expectations, or I'll abandon you, too. I'm a hard task master. --Jim
I'm inclined to be a Boston Red Sox fan today. Goes to show I'm changeable. From day to day. Depends which way the wind is blowing. --Jim
I suspect that baseball teams from Cuba and Japan could beat the New York Yankees. So maybe our World Series really isn't a World Series. Only a North American Series. --Jim
Maybe I'll become a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They've been downtrodden losers for such a long time that I'm beginning to feel sorry for 'em. And they've been so kind to the Cubs. I owe them a debt of gratitude. --Jim
Some of you anonymous posters here sound like losers, too. I'm beginning to feel sorry for you. --Jim
There's a distinct advantage to being a casual fan rather than an avid fan. A casual fan doesn't quite put himself fully behind a team. It's nice to see the team win. But if the team loses, even if it's a tough loss, one doesn't get overly upset about it. One just says -- well, it's just a game. No big deal. I can't do that with the Cubs. I can do it with the Twins. Because I'm still a casual fan. Rather than a diehard fan. It's quite a difference. --Jim
I suppose one can be a casual lover or an avid lover. When it's avid, one's heart and soul is in the relationship. And the best love of all is unconditional love. A rarity. But the most genuine of all love. --Jim
I do love the game of baseball. But baseball is secondary in my life. --Jim
I could easily have happily pursued a career as a sportswriter. But I wanted a more diverse pursuit. --Jim
As a sportswriter, I would have liked to specialize in baseball. It's a far more fascinating sport than football, basketball or hockey. --Jim
The sports world is a world of its own. One can escape into it. And see a game unfold. In so many different ways. Wonderful drama. Different and unexpected twists. --Jim
My Minnesota Twins lost a tough game to the New York Yankees tonight. The Twins blew a 3-1 lead in the 9th inning, and finally lost in 11 innings, 4-3. I was rooting for the Twins, of course. But I took the loss matter-of-factly. Without any grieving. Because I'm a casual fan. Rather than a rabid fan. If the Chicago Cubs had lost that game, I'd be grieving for a week or two. Yes, there's a difference between a casual relationship and a love relationship. --Jim
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