Stop telling us to stop supporting our teams

When it comes to fandom, as an adult (well, kindof) I recognize that there are a wide variety of viewpoints and dispositions and attitudes and standards. And while I believe hearty debate among respectful people to be among the tastiest spices to life, there is one aspect of being a fan that some insist upon that I simply cannot get behind.

If you are reading this (and we all know that you are) then you have a roughly 97.85 percent chance of having heard some fan of some team say something like "they will keep being terrible as long as fans keep going to the games and supporting that miserable franchise. Time to speak with your wallets."

Also 67.98 percent of statistics are made up on the spot.

But still, you've heard it, I've heard it, and sometimes fans even create petitions to boycott their teams or show up on national TV wearing bags on their heads (as if that is somehow less embarrassing than owning a professional sports franchise that isn't particularly competitive).

Some may say that I am the wrong deliverer of this message as I often have what is seen as a "rosy" take on the Colorado Rockies, but at this point that matters not. I use what pulpit I've been given only to share what I see and I have been a loud (and somewhat obnoxious) critic of the Rockies on a number issues.

How-freaking-ever...

Do not tell me that I am the problem.

I appreciate that these boycotters, bag-wearers, askers of asinine questions on twitter and general rabble-rousers want the team to win. I can, and do, respect tons of fans with whom I vehemently disagree with on the state of our beloved baseball team, but I will not respect a position that says the fault lies at the feet of the people who love the team the most and pay both the players and GMs salaries with their loyalty and passion.

I love baseball. I love it in my bones. And I will keep going to baseball games at Coors Field until they drag me away in leg-irons.

That patronage (and many others) may keep the train on the tracks when some would rather derail the whole thing, but refusing to cheer the players and support the team because you don't like management is like not tipping your waitress because the restaurant owner is a jerk.

Charlie Culberson, and every other single member of the 25-man (and many guys who didn't make it) all worked their ass off to be where they are. I will make bad jokes at Charlie's expense when I'm here at Purple Row, and I will analyze and critique to the best of my abilities to see the truth of his talent relative to his peers.

But when I go to the game, Charlie is my hero as much as any of them. He worked his whole life to get here and I spent more on a beer than on my ticket. As long as someone gives effort, they deserve our support because they have earned with hard work and dedication.

But ultimately, I really don't care if people boo their own team (though I usually find it silly) and I don't care if people want to scream "Fire O'Dooowwwwddd!!!" from the rooftops (or the new party deck).

But don't tell me that my lifelong love of summer evenings in one of the most beautiful places on Earth enjoying the sounds, smells, and sights of the greatest game ever invented, is the problem.

What if I could guarantee you that your favorite team would make the playoffs but you had to give up beer for the whole season? Or drinking in general? Or if that isn't your thing whatever your favorite comfort consumption is; coffee, video games, TV, a particular type of food. Would you give that up for a whole season?

Some would and some wouldn't. But know that when you tell some of us that the only solution to sustained losing is to stop going to baseball games, realize that you are asking an addict to go cold-turkey.

Paying for tickets to see a bad team play isn't a sign of ignorance nor is it a weakness of character, it is a display of devotion and passion that should be applauded.

Thus endeth the rant.