The "Jumping Ship Fans"

Hello to all.  How are we today?  Finally I have my first follower!  Ecstatic about that, but I do believe I will get more as long as the blogs keep coming.  Without wasting anymore time, let's just jump right into todays news.

Today's been a rather hectic day, as Michael Crabtree FINALLY agreed to a deal with the San Fransisco 49ers, and will hopefully be making some kind of impact for the team by Thanksgiving.  Shaun Hill has so far played good this year, and I won't lie to you, I thought Hill would've been worse than Alex Smith, but so far, I've been wrong, and for Hill's sake, I hope I continue to be.  Vernon Davis has finally stepped up this year, and even though it took a tango with Coach "Iron" Mike Singletary to get him on track, he's finally looking like the investment the 49ers made by selecting him with the sixth pick of the 2006 NFL Draft.  Add in Frank Gore, 'nuff said, and Michael Crabtree, this offense looks as if it could be good for years to come. 

You know what is interesting?  Getting into a fight with a city's, Cleveland, top star's, LeBron James, friend, a 130 lb. man, and you get thrown off a sinking ship only to be brought aboard the U.S.S. New York Jets.  Braylon Edwards showed every athelete how to get shipped from one of the worst, if not the worst team in the NFL to wash up with the 3-1 Jets.  What will help Braylon, is going against Darrelle Revis in practice, who, if you haven't heard, shut down not only Andre Johnson, but also Randy Moss.  Now, if you ask me, two Pro Bowl Wide Receivers, and Randy is in my mind a sure fire hall of famer in my mind, being shut down, two weeks in a row, that's no coincidence.  Just know this, if you're on a sinking ship wanting out, go after the city's star, and hopefully you'll be pulled from the wreckage by a good team, and not the Oakland Raiders.

On to the topic for today, the bandwagon fan.  The best example, the Minnesota Vikings fans.  For 16 years, the Viking faithful hated Bret Favre with a passion, and now, the same fans that despised him for all those years, are now cheering for him and wearing his jersey.  If you are a fan in any sport, and the most hated player on the most hated rival of your favorite team becomes one of yours, you're going to cheer him.  Why?  That is sports, and that's what the fan does.  All the fans care about is about winning, and that player wins, they're happy and wearing his number and on their backs. 

From around the 2003 to the 2006 time frame, Jim Edmonds was with the Cardinals, and he made the most amazing catches in the outfield.  Every time I went down to Great American Ball Park to watch my Reds play the Red Birds, I'd come away disappointed.  Why?  To no avail, Jim Edmonds either hit a home run, or Jason LaRue, now a Cardinal, would come up to the plate, and hit a for sure home run, or so I thought.  Edmonds would scale the wall and get any ball over the fence.  What am I getting at?  I hated Edmonds then, but if he would've been a Red, I would've loved him. 

If Derek Jeter decides he wants to play two more years after this season when his contract expires, but isn't offered a contract with the Evil Empire, I would expect him to go to the Tampa Bay Rays.  Why?  He lives in Tampa on Davis Island.  Why not play for a team that is within a few miles of your home.  Rays fans who hate Jeter now, would love to have him play shortstop for their team wear his jersey. 

You can see what I'm getting at, even if it's Mike Piazza behind the plate for the Yankees catching Roger Clemens, or in two years, if Mariano Rivera decides to retire, and Jonathon Papelbon becomes a Yankee, those Yankees fans that  have hated him the past few years, will welcome him with open arms.  It's the way and mind of the fan, and it'll never change.  If you can accept this, then I have no problem with you, but if you can't, then we all know who the liar is, and it's not me.  Time to accept the fact that we're all bandwagon at some point, whether it's a team, or a hated player signing with your team, we all do it at least once. 

Athletes make lots and lots of money.  A lot of athletes make millions of dollars a year, and as fans, we hate it.  We say to eachother, "What is the matter with him?  Tell him to get in to camp and accept the real low offer.  He'll earn the rest later."  But, do you have even the slightest idea of why athletes ask for so much money?  Not only to they have more talent in one finger than most people do in their body, but when it comes to football, your life expectancy in the NFL is nothing.  Go through some old NFL Draft results of the last five or six years, and tell me how many names you recognize and how many names are on an NFL roster.  Point is, athletes have to make their money, and they have to do that right away.  Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL, and unlike the MLB, the NFL doesn't have 6 or 7 Minor Leage Baseball teams. 

We as fans hate this, and always say, "That player is so ridiculous.  If I could take his place, I'd play for free."  No you wouldn't.  No one would play for free in any league.  What if a fan got that chance, say he's going to play in the NFL, and he's going to start.  When he goes to practice, and he's around all these players making a ton of money, millions of dollars a year, playing for free will last about an hour, maybe two.  It is what it is, and there isn't a thing anyone can do about it.  This has been fun.  Until next time...

The Easy