ESPN.com

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Enough with the whining. Somebody's team wins a few games, optimism rises and then some fan decides the team is getting "disrespected" and complains that "nobody ever talks about MY team. You guys have never talked about MY team. In fact, you've ALWAYS 'disrespected' my team." Good grief. Happens every year. Stop it.

We saw it last season from Rays fans. The Rays are an exciting young team that plays the right way with the speed and the defense and the pitching and the whole thing. The team felt it was getting pushed around and it pushed back; first against the Yankees in spring training, then in Boston, when Coco Crisp, then with the Red Sox, charged the Rays' James Shields. The players dug in, made their point and justifiably wound up in the World Series. They were, however, surrounded by trendy bandwagon-hoppers clanging cowbells. The cowbell people went negative and played the "disrespected" card. Then they went back home and that's where they've stayed.

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