The Optimism of a Small-Market Team

Us small market fans are tired of being ridiculed. As a fan of the Oakland A's, the epitome of a small-market team, I've heard every kind of optimism in sports. Optimism gives us hope, although it's usually false optimism. "He, is the next big thing." Yeah, right, and Barack Obama is going to be Team USA's starting point guard in 2014. The "next big thing" becomes the big thing almost never. There's also "We have potential" and "This is the year". I've even seen things on fan message boards as ridiculous as "Adrian Gonzalez might come to Oakland". Although these bits of optimism almost never bear fruit, they are what keep fans like me interested.

Admittedly, I say these phrases very often. My favorite is the "next big thing" one. Having the feeling that a certain player may explode and become one of the best in the majors gives me reasons to turn on the TV and wait through each 30 minute at bat. It gives me a good excuse when trying to explain why I chose the Oakland A's as my favorite team, instead of the San Francisco Giants (And I'm proud of my decision).

The "we have potential" and "Adrian Gonzalez might come to Oakland" ones seem far more desperate to me. I usually don't believe them, but I keep hope that they are true.

In a way I almost try to convince myself of a truth that doesn't exist. It probably isn't the year, and Adrian Gonzalez probably won't come to Oakland, but it's fun to imagine that it is. It's fun to imagine what could be. It's fun to imagine SI with the headline "Green and Gold takes the World Series". It's fun to imagine catching an Adrian Gonzalez blast to left field, all 854 feet of it (Yes, the Oakland outfield really is that deep). So next time a hopeful fan tells you something that's so obviously insane or ridiculous, don't ridicule it.