After the All Star break, I quit keeping up with the Astros. I figured it was over. I've never been a fair-weather-fan for any Houston team, but I just couldn't take the under-achieving. My buddy at work kept tellling me "you know, if we can just get on a hot streak, we'll be right back in it." I just laughed at him while counting the days until football season. Of course, after taking 3 of 4 from the sCrUBS, I jumped right back on the bandwagon. What about you? When did you lose faith and when did you get it back again?
i didn't think they would do what they've done. they showed me nothing to indicate they were capable of this. but i certainly didn't stop rooting for them.
I'm glued to the bandwagon. I always stick with my teams even of the odds are tiny of any good happening to them. Gotta keep hope alive!
this brings up a point. i've grown up rooting for houston teams exclusively. they are always my teams. i always root for them. but that doesn't mean you can't be critical of them...or even analytical about their chances. having some measure of hope is to be expected...but i don't think you're less of a fan if you look at the way your team has played all season long and you say, "man, this doesn't look like it's gonna be our year." doesn't mean you stop rooting for them. i see this a lot in the GARM forum. if you make a negative statement about a player or the team then you're not a fan. that's simply not true. hell i've been a fan of these teams for a lot longer than any current player on these teams has been a part of them.
Good thread drummer, but hard for me to place a vote. I was sick of them several games after Garner was here and stopped keeping up with them as much as I usually do up until about they took 3 of 4 from the Cubs. I'm in college now, so I got lots of crap from friends here from other cities. During that time, I still defended them and said the Astros will be in the playoffs. Now, I'm able to talk back some more. This one guy was real happy because the Ranger were in first and the Astros were 8 out, now it's the exact oposite and it's awesome. Now, I think they can definitely make it (before I had some doubts), but as my signature says, I'm not totally invested in them winning it all.
Good points Max. I'm totally on the bandwagon for these 3 teams also for the rest of my life. I don't care about other teams, and I don't even care about college sports! Just Rockets, Texans, Astros. I'm also really bias and defend them to the death even if I know my argument is weak, I just love them too much.
I didn't vote because I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm a jaded Houstonian so I'm expecting nothing less than a playoff hitting slump. That won't stop me from supporting them though. Go Astros!!!
You bring up a good point, Max. You can still be a fan, yet critical. But personally, sometimes, I just wanna be blind and not say anything bad about them.
Mmmmmmmmmmm...tastes like chicken. Crow, that is. I completly wrote them off after losing 2 of 3 to the Expos. I am loving every minute of this. See those Cubs fans get nervous. They will fall apart very soon (if they haven't already after losing 2 straight to the Expos). Thanks, Astros, for making September fun again.
No, I didn't. The worst the Astros were was 7 games out. All we needed was for our guys to play up to their potential. I never thought we had a bad team, just bad leadership, injuries, and slumps. Would I have bet 20 bucks on it? No. But anything can happen in sports. I remember Oilers vs. Buffalo and Choke City.
Never completely thought it was over, but "Well, they could run off 10-in-a-row and be right back in it" was getting pretty hollow.
While I thought we didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of coming back based on the way we were playing for most of the season, I never gave up all hope that we could not mount some sort of comeback...as improbable as it seemed. I think we were all very frustrated for a while which came out in our posts but, for myself, that never culminated in me "losing faith" or prompting me to quit following or watch the Astros games. I was always there and I always will be there cause this is my team regardless of record or standing. I have followed the Astros since I was a freaking toddler so I will never stop being a fan of the team. The same loyalty applies to the Rockets or any of my primary sport teams. I don't have second favorite teams, either. It's one team in each sport that I follow. Period. So, while I may have lost some faith, I still held out hope that we could come back. I did not lose all hope, stop posting in the Astros game threads, stop watching the team, or stop following the boxscores. The fact is it took a miraculous win streak to restore some of that faith. If your a true fan, then you never give up all hope nor do you ever give up on your team to the point that you stop rooting for and/or following them. That doesn't take away your right to criticize, get pissed, and rant on occassion. This doesn't mean one has jumped off the bandwagon. That's my true story. Honest.
I wanted the Astros to trade Beltran, Kent and even try to trade Clemens. I was ready to give some of the young guys a chance like Burke and Tavares and I also wanted the Astros to bench Bagwell...so yeah I thought it was over.
I lost faith that they would have a shot at the Wild Card (99%), but I don't think that makes anyone a fair-weather fan. I knew there was always the possibility of a big run, but it was unlikely. The reason I say I was not a fair-weather fan though is because even though I thought that they had little-to-no chance, I still watched just about every game on MLB Extra Innings. Heck, I'd bet 80% of the Astros team thought they were out of it.
Hell ya i lost faith, the ony reason i looked at the boxscore was coz of my fantasy team having oswalt lidge and ensberg... i didnt know we were even close to in the wild card until late last week...
