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Something To Believe In...The Right Way

The Hot Corner

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: June 21, 2008

Sports fans of teams known as perennial nobodies and/or relative newbies to their respective leagues should all be taking detailed, thorough notes right now.

The Tampa Bay Rays, a team with a sub-.400 Won-Loss percentage over their first 10 years of existence, have finally found a combination that doesn't resemble a bowel movement and find themselves – as of Friday afternoon – a game and a half behind first-place Boston.

Seventy-two games into the season and the Rays are breathing easy 14 games above the .500 mark.

Seventy-two games into the season and the Rays are three and a half games superior to the Evil Empire.

The entire Bay Area should be awash in a sea of navy and Columbia blue, right? (That doesn't quite roll off the tongue, but oh well).

Every game should be sold out, shouldn't they?

Shirts should be made saying "Yankees Who?" and "Owning Red Sox Nation – Since 2008."

But no. These things are not happening at all for the most part.

There's a bit of a buzz around this year's boys of summer, but nothing certainly nothing extravagant. It's been more like a toddler skeptically dipping his/her toe into the unknown that is a swimming pool for the first time.

Rays fans are collectively that toddler and success is their unknown.

Case in point: attendance. After 40 home games, the Rays are hovering just below the 20,000 per game range, placing them fourth-worst in all of baseball.

What I most often hear in my personal interactions with, or eavesdroppings upon, Rays' supporters is enthusiasm prefaced with a "Let's wait and see" attitude. (Loud-mouth local radio personalities are not included in this assessment, mind you.)

No one quite knows how to go about this team just yet, and that is just the way to go.

If your team has never done anything of considerable note for a decade, there is no need whatsoever to jump headlong into outlandish hysteria.

I'm most definitely not saying this young team should be avoided; fans should go to as many games as possible and support the heck out of them. Just be weary of going overboard.

For example, rewind back to the craziness that was last college football season.

Remember the No. 2 in the nation ranking for the University of South Florida?

Remember never selling a seat in the upper bowl of Raymond James Stadium and then selling out a couple games all of a sudden?

Remember the ridiculous Grothe>Tebow T-shirts?

Then remember the steep falloff of attendance and excitement after a few losses?

Granted it's nice to see the area getting some big-time college football recognition and the Bulls' ascent is laudable, but that is exactly the type of out-of-the-blue madness that ends up being laughable if things turn sour.

So take it in stride, Rays' fan. Enjoy the season, cheer the guys on and hope for the best.

Just remember that it's a long season.

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