From the Windup: Welcome, Tampa Bay Rays Fans, To Club Misery

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

You've hopefully heard the news by now. The Philadelphia Phillies are the World Series champions of baseball after knocking off the heavily favored Tampa Bay Rays.

The other night, during a live chat, I mentioned something about how the die-hard Phillies fans deserve this more than the Rays fans. It's a slippery slope to be sure, and likely just a bad choice of words, to say something like this. Frankly, no fan deserves anything. We voluntarily spend our time and money on these teams, and probably care way too much about them -- if you ask the majority of Americans. That's the thing, though, we die-hards know this and embrace it.

You want to know why I said the fans of Philly deserve it more? Because they've had more suffering. The only reason a fan puts himself/herself through the ringer for six months every season is the hope that there will eventually be some sort of payoff. The fans of Philadelphia had been waiting for another one since 1980. The Rays didn't even come into existence until 1998.

Philadelphia hadn't even had a pro sports title within this time span. At least the Tampa Bay area had the Bucs take the 2002 Super Bowl (yes, I know the Rays play in St. Petersburg ... they are still called the Tampa Bay Rays).

Now, I can see the uprising from the Tampa/St. Pete area right now ... the Rays never even won more than 70 games until this year. That's a ton of suffering, more than almost any other team in the majors. Well, not really. Being a Cubs fan, I've had a lot of ups and downs in my 30 years -- six playoff appearances to go with a handful of seasons with more than 95 losses. I can tell you with all sincerity, the easiest years on me are the ones where the team loses 95 games. I can move on with my life by August. The worst seasons for me are the ones like this one (this was actually the worst, by far). All fans of teams that have had drastic turns between 95 losses and 95 wins (without winning it all) are nodding their heads in agreement.

It just hurts more to have a good team lose in the postseason than it does to root for a crappy one during the regular season.

And that is why I want to officially -- finally -- welcome the true die-hard Rays fans to being a battle-tested unit of baseball fans. Welcome to Club Misery. Population: Every single person that truly cares about their team unconditionally.

Just ask the fans of...

... the Atlanta Braves. They were treated to 14 straight division titles, and only won the World Series once. After this year, however, I'm guessing they are clamoring more for a wild card berth.

... the Baltimore Orioles. The once-proud organization hasn't won it all since 1983, making the playoffs only twice since then and more recently relegated to the role of AL East punching bag.

... the Boston Red Sox. Oh, trust me ... they remember the misery.

... the Chicago White Sox. So do they.

... the Chicago Cubs. Yeah, ours is well-documented, even by me.

... the Cincinnati Reds. Long gone are the days of the Big Red Machine and Nasty Boys. Now, some people even claim it's not a baseball town anymore.

... the Cleveland Indians. They won it all in 1948. For the next 46 years, they only saw the postseason once. Then, in the mid-90s, the team surged, making the playoffs in six of seven seasons. Of course, they blew the World Series to the Marlins in 1997 and lost to the Braves in 1995. Last year they choked away a 3-1 lead in the ALCS to the Red Sox. So, yeah, 60 years and counting without a title despite several chances. If not for my Cubbies, this would be the sport's poster-child for fan misery among franchises.

... the Colorado Rockies. What a magical run last year was ... until they got swept in the World Series and fell apart this year.

... the Detroit Tigers. They hadn't even been to the playoffs since 1987 until they came from out of nowhere in 2006. Then they lost to an inferior St. Louis team in the World Series and haven't made it back to the postseason, despite tons of payroll and talent.

... the Houston Astros. Zero championships in 46 seasons. From 1997-2005 they had six tries, too. They even won 102 games in 1998 before losing in the divisional round. From the famed Albert Pujols tater to being swept after watching Scott Podsednick hit a rare homer, there have been plenty of stomach punches to these people.

... the Kansas City Royals. From 1976-1985 they went to the playoffs seven times and won a World Series. Since then, nothing but futility.

... the Los Angeles Dodgers. No World Series titles since the Kirk Gibson series in '88. When they took down the Cubs in the first round this year, it was actually the first postseason series they had won since then.

... the Milwaukee Brewers. This season marked 39 years without a championship. They went to the World Series in 1982, but didn't return to the postseason until this year. The Phillies made sure it was a short stay.

... the New York Mets. Yeah, they won the crown in 1986 and lost in the Subway Series in 2000. Other than that, though, it's been a series of failures -- relative to expectations -- in Queens since the magical run of 1969 ... especially the past two seasons.

... the Oakland A's. From the Bash Brothers to the Moneyball teams, there were nine playoff appearances in two separate windows of opportunity. The A's won the title only once, and that was 19 years ago. Those three straight rings in the '70s are a distant memory.

... the Pittsburgh Pirates. A wildly successful franchise in the '70s was resurrected in the early '90s with three straight playoff appearances, which came with subsequent exits before the World Series. Since then, 16 straight losing seasons.

... the San Diego Padres. 39 years. Two World Series appearances. Zero championships.

... the San Francisco Giants. The Giants franchise hasn't won a World Series since 1954, when it played its games in New York. The San Fran Giants have never won a title. They did hold a 3-2 lead heading into Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, and a 5-0 lead in the middle of the seventh inning in that game. Things didn't turn out well, I'm told.

... the Texas Rangers. 47 years and counting, with three playoff appearances -- and of course, zero championships -- to show for it.

... the Toronto Blue Jays. No postseason appearances since back-to-back championships 14 years ago. In a division with the Rays, Yankees, and Red Sox, there doesn't appear to be much change in the near future, either.

So you see, Rays fans. You were only fledglings before having your heart ripped out this year. You're now joining quite a large and suffering group. Some might instead call us insufferable. We just like to think about the payoff we'll see one day, the one the Phillies fans received last night. The problem is that only one fraction of us is freed each season, and that's assuming it's a new team winning every year (the Yankees screw up that equation frequently). There's only so much success to go around, so that means the overwhelming majority of us just keep on suffering, yet coming back for more with hope that next season is our payoff.

And now you are members of the group. God help you.