Sports Nut

There Is No Justice in Sports 

Rany:

You probably shouldn’t make any promises to Boston just yet, buddy. After the amazing events of Nov. 4, here’s a partial list of the teams that have won a World Series since the Red Sox reached those happy heights:

Arizona Diamondbacks
Florida Marlins
Kansas City Royals
Atlanta Braves
Milwaukee Braves
New York Mets (twice)
Minnesota Twins (twice)
Toronto Blue Jays (twice)
Baltimore Orioles (thrice)

None of these teams even existed in 1918, the last time the Red Sox won a World Series. And, of course, you have to go back even further—eight years further, to be precise—to find a World Series that ended with the Chicago Cubs on top.

You and I are lucky. True, our favorite team hasn’t won anything in a long time, 16 years now with no hope in sight. But at least we have that memory, that wonderful feeling that lasted throughout the winter after the 1985 World Series and still remains within us, to be called forth when we question our devotion to a conglomeration of millionaires who seem destined to lose more games than they win.

But where is the justice for Red Sox and Cubs fans? Can most of us even imagine what that’s like, seeing the Arizona Diamondbacks win a World Series at the conclusion of their fourth season? There are Red Sox fans in their 80s who have never seen their favorite team win a World Series. There are Cubs fans in their 90s who have never seen their favorite team win a World Series.

The answer, of course, is that there is no justice in sports. If there were justice, Bob Brenly would never be remembered as a World Series-winning manager, because he didn’t do a damn thing to win the World Series. If there were justice, Jerry Colangelo wouldn’t fall asleep tonight knowing that his team rules the baseball world. And, frankly, if there were any justice, the people in Phoenix—let’s be honest here, they haven’t exactly supported their team to any great degree—wouldn’t have leapfrogged the fans in Boston and Chicago by eighty-some years.

I’m happy for Byung-Hyun Kim, though.