The Pirates are all about low expectations

Baseball season is finally upon us. I’ve got my glove in one hand, a box of Cracker Jack in… Baseball season is finally upon us. I’ve got my glove in one hand, a box of Cracker Jack in the other, and I am really pumped to see the Pirates take the field. Yes, the Pirates. Stop laughing – because I am serious. I’m one of those people who are diehard fans of the hometown team, despite wins and losses, championships or lack thereof. Since I’m a Pittsburgher, born and raised, my devotion lies with the Bucs.

So they’ve had a few rough seasons. Well OK, a few is more like ten or eleven, but who’s really counting anyway? I don’t like the Pirates because they are good. I didn’t go to game after game at Three Rivers Stadium to watch them trounce the Astros, and I don’t go to game after game at PNC Park to see them run over the Phillies. When your team is turning out back-to-back 100-loss seasons, your reasons for support have to run deeper than being able to cheer on a World Champion. I watch the Pirates because of a love for the game of baseball, and also to relieve a little thing I like to call “sports anxiety.”

Anyone who is a sports fan from the Pittsburgh area knows that this city’s sports teams are usually successful. They don’t just go around assigning cities nicknames like the “City of Champions” randomly. The Steelers of the ’70s brought home four Super Bowl Championships, and the Pirates of the same era boasted greats such as Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente. In more recent years, the Penguins have become a force to be reckoned with behind the greatest player alive, Mario Lemieux. Bill Cowher’s Steelers have also appeared in four AFC Championships and one Super Bowl. To make a long story short, Pittsburgh teams win often – so often that fans such as myself have become conditioned to expect this as a given. The Steelers will be Division Champs this year. The Pens will make the playoffs. Failure is not an option.

This is where my problem starts. Since I am expecting the teams to win constantly, any hint at a loss or, heaven forbid, a losing season is devastating. Every loss, whether season ending or insignificant, is a letdown. I’ve gotten to the point where if the Steelers are losing, it isn’t wise to be in the same room with me because I’m probably dangerous, or at the very least, unpleasant. I think all these emotional ups and downs will eventually start causing me health problems.

That’s why I love the Pirates so much. The fact that since as far back as I can remember the Pirates have been mediocre at best leaves me expecting nothing from them. So the Pirates lost again? Oh well, what did you think would happen?

It’s so much easier to enjoy a great game like baseball without getting upset over every loss. If they do happen to win, I consider it a bonus.

So if you’ve been disappointed by the failure in the team you usually follow, give second thought to taking an afternoon and enjoying a Pirates’ game. You may not see a win, but you will take in the beautiful weather of a Pittsburgh spring, experience the amazing PNC Park and maybe munch on a few $3.50 stadium hot dogs. Just think, if you become a fan now no one will accuse you of being a bandwagon fan when the Pirates win the World Series in a few years. Hey, it could happen! And monkeys might fly outta my butt, too. But that’s not important, because to me the Pirates are not about championships; they are about relaxing and enjoying a sport that I love. Isn’t that what all sports should be about?

Anyone willing to go to a baseball game with Jen Giarrusso can e-mail her at jgiarrusso@pittnews.com.