Great couple of games, huh? It's funny, I know that you guys, of all people, can relate to what I'm about to say. You're here, after all. You're paying attention to the Orioles at a time when most people aren't and you probably wish you weren't either.
I was just talking to a friend and fellow O's fan the other day about we both have a problem with the fact that we can't not care. I generally try to keep my self-pitying Orioles fan persona off of this site, because those of you who know how I feel already understand, and to everyone else it's just whining. But this friend and I tend to commiserate quite a bit, because sometimes you just have to complain and say, "why me?" It's not interesting or productive, but it makes me us feel a little bit better.
Anyway, about not being able to not care. We were wondering if this is actually rock bottom, can the Orioles actually get worse than they are right now. I said to him, "This has to be the bottom. Could it get worse than this?" and he replied, "I've been asking myself that for five years now, and it has continued to get worse." Bottom line we decided we're just screwed. We can't not care. We can't choose another team. Our only choice is to be miserable.
For me, Camden Chat is kind of a double edged sword. On one hand, I have this great outlet where I can broadcast my opinions, vent my frustrations, celebrate the (few) successes, and be surrounded by like-minded Orioles fans. On the other hand, I kind of HAVE to pay attention to the Orioles, even when I don't really want to. I'm not complaining about my position; I wouldn't change it. But sometimes, like last night, or last summer when they were losing 13 games in a row, it gets very hard to think about not only paying attention to these jerks, but also finding things to say about them that aren't filled with rage or sadness.
Normally if I'm not home or if I'm doing something that keeps me from the game, I still check the score on my phone, still pay attention as much as I can without it impeding my other plans and/or being rude to the people I'm with. Even when I'm annoyed and angry at them, I still do that. But somehow, last night, I didn't care. I listened to the beginning of the game in the car and turned it on when I got home, but when Vladimir Guerrero hit his home run a switch flipped and suddenly I wanted to be as far away from the Orioles as possible. I turned off the game and turned on my favorite yoga DVD. I thought briefly about putting the game back on when I was finished but didn't want to. I knew if I did, my post-yoga mellow would be defeated by my Orioles-induced anger. So I put on Grey's Anatomy and didn't think about the game again, and it was great. I thought maybe I could not care in the long term, because it was pretty great.
This morning, I care again. Because I'm a sicko. I'll be watching them get pummeled by the Nats of all teams this weekend along with the few other fans who haven't been driven to apathy.
Like I said in the title, this is just useless complaining. But you know, I just kind of felt like whining a little bit. If you want to whine as well, feel free. I know how you feel.