Which do you want more in sports?

[JimBob2232]

That said, "the process" is the narrative story. Which is always fun. And so, to me, the idea of difference in approach is what makes watching teams work the most interesting. Where are they taking chances? How do those chances work out? Those are the stories of sports franchises.

But, still, for my teams, I want to win.

You have to win once in a while...but I think what he is getting at is teams that are consistently good, and win once in a while, rather than teams that flash in the pan once every decade or so.

Teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Patriots...always good. And they win once in a while too. But then there are teams like the Florida Marlins and Carolina panthers that wind up flashing once in a while, but overall are pretty average/poor.

I'd just be happy if my Buffalo Bills could get to overall pretty average/poor...

[RonCo]

You have to win once in a while...but I think what he is getting at is teams that are consistently good, and win once in a while, rather than teams that flash in the pan once every decade or so.

Teams like the Yankees, Red Sox and Patriots...always good. And they win once in a while too. But then there are teams like the Florida Marlins and Carolina panthers that wind up flashing once in a while, but overall are pretty average/poor.

Yes, but sports fan psychology is fascinating. For example, in baseball, small market teams (like the Marlins) pretty much HAVE to be cyclic because they are playing with fewer resources. Likewise, NFL teams will be cyclic because they are playing with equal resources. In both situations, down-cycles are made worse if you make "bad choices" (have a bad process? Cleveland Browns, I'm looking at you), but you come out of it when you make "good choices" (i.e. your draft picks finally yield real players, or whatever). The problem is made worse by the fact that to some degree you have to live with the choices that got made the year before.

I'm certain that there are people who evaluate players better, or who read situations better. But, then, there are also people/fans who claim that their manager/coach is the greatest thing ever one year, then call for his head before the season is over the next...generally because the decisions they make one year work, but then don't the next. Same guy. Same "process." Manager of the Year" one day, "Out of a job" the next.

So, yeah...it's a warped conversation.

[RonCo]

I'd just be happy if my Buffalo Bills could get to overall pretty average/poor...

And then there's the fact that the bar rises. A fanbase just wants to get respectable at first--I posit mostly because they're so tired of being humiliated that anything looks good relative to the shitstorm happening now. But once the team is 8-8, that won't possibly do the next year. College football is a hotbed of this. A coach takes a 3-9 team and turns them into a 7-5 team, get's a shiny new contract, and then gets bought out two years later when he's still churning out 7-5 teams.

What fans love is watching the process when it results steady growth and, finally, in a winning team.

I suggest fans don't love it so much when their winning slows down.

Note, much of my thinking here has been deeply influenced by spending way too many hours on fan forums of my beloved Louisville Cardinal college team, which has seen the the rise of the baseball team, the rise and fall of the football program over the last 30-40 years, and the rise, fall, rise, fall, and now rising of the basketball team. I never really know what to make of things, but it's interesting to watch people talk at each stage of the process. There is an awful lot of true fandom tied up in the concept of personal respect and personal humiliation.

[Spiccoli]

Well, I'm a Colorado Native (Born in South Park...lol), who's lived in Houston for the last 15 years. I've been blessed to watch my teams win the big three - Superbowl (Broncos x 3), Stanley Cup (Avalanche x 2) and the Astros (1). I don't really care much for basketball these days, it's borderline unwatchable anymore.

Therefore, a BBA Landis is all that's left for my bucket list....

[Spiccoli]

It has got to be a Super Bowl. I've at least seen the Indians in the World Series. The last time the Browns won a championship was 1964. I was in diapers. I'd like to see another championship before I am diapers again.

I got to see Elway crush Brown Fans dreams... I can't imagine how that felt on the other side and how the average 80's Brown's fan feels about Elway today... Hate him? Respect him? lol....

Anyway, I'd love to see the Browns win a Superbowl. Though I'm afraid they'd set the whole state on fire afterwards. It'd make the Cavaliers' NBA title look like a Pee Wee Championship.