When is it time to give up a sports team?

[Caveat Emperor]

I'm in my 30s. I've rooted for one football team (Tampa Bay) my entire life. They've been terrible for the overwhelming majority of it -- though, they did manage to squeak out 1 Super Bowl in 2002.

I was born in Tampa, but moved when I was 6. I've stayed loyal despite, really, never having lived in the area for any appreciable length of time.

Today, they just signed Josh McCown and announced him as their STARTING quarterback. A dude who, literally, had a worse QB rating than Brandon Weeden prior to a hot 5 game run in the middle of last season with the Bears. A 10+ year journeyman who was out of football for a full season because no one could be bothered to add him to a roster.

Oh yeah, and they just outright cut Derrelle Revis -- less than a full calendar year after giving up a 1st round draft pick for him.

So, I'm sitting here thinking -- this seriously has to be the final straw. Is there a point where you can just give up a lifelong rooting interest and move on with your life? Have you ever done it?

[JaxRed]

I did. Born and raised in Ohio, followed the Reds and Bengals. Living here in Jax since 1999, you get immersed with info about the local team.

Eventually it got to the point where I was so fed up with Mike Brown's not caring about the team and contrasted that to Wayne Weaver of the Jags.

When they were adding expansion teams, the NFL wanted Wayne Weaver as an owner but wanted St Louis as the town. For 2 weeks they badgered Wayne,. Just abandon Jacksonville and the team is yours. He held fast and Jax got their team. And he fought tooth and nail to keep it in Jax.

Eventually he handed the reigns over to Shad Khan who is also committed to keeping the team here and is has also revived the excitement about the team.

We have not had the success yet, but it feels good to root for a team where you know the owner is doing his best.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I've moved around a bit, but I would have a hard time giving up on one of my teams. The closest to your situation for me is the Utah Jazz. I lived in Salt Lake when I was young, but moved in 2nd grade and have never been back, but I still root for them. I think moving to a place that didn't have an NBA team after helped, but I've been in LA now for a few years and still hate the Lakers. I tried to pick up the Clippers, but never got into it.

I think even if you tried a part of you will always support the childhood team.

[Tom Servo]

I definitely thought of you CE as I just read the baffling news about McCown. As a Panthers fan for over a decade, I can relate, but I say stick it out because you never know when things may turn around. After the start to this last season, I was almost completely done with bothering to follow the Panthers games as it seemed like yet another 'lose all the games early, win most at the end, and finish 7-9/8-8 and talk about the strong finish' season, only for them to put together their best season in years.

But I wouldn't blame you if you bailed.

[IslandRed]

Let me get this out of the way: No one likes bandwagon-jumpers or frontrunners, people who bounce from team to team, chasing reflected glory. You're not one of those guys.

Having said that, life's too short to be miserable all the time. If following the Buccaneers makes your life worse than not following them, don't follow them. That doesn't necessarily mean switching teams, although there are defensible reasons you can. You can just... detach. Do something else on Sundays.

Bottom line, your favorite team doesn't care about you (NSFW language in linked article), so don't sacrifice too much for them.

[KronoRed]

If you leave, you can never come back.

[WMR]

Don't understand it and could never do it. My teams are my teams.

[Kingspoint]

It was mind-numbing to follow the Bengals so long, so that in order to enjoy the NFL I had to add gambling on the NFL so I could enjoy it. This did the trick. I didn't gamble a lot (in relative terms)...about $400 per week, while I also made a little bit of money. But, I only gambled for the seasons that I had time to pay a lot of attention to the sport.

Rooting for the Bengals was not enjoyable for a very long time. Eventually, Mike Brown began making better decisions. Now I enjoy the NFL again, but in between the gambling and Mike Brown making better decisions again, I added Fantasy Football, and now I enjoy Fantasy Football and the Bengals.

Things cycle...unless you're a Cubs fan. You just have to live long enough.

[improbus]

I was eight during the Bengals second Super Bowl. Then, during my formative years as a sports fan they were atrocious, like worst franchise of all time atrocious. I officially cut ties when Carson Palmer's knee snapped.

Every autumn I see a football fans wallowing in misery again and again (this is Ohio after all) and I don't regret my decision for a minute. Why ruin a good weekend? Or 16 of them? At least a horrible baseball team will make you happy 60 times every summer. A bad football team might do it 3 or 4 times.

[Roy Tucker]

I've told this story on RZ before so I'll keep it short.

I was as big of a Browns fan as there was. Had a Clay Matthews jersey, went up to the Dog Pound every year, and lived and died with each win and loss. Jim Brown, Frank Ryan, Leroy Kelly, Greg Pruitt, Mike Pruitt, Brian Sipe, Dave Logan, Red Right 88, The Drive, The fumble, and all that. I *loved* the Browns like I love the Reds.

But I moved from Dayton (big Browns contingent there) to Cincy, got married, had kids, the Browns declined, and eventually moved to Baltimore with all the associated acrimony and Modell hatred and Belichick blame. And I could *never* be Ravens fan.

Browns V2.0 came into existence, I made a luke-warm try at becoming a fan again, It just didn't take. Kinda like trying to go back with your first wife. One day, I found out that I just didn't care any more.

So its nice now. I got my Sundays back. I do a lot of other stuff on Sundays now. I watch football when I want to (1 pm kickoffs used to be sacred and reserved times before and God forbid anything getting in the way). My marriage is better for it. I see Browns scores and sometimes I sigh and wonder how they are, like an old girlfriend. But like the old girlfriends, I got over it and I'm better off for it.

[thatcoolguy_22]

I've told this story on RZ before so I'll keep it short.

I was as big of a Browns fan as there was. Had a Clay Matthews jersey, went up to the Dog Pound every year, and lived and died with each win and loss. Jim Brown, Frank Ryan, Leroy Kelly, Greg Pruitt, Mike Pruitt, Brian Sipe, Dave Logan, Red Right 88, The Drive, The fumble, and all that. I *loved* the Browns like I love the Reds.

But I moved from Dayton (big Browns contingent there) to Cincy, got married, had kids, the Browns declined, and eventually moved to Baltimore with all the associated acrimony and Modell hatred and Belichick blame. And I could *never* be Ravens fan.

Browns V2.0 came into existence, I made a luke-warm try at becoming a fan again, It just didn't take. Kinda like trying to go back with your first wife. One day, I found out that I just didn't care any more.

So its nice now. I got my Sundays back. I do a lot of other stuff on Sundays now. I watch football when I want to (1 pm kickoffs used to be sacred and reserved times before and God forbid anything getting in the way). My marriage is better for it. I see Browns scores and sometimes I sigh and wonder how they are, like an old girlfriend. But like the old girlfriends, I got over it and I'm better off for it.

That was very well written.

[Redhook]

I just moved to Denver, but I'll always be a Reds and Bengals fan. It's in my blood. Plus, I survived the 90's version of the Bengals. If you can get through that, you can get through anything as a fan.

[Razor Shines]

I don't think I could stop rooting for one of my teams. Like maybe if Jim Irsay walked into my house and farted on my dinner I might not root for Colts for a while but after he was dead I'd be right back on board with the them.

[Redsfaithful]

I considered leaving the Bengals at a couple of points (2008 and 2010 were very low times), but couldn't do it. I feel that I've been rewarded for that, they are a competent franchise at this point and have been for awhile. 30-18 in the last three years, so that's a lot of happy Sundays.

I don't measure success in championships. Being a fan of the Reds and Bengals ... that doesn't make sense. I hope, but you have to be realistic, and a good regular season is a good time.

I'd stick with Tampa. A Super Bowl win in the last 15 years really isn't that bad. Like most any team in the NFL, they're just a solid QB away. McCown probably isn't it, but who knows?

I did. Born and raised in Ohio, followed the Reds and Bengals. Living here in Jax since 1999, you get immersed with info about the local team.

Eventually it got to the point where I was so fed up with Mike Brown's not caring about the team and contrasted that to Wayne Weaver of the Jags.

This is a great argument for sticking with your team. Outside of a couple of years the Jaguars have been an absolute train wreck of a team since 1999. But boy I bet they looked like a great bet coming off 14-2 in 1999. Nothing is guaranteed.

[Caveat Emperor]

I think I'm just done for a while. I'm not going to get emotionally invested in a team that thinks Josh McCown is an answer to anything. If they want to demonstrate they have a vision for the future, I'll reserve the right to reconsider my decision.