When you say Cincinnati Reds most people think of a baseball team that is based upon winning. The older generation then might think of the days of Robinson, Kluszewski, and Nuxhall as well as all the other things I will mention. The next generation will probably think about the Big Red Machine with Pete, Tony, Johnny, Concepcion, and Morgan only to list a few. As soon as they think of the Big Red Machine they think of utter dominance of a decade of baseball. The next generation thinks about the 1990 team of Rijo, Larkin, Dibble and Browning that defied all odds. They defeated the reigning world champions when no one gave them a chance. This group of people make up probably close to 99% of the Reds fan base. For that 99% of the fans the words Cincinnati Reds are synonyms for winning baseball. I want to inform you about how that small 1% remembers the Cincinnati Reds.
I am part of a new generation of fans that when I think of Cincinnati Reds and don’t hardly think about winning. I would have to think that I am a rare breed of Reds fan because of this. My grandpa was a Reds fan, my dad is a Reds fan so thats how I became a Reds fan. I am 20 years old meaning in just the past few years I have became a REAL diehard fan that my grandpa and dad are. I now live and breathe Cincinnati Reds Baseball. It wasnt till a few years ago that I became the type of fan that many of you are. Ive always been a fan but now I guess I'm a fanatic.
I was born 1985 and I can hardly remember the 1990 World Series that was the last great Cincinnati Reds moment. I was 5 years old and all I remember of that was that they won and Chris Sabo wore these big ol’ goggles. I don’t remember one pitch of the entire series. Most people my age are not going to follow a team that doesn’t win. That’s just how they are. But I love the Reds. Win or lose, I will always be a Reds fan no matter what part of the country I end up in. So that is why I believe I am part of a very small group of people who are my age.
From the day I was born, the Reds are 1673-1655 through 21 seasons. That is a winning percentage of .503 and only 18 games above .500. I have lived through 10 winning seasons and 10 losing seasons (1 .500 season). The Reds have been to the playoffs only 2 times and won the World Series a mere 1 time. I have lived through 10 managers. A better way of putting that is that the Reds have averaged a different manager a little over every 2 seasons since I was born. That hardly sounds like the same team that many Reds fans from the other generations think of. If I want to see the Reds dominate I have to read a book or article or watch a clip. I can’t just sit down and remember the winning times because they don’t exists since I have been alive. There have been single seasons that were pretty good but no GREAT season or even a streak of good seasons. The great Reds moments I think of is Larkin winning the MVP and the Reds trading for the best player in baseball at the time, Ken Griffey Jr. I don’t think of winning times.
Usually wisdom comes from old men talking to young lads. But I would like to reverse the roles a little bit. I would like to tell the generations before me not to take those winning years for granite. I am not going to lie; I am flat out jealous of the people who can talk about the days when the Cincinnati Reds were at the top. I do feel cheated in a way when compared to other generations of Reds fans. But for some it is easy to complain a lot about the Reds new losing ways when you have seen the other side. But I haven’t seen that side. The losing way or the average way is all I know from the Reds.
You might think this is a pretty deep for a post on a message board and your probably right. But I really love the Reds and I am looking forward to this season and what seems to be a small step in the right direction with this ownership. But what I wanted to do with this post is show that the Reds aren’t the same to everyone. All I have to be proud about is the history and nothing from my lifetime. But years down the road when this ship is turned around and my generation can talk to the past generations about winning there is one thing that my generation wont ever be questioned about…and that is Loyalty.