And this time I did go over the edge. This is really long and there might be typos. But frustration leads to me just start typing and not worrying too much about details.

After thinking about it some there is something that came to me that has me almost laughing and crying at the same time.

I’m a Memphis Tigers fan, supporter and alumnus. The simliarities between the Memphis program’s success since 2003 and my favorite baseball team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim successes since 2002 are quite profound. The responses from the fan bases are also very similar if you look at message boards.

Here’s the history of both as I see them.

I’ve been a Memphis fan since I was six years old. I have suffered through some really hard times to support this football program. But I did it and loved it in the process.

The Tigers football program went to its first bowl game in 31 years in 2003. They finished that season 9-4. They followed it up an 8 win season and the GMAC Bowl. Despite struggling out of the gate in 2005, they finished the regular season winning the last two games to get into their 3rd consecutive bowl when they got invited to the Motor City Bowl. They had a down year in 2006 when they dropped to 2-10. This year had them 2-4 out of the game but they rebounded and finished the regular season 7-5. But they lost the New Orleans Bowl.

In the previous decade prior to 2003 the Tigers had not won more than six games in a single season. The last bowl was in 1972 when they went to SoCal to play in the Pasadena Bowl. The program was often considered one of the worst ten in the country. Rip Scherer was fired after the 2000 season after completing six consecutive losing years. You get the point that the school’s football program was terrible.

Many of the message board fans are all upset. They want Tigers head coach Tommy West fired. He’s the only Tigers coach to go to 4 bowls. He’s the first Tigers coach to be this successful. Yes, they have lost some games they should have won. And yes Tigers coaches, supporters and fans should expect more. But for them to call for the coach to be fired despite success is down right stupid. They call for all kinds of radical changes despite the formula that is in place working. They want to change everything because they don’t think we’re winning ENOUGH. Winning seasons are not good enough to some of the fans. They forgot what being a losing program is like already. They forgot what being one of the laughing stocks of college football is like. They want more and I can’t blame them for that. But to not recognize that we’re a lot better off today than we are today.

My Tigers basketball program was in shambles too. They had coaches who would end up in prison, chase coeds and put crappy teams on the floor. The once proud crown jewel of my school was eroding. We were miserable. Now the Tigers basketball team has two consecutive Elite Eight appearances and are ranked 2nd in the nation with a Final Four almost being assured in 2008. They have had more NCAA appearances under John Calipari than in the previous 10 years. They are on national TV all the time and are considered one of the best 10 programs in the country.

But if you read boards you will find fans who aren’t satisfied. They complain about attendance, the fact Cal doesn’t play zone or any other minute detail the can come up with. They are unhappy if the Tigers don’t win every game by 40 points. They say the program is dropping if they don’t blow out any team on any night. Nothing seems to be good enough. Some of them will complain if the Tigers don’t run the table. It is really kind of sad to read sometimes.

I’ve been an Angels fans in 1984 when I was stationed at El Toro while in the Navy. I had a friend who had lived there essentially all his life. We had stayed in touch but when I moved there it was the first time we had ever been adults and could hand out. He got me started going to Angels games every weekend series. After one season I was hooked 100%. I would go to games on whims or when the wife wanted me out of the house. I started to take losses seriously. I was a full fledged Angels fan as if I had been following them for my whole life.

I was there in 1986 and got to go to all of the playoff games. I suffered through all those losing seasons. I stayed a fan even when I moved back to the Memphis area in 1991. I would follow them via ESPN and newspapers before the internet. Once the internet became common I got to be more involved in following the day to day happenings. I would go to Arlington or Kansas City to see them play. Once message boards became big I have become more involved. I didn’t really post but I did read a lot. So I feel like I’m kinda sorta still connected to them.

The Angels have won the World Series in 2002, the AL West in 2004, 2005 and 2007 and the ALDS in 2005. Prior to that they went to the playoffs only 3 times in 1979, 1982 and 1986. Y’all know this.

Being a fan of the Tigers and Angels was hard if you think about it. The Tigers were often terrible. The Angels never won the division much less go very far in the playoffs. My friends who were fans of other schools or ML teams would have big time bragging rights over me. Rangers, Cardinals and Braves fans I know could call my team losers and I couldn’t argue. Fans of other colleges could do the same, how could I fight them? Since October 2002 I have enjoyed my teams winning like never before. It has been the most fun I’ve had as a fan in the past five plus years as I had ever in my life.

Now when I go to message boards I get upset despite all the winning. Both the Tigers and Angels are in uncharted winning waters. And there seems to be more negativity that ever before. Folks complaining about not winning enough. Folks saying that the organizations aren’t doing enough. There seems to be more unhappiness now that the teams are winning than when they were considered “losers.”

So what’s the point of all this? Some fans of teams like the Tigers and Angels who like to complain that winning isn’t enough need to remember the hard times. Some need to remember the Angels finishing with sixty or so wins or Tigers going 2-9 in football. Remember showing up to games hoping to win but in the recesses of your mind knowing a loss is about to happen. Knowing that while your hope is that this is the year that the Tigers and Angels turn it around you find yourself not wanting to get too excited because you know disappointment was inevitable.

I’m not trying to judge fans. I just wish some would just enjoy the ride. It might not last. I know that boards are for an exchange of ideas. They are like sports bars without having to overpay for drinks. But it seems that the anonymous nature allows for fans to be over-negative about the smallest of things. Don’t you think that the players and coaches you are supporting want to win the championship every year? Do you think they believe that they want the title and do things they believe will make the teams better? Don’t you think they aren’t happy about losing in the first round or losing a bowl game?

Sorry for the length but I got frustrated just enough to write this. Firing coaches who have been the most successful in an organization’s history because they haven’t done enough is something that just pisses me off. Mike Scioscia is the best Angels manager ever and his record proves it. Tommy West has been the most successful football coach in Memphis history. John Calipari has the Tigers in the best position they’ve ever been in. I have grown tired of folks complaining that the Angels and Tigers aren’t winning enough so I had to get it off my chest. I have seen in on message boards of the school and the Halos. I just hope that some of the “negative” fans will at least realize some that winning is good enough.

And yes, I believe the Angels have done enough to win the World Series. Just like I do every year. So this is what I think will happen:

Angels 2008 World Series Champions
Memphis Tigers 2008 NCAA Division 1 Basketball Champions
Memphis Tigers 2008 C-USA Champions in football
Memphis Tigers 2008 in the College World Series