Fan Support: A right or a privilege?

The other day, I was discussing J.D. Drew with a fellow Sox fan who is less than enamored with the enigmatic right fielder. When I took up the cross that the J.D. defense has become, the fan responded with something that got my mind working.

"I don't just root for guys because they're on the Sox. They have to earn it."

I'm sure by this point we've all heard the old Jerry Seinfeld and/or George Carlin bit about how all sports fans are just rooting for the laundry; the players change, the management changes, and the stadiums change, but the fan base and the name on the uniform stay the same. But do we blindly root for this laundry, or does the personnel in fact change our rooting interests?

For me personally, all players are "innocent until proven guilty," as it were. If they are playing for the Olde Towne Team, I will wholeheartedly support them until they give me a reason not to. I am strongly against booing somebody in the home stadium if they are unable to perform, although I wholeheartedly endorse booing for off-field transgressions, press statements, contract issues, or obviouslack of interest. It is under this caveat that I still continue to support J.D. Drew. For better or for worse, he is our guy, and during his tenure in Boston I will continue to support him.

When crossed, however, I am unforgiving in my lack of support. Jay Payton found his way into the doghouse for his dugout temper tantrum. Grady Little lost my support because of his general demeanor, and even his descent into indifference took over fifteen months. Roidney "HG" Harrison has now gone down the same path - I hope the Patriots succeed, but I won't admire him ever again because he is a cheater, just like Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Shawne Merriman.

But when guys just flat-out suck, I feel that they still deserve our support. I may be in the minority here. I know my father applies to the "Sucks Until Proven Good Here" theory of fandom, supplemented with the "Has To Be Better Than The Guy We Have" corollary (currently being applied to the exciting Jacoby Ellsbury).

What is the proper methodology? In the end, no matter how much we as a Nation bitch about Drew, we will be thrilled the moment his patient bat wins us a big game.

But the moment he is no longer a member of the Sox, all the negative energy I've kept patiently under control can be released safely (for example: screw you, Wily Mo Pena). Until that day, he is one of us, for better or for worse.

And for all of our sakes, I hope its for the better.