[jdl22]

I was leaving a restaurant today and a thought occurred to me as I was putting on my recently purchased Steelers beanie. I'm much more into the Steelers this year than last year. This is a bit strange because at this point in time last year the Steelers were 11-1 and looking like favorites to make the Super Bowl and this year are 7-5 and not looking good to even make the playoffs. I'm not sure if it's actually due to them losing recently, perhaps last season just lit a fire or something. I've also been here longer now, this is my third year here so I'm feeling more connected to Pittsburgh (I don't even dislike it here anymore).

I do think that a team struggling is sort of a bonding experience for the fans though. My favorite soccer team is Sevilla as you can see festively if you look left. I studied for a semester in Seville, Spain in 2000. I probably like Sevilla and hate Betis instead of the other way around simply because I happened to go to a Sevilla match instead of a Betis match just after arriving. All my friends were Sevillista though. The point is that the year I was there Sevilla were the worst team in the first division and I think had a record of something like zero wins, 5 losses and 2 draws in the 7 or so matches I went to. I think the team losing and my friends and I bitching about them all the tiem brought me closer somehow to both my friends and the team, which wouldn't have happened had they been merely mediocre instead of terrible.

Anybody experience something similar?