Quote:I can understand the lack of enticement to renew after so many losing seasons.

 

I mean, at the end of the day, we are all consumers.  We all decide to buy or not buy any number of goods and services for any number of reasons.  We all value different things and those values shape our decisions.

 

I value winning a great deal.  There are few things more rewarding than being in the stadium as the team is pulling out a win over a hated foe.  I also value seeing great players, whether they are on my team or not. 

 

But I think one of the things that keeps me going, besides intense loyalty to my team and circumstances that make it possible to remain a STH, is the realization that the guarantee of victory or the guarantee of a certain number of victories per year, is absent from the season ticket holder agreement.  The New England dynasties, the Steeler dynasties, etc., are the exception, not the norm, and even they have down years.  Their down years are coming.  They are inevitable.  More often than not, the NFL experience is that teams go through highs and lows.  As expressed earlier, I see the highs for this team just over the horizon. 

 

That wasn't always the case...certainly not under Gene Smith.