DEAR READER, I promise to be candid. However, I cannot be impartial. But I cannot deny the enjoyment I get from the misery of others with grandiose expectations. Like the spectacle and misery that the 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) season caused their fans as no one really expected the outcome of the World Series.
With the Philadelphia Phillies being the overwhelming favorites for their performance in the last season, Philly’s believers were in for a world of heartbreak. For context, Phillies had a miracle season, clinching their first playoff berth since 2011 upsetting the previous year’s World Series champions Atlanta Braves and making it all the way to the 2022 World Series where they would be two games shy of winning it all, losing in six games to the Houston Astros.
“I think most of the crowd attending collegiate games nowadays especially those in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) are happy to see that it’s not only the same old teams winning and dominating.”
As the previous season introduced a change in the Wildcard Format wherein the top teams of the four divisions get a bye and move on to the next stage while another eight teams duke it out for a chance to advance. After the wildcard round and the division series the only the Houston Astros remained from out of the four division champions as the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves who were the favorites to win it all were eliminated in embarrassing fashion.
And in the American League Championship Series (ALCS) the Houston Astros would find themselves eliminated by the fifth seeded Texas Rangers to arrange a World Series with the winner of the National League Championship Series (NLCS). After the elimination of the Astros, the Phillies were seen as the favorite to win it all, with their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks only being a formality.
The Diamondbacks were nothing like the Phillies only being seen as an average team who over performed their way to the NLCS and with all the momentum in the world even their fans believed it was all a matter of time before the Phillies would sweep them. But that was not the case, even with Diamondback fans skepticism and the haughty advanced celebration of the Phillies, the Diamondbacks went through the hostile crowd of Citizens Bank Park and won the series in seven games only to lose to the Texas Rangers in six games in the world series.
Now where am I getting at? Well dear reader, the enjoyment of others’ misery seems like it’s a trait of bad taste, but I tell you its not. I think most of the crowd attending collegiate games nowadays especially those in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) are happy to see that it’s not only the same old teams winning and dominating. As much as I lament that I entered San Beda during the end of their 14 straight finals appearances eventually losing their NCAA championship back in 2019, I believe that it was all for the best.
After Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) secured their three-peat most of the league put them as the favorites to win it all once more, only to have a season that was an embarrassment to their proud name.
See dear reader, this is what makes watching on the sidelines fun. It’s the competitive and unpredictable nature of the sport makes every game a thrilling one. And like wins and losses all we can really control is our actions and reactions to these circumstances, so what harm could a little enjoyment do?
Email me at thebedan_sportseditor@sanbeda.edu.ph