A True Fan Does Not Leave a Game Early

I. Introduction

I was at the first game of the 1988 World Series. I was only 8 years-old, and it is one of the few events I can remember from my childhood with any clarity. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Kirk Gibson hit a two-run homerun to win the game. I have since watched the miraculous homerun on television. As the ball is flying into the right field bleachers, you can see cars exiting the parking lot. Why would anyone leave this game early? If those people knew what they would be missing by leaving early, do you think they would have left? Because of moments like this, a true fan will never leave the game early.

II. Temptation

I acknowledge that it is tempting to leave a game early to beat traffic. When I was a child, I really didn’t mind that it took two hours to get out of the parking lot—I was asleep. But for anyone awake it is a horrible experience. There are thousands of cars in one parking lot. Some cars form a line, waiting their turn to exit. While others bypass the line and try to squeeze out the exit. This creates a bottleneck, where only one car can exit the parking lot every minute or so. The experience is painful.

Another temptation facing a sports fan is humiliation. During the second inning it is normal to tell a fan wearing the opposing team’s jersey that his team is going to get destroyed. It is also normal for that fan to tell you during the fifth inning when his team is up by six runs that you were horribly wrong. It is hard to listen to this fan’s gloating for the rest of the game.

Other things that tempt a fan to leave early include: 1) boredom, it is not entertaining watching a lopsided game; 2) weather, it is not very comfortable sitting outside in inclement weather; 3) outside activities, maybe something more exciting than a one-sided game is happening; 4) anguish, it is hard to watch the team you adore get slaughtered; and 5) outside responsibilities, you might have a ton of work or chores to do.

III. A True Fan Never Leaves Early

Although it is tempting to leave a game early, a true fan will stay until the game is over, because the mere possibility that his team could win makes all the reasons for leaving early irrelevant. A reasonable person would leave the game early, but a true sports fan isn’t reasonable. An example will help illustrate this point.

Mark claims to be a true fan of the San Diego Padres and regularly attends their home games. During one of these games, the Padres are losing 7 to 1. By the time the bottom of the ninth rolls around the chances that the Padres will win the game are very slim. In the month of May for the 2008 season, there were 7,728 half-innings. Out of those 7,728 half-innings, a team scored six or more runs only 40 times. The Padres only have a 0.517% chance of tying the game. And they only have a 0.194% (15/7,728) chance of scoring 7 or more runs and winning the game[1]. Considering the low probability of a Padres’ comeback and all the temptations listed above, if Mark is a reasonable person he will leave the game early. But a true fan isn’t a reasonable person.

A true fan does not think that his team only has a 0.5% chance of tying the game, a true sports fan believes that his team will win the game. And once you believe your team is going to win, there are few things which will seem more enticing than witnessing a great comeback. If those Dodgers’ fans that left early back in 1988 believed the Dodgers were going to come back in the ninth inning then they would never have left early; the reason they left early was because they doubted—a true fan does not doubt. I will gladly wait in the parking lot for two hours after witnessing a great win. I will gladly take the verbal abuse of a fan from the opposing team knowing full well that I will get the last laugh. And I will gladly brave inclement weather, sit through a boring game, and push off my chores knowing how the game will end. The reason why anyone would leave a game early is because they don’t believe his team is going to win.

IV. Other Sports

My conclusion that a true fan doesn’t leave a game early because he thinks that his team is always going to win is strongest in the context of baseball. There are no time constraints, so as long as your team has one remaining out, there is still a chance they can comeback. In other sports like football, basketball, and hockey there might not be enough time to mount a comeback. For example, Doug is a huge fan of the Seattle Seahawks, and is watching them play the Arizona Cardinals. The Seahawks are losing 32 to 10 and there is only forty-five seconds left. The Cardinals have the ball and are taking a knee, and the Seahawks have no time-outs. Would it be alright for Doug to leave the game at this moment and still be a true Seahawks’ fan?

First, I would argue that there still is a chance the Seahawks could win, so Doug should think that his team is going to comeback. There could be a fumbled snap, followed by a touchdown, onside kick, touchdown, onside kick, touchdown, onside kick, and game-winning field goal. However, this is ever unlikely especially because there is only forty-five seconds left. So even if you know your team is going to lose are there other reasons to not leave a game early? Yes.

One reason is that you might be able to witness a milestone. One of the players might break a record. Another reason is that there might be a phenomenal play. A third reason is you should support your players by staying until the end. Although, it may seem like professional athletes play only for the money and don’t care either way if the fans stay or leave, it makes a difference. Don’t you work harder if you receive the praise of your boss? The players will try harder for the remainder of the game, and will also remember your support for the remainder of the season. The final reason is that when you buy a ticket you commit to be at the stadium for the duration of the game, and if you say you are going to do something you should do it.

VI. Exceptions

Like every rule there are always exceptions. But there is only one exception to the rule that a true fan doesn’t leave a game early: medical emergency. You can only leave a game early if you, a family member, or friend have a medical emergency.

I believe it is self-evident why it is warranted for a true fan to leave a game early if there is a medical emergency, but there might be some hard-core fans who think a true fan should be watching the game as he takes his last breath. There are some things that are more important than sports and life and death is one of them. It would be absurd for someone to lose his true fan status if he left a game early because he had a stroke. Furthermore, what good is a dead fan? This is a true exception because it defeats the rationale behind the rule. If your team is down by three in the ninth and you believe that they are going to come back, but all of a sudden you have a heart attack, you’re still going to leave the game.

Medical emergency is the only exception. I feel I must address possible exceptions and elaborate on why they don’t justify leaving a game early.

Natural Disaster: The occurrence of a natural disaster is not sufficient to justify leaving a game early, because in the event of a natural disaster the game will not be played. If the natural disaster isn’t severe enough to suspend play, then a true fan isn’t justified in leaving early. If the players are playing in inclement weather then you can watch them from the stands.

Funeral, weddings, business meetings, etc. . .: Having to attend a funeral, wedding, or any other event isn’t sufficient justification to leave a game early, because you shouldn’t go to a game knowing you cannot commit yourself for the duration. If you have other commitments then give your tickets to someone who will stay the whole time. A true fan doesn’t have to go to every game, but for the games that he does go to, he must stay the whole time.

Significant Others: You cannot leave a game early just because your girlfriend/spouse or friends want to. I acknowledge that you need to spend time with your significant other; you need to let them know that he or she is special. But you also need let to them know that you don’t leave a game early. If he or she cannot respect your deeply held belief, then he or she is not worthy of your love. True, if you’re going to every game and spending no time with them then I can see why he or she might be upset. However, if you spend adequate time with your significant other, then a reasonable person will not be upset if you want to stay for the entire game.

Kids: Just because you have a child that cannot stay for the whole game, that doesn’t mean you can leave early. I’m guilty of this, but I have repented. As a true fan, it is your duty to teach your children what it means to be a true fan. What type of lesson are you teaching your kids if you leave early? I understand that children cry, moan, complain, and have early bed times, but kids can handle more than you think. If they can watch television for 2 and ½ hours, they can watch a baseball game.

VI. Watching the Game

What about when a fan watches a game on the television? Can a true fan turn the television off if their team is losing? It depends. You may turn off the game if you have something important to do, but you may not turn off the game only because your team is losing. I’m not going to tell you what an important activity is; I will leave that up to you to define. However, I will give you some examples of what isn’t an important activity: watching another sports game, watching a movie or television show, reading a book for pleasure, or writing an essay no one will read. This rule is self-policing. When you turn off the game, you know why you’re doing so. And if you’re doing it only because you think your team is going to lose, then you’re not a true fan.

VII. Rain Delay

A lot of readers have asked me what should a true fan do in the event of a rain delay? I want to say that as a bright-line rule that a true fan doesn’t leave because of a rain delay, but it is not that simple. You figure the average length of a baseball game is two hours and forty-five minutes, and you have to add another hour for parking and leaving the stadium. Therefore, when you go to a baseball game you’re committing yourself for about 3 hours and forty-five minutes. Therefore, in the event of a rain delay, you cannot leave before three hours and forty-five minutes have elapsed. If the game has started after you waited that long, you may leave the stadium. However, if the game has started and then goes over the 3 hour 45 minute mark, then you may leave the game only if you have something important to do—see discussion of watching a game for definition of important activity.

VIII. Team is Winning

Most of my discussion has dealt with a person leaving a game early because his team is losing, but I must make it perfectly clear that the maxim “a true fan doesn’t leave a game early” equally applies when your team is winning. I don’t want to spend too much time on this, because most of the reasons for not leaving a game early when your team is losing apply here as well—like witnessing a milestone, seeing a phenomenal play, supporting your team, and commitment to stay to the end. However, there is one little nuance that needs to be addressed.

Above I argued that you don’t leave a game early because you should always think your team is going to come back, but that doesn’t apply here. A fan leaves a game early when his team is winning, because he knows his team is going to win. Not only does he think his team is going to win, but he thinks they’re going to win by a huge margin, because if the game was going to be close the fan would stay to watch the theatrics. The problem here is one of overconfidence, whereas when a team is losing the problem is one of lack faith in the team. Although a true fan needs to be confident that his team will win, he should also be a realist. He should be aware that there is a small chance that the other team might be able to comeback. I’m not advocating that a true fan should ever think there is a possibility that his team could lose, rather a fan should acknowledge that there is a possibility that the opposing team might be able to make it a close game or that the opposing team might retake the lead, but your team will comeback in grand fashion and win.

IX. Repentance

If you have left a game early you can regain your status as a true fan. It is important to note that just because you don’t leave games early it doesn’t necessarily make you a true fan. There are other requirements that have to be met to become a true fan, and not leaving early is only one of them. If you cease to satisfy one of these requirements then you cease to be a true fan. Therefore, if you have left a game early then you cease to be a fan, but like I mentioned, you can repent.

The steps to repentance are: 1) attend four games that your team is playing; 2) don’t leave any of the games early; and 3) your team must be losing by a certain margin in at least one of the games. The losing margins are: a) baseball: 3 runs, b) football: 13 points, c) basketball: 11 points, d) hockey: 2 goals, and e) soccer: 1 goal. For all other sports I will let you decide what an adequate losing margin is. If you are fortunate to be a fan of a team that doesn’t seem to ever lose, you will probably have to go to more than four games to satisfy the third requirement. Also, if you live more than one-hundred miles from your team’s home stadium, you only have to go to two games instead of four, but requirement three still applies.

X. Conclusion

A true fan will never leave a game early except in the case of a medical emergency, because no matter how unlikely it is that his team will comeback, a true fan always believes they will.

Prior Adams' Note (August 23, 2009):  Just because you do not leave a game early does not necessarily mean that you're a true fan.  Not leaving a game early is one of many requirements that a person must satisfy to obtain the title of "true fan."  Please see my post True Fan Series: Introduction for a list of all the requirements.  

[1] I’m assuming the month of May for the 2008 season is indicative of the season average. For your interest: the chances of scoring 4 or more runs is 2.251% (174/7728), 5 or more is 0.9446% (73/7728), six or more is 0.517% (40/7728), 7 or more is 0.194% (15/7728), 8 or more is 0.0388% (3/7728), and no team scored nine or more runs.