It has been a rough year for San Diego sports fans.
San Diego State men’s basketball missed the postseason tournament for the first time since 2004-05.
The Chargers abandoned the city in a messy breakup that had fans burning jerseys in their driveways.
And in the biggest tease of the year, SDSU football raised the town for six exhilarating weeks of success and national acclaim only to let everything come crashing down.
Here, it begins again. Just in time for the holidays comes the season San Diego basketball fans wait for all year.
Only this year, they have a lot to prove.
Watching the Aztecs miss the NCAA tournament last season was crushing, admittedly, and no one is excusing the Bolts for bolting.
SDSU football, however, stepped up when San Diego was a city without a team, and pulled out what has been by all means a phenomenal season.
But six wins, several against ranked teams, and talk of a Heisman for senior running back Rashaad Penny seemed to disappear overnight after two back-to-back losses. Bleachers emptied, billboards came down, and San Diego started looking for a new team.
How quickly fans feel entitled to a winning program.
Winning teams take years to build, and they come and go. One thing can be said of the best teams, though, is a consistent, unshakeable fan base.
One can hardly think about college basketball without Syracuse Orange coming to mind. And Duke University’s supporters – the Cameron Crazies – have been known to root for their team at games where the Blue Devils are not even playing.
Although all powerhouse programs, none of these universities have perfect records, none of them has won every game or every season.
Back when SDSU basketball was a regular contender at the NCAA tournament, The Show was one of the most well-loved fanbases in the country, gracing the home court as well as gymnasiums on the road with their rip-roaring, unapologetic support of SDSU. At some point in the course of bigger-than-life fandom, a sports commentator addressed the racket coming from the Aztec’s student section and said, “You guys think you’re the whole show.” Hence the name.
But with the decline of Aztec basketball in recent years, The Show has waned. It is time to bring it back.
The era of Steven Fisher basketball has come to a close and Brian Dutcher is stepping up as the new man-about-town, starting the season with a conference win over San Diego Christian College and a handy exhibition victory against University of California, San Diego.
New to the team are freshmen Jordan Schakel, who had a promising high school career, and Matt Mitchell, who started during SDSU’s opener against San Diego Christian. Junior transfer Devin Watson will also be one to watch. And, of course, Malik Pope, Jeremy Hemsley and Trey Kell are bound to pull out an exciting season, with up-and-comers like Nolan Narain to add a little drama to the scene. It should be a good season for SDSU.
But if it is not, it would behoove fans to hold on to their tickets and their black and scarlet garb anyway. Desertion is no longer an option – San Diego is running out of teams to support. This is the final hour, the last opportunity to show what this city’s true colors will be.
San Diegans have a chance to redeem their reputation as fickle fans. Win or lose, it is time to bring The Show back to the bleachers for good.
