I'm not here to start a fight. I am totally aware that every fan cheers for and supports their team in different ways. And, without a doubt, this has been a difficult season to watch Louisville basketball and stay positive. Some performances are depressing, like the one we saw last night. However to me, being a fan means that I'm not going to give up, even after sitting through a game like that and seeing how stacked the odds are against us.

At the end of the game last night I posted something in the game thread to the effect of "go Cards, beat Cuse." someone almost immediately responded, "do you really think that's going to happen?"

Here's what I really think is going to happen. I think, despite a sad loss last night, that I am always, always, always going to be cheering on the Cards. I'm a fan of Louisville Cardinals basketball, and there is never a moment in my life when I'm going to back off from cheering for them. In my opinion, that's what being a fan is all about.

You become a fan of a team because you want them to win. It has nothing to do (to me) with knowing if they will win or can win. Being a fan has everything to do with wanting, more than anything, for your team to win. And cheering for it. And cheering for your players.

Of course, in that way I am biased (and perhaps delusional) also. I never look ahead to a game believing that we can't win. And it's a fact. We can always win. The offense may be bad, the coaching may make some cringe, the injuries may be rampant, but we can still win. I always believe it. And that is fandom for me.

So yeah, go Cards, beat Cuse! Fellow fans, let's enjoy the tense anticipation that comes before every game. Let's support the boys we love, and who have been so tenacious even in a very tough year. Believe we can win, and cheer as hard as you can for it because, well... What is the point of being a fan if you don't believe.

*Yes, I am a Cubs fan. I go to games in September when we are mathematically out of it and cheer for the team to win. These are the sports I love to watch and these are to teams I love. Also, my parents are sadists for raising me this way and it is quite possible I just love being tortured.