The more time I spend around sports the more that one sentiment becomes abundantly clear to me: every fanbase has a bit of a victim complex. They feel like the universe has it out for them and that nothing good will ever happen to their team.
For instance, last season, I would aimlessly scroll through Twitter only to see fans of the then-defending champion Golden State Warriors complaining about the team and the way their season is going. Like, come on, dude, your team has won four championships since 2015. It does not get better than that as a sports fan.
I will say, though, some fanbases have a right to feel miserable. Until recently, the Sacramento Kings held the longest playoff drought in NBA history. They had every right to be angry with the world during that time.
As for our New Orleans Pelicans, they have a right to be unhappy as well. They have been an organization for 22 years, yet they have only won two playoff series in franchise history. And now that they have a team that finally looks ready to compete, they can’t manage to stay healthy. On top of that, now there are all these rumors swirling around about them possibly wanting to trade their best player. They have ever reason to be angry with their fandom.
But are fans of the Pelicans actually unhappy?
To answer this, we took to Twitter (follow us @PelicanDebrief) and asked fans whether or not they were happy with their fandom. Here are the results:
Pelicans fans, are you happy to be a fan of this current team?
— Pelican Debrief (@PelicanDebrief) July 21, 2023
Given the volatility of this team, it seemed appropriate to include that third “Ask me in six months” option. There is a world where we’re sitting here at the start of 2024 at the top of the conference with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram on their way to All-Star birth and all the young players displaying incredible promise around them.
However, there is also a world where history repeats itself again, Williamson falls victim to injury, and the entire Pelicans’ world is left in a state of existential dread.
With that said, even with that option available, a majority of fans (41 of 81) still said they were happy with the state of their current team. And honestly, I think that, even if things did spiral out of control next year, the answer would still be the same.
That’s the beauty of sports and being a fan of a team. We complain about them endlessly. But at the end of the day, we’ll always be happier to have them in our lives than not have them at all.