Sports: What it feels like to be a sports fan?

It is such a strange thing to have a team to root for.

The feelings of expectation one has is often so outsized with the reality of how well the team has done historically.

A prime example for me is being a UCLA basketball fan. The Wooden years were so amazing that realistically no team will live up to those kinds of expectations ever again. Wooden coached teams won 10 national titles with the last one being in 1975 when he retired. Since then, the Bruins have only been in the national title game THREE times in the last 32 years and won once in 1995.

UCLA football has almost always been the second team in LA behind USC. Since I've been following them there has been just one stretch when UCLA was the dominant team in the rivalry. UCLA football has one national title ... from 1954. Since the invention of the BCS, I don't think UCLA has even played in a bowl game associated with the BCS. UCLA's last Rose Bowl appearance was in 1999 and I think at that time the Rose Bowl wasn't part of the BCS!

The Dodgers have a long history of loyal fans and many years of disappointment. Great teams in the 70s when I was a kid but something would always happen! Finally, in the 80s they broke through and won two championship! One against those darn Yankees and the other was the amazing magic carpet ride of 1988! 19 years later, the Dodgers have won how many playoff games?

One.

As a Dodger fan this year, it is destined for heartbreak. They bring in a high priced starter Jason Schmidt to be an ace, he is out for the season. They bring in a number 4 starter to beef up the rotation in Randy Wolf. He was doing pretty good but he gets hurt though he might be back in a couple of weeks. Derek Lowe is an innings eater. Last night, he strains a muscle running to first base and is day-to-day. Young Taiwanese pitcher Kuo with good stuff, poof, injured. Relief pitchers like closer Saito, 37, is day-to-day with shoulder stiffness. Set-up bullpen guys, Seanez, 39 and Hernandez, 43 who run hot and cold either shutting them down or serving up the big home run ball. And you got 23 year-old kids like Billingsley who might become a top starter and Broxton who is the closer of the future.

Can the Dodgers stay out in front of San Diego, Arizona and Colorado?

And even if the Dodgers make it to the playoffs again, will they be swept?

Yet, the fans keep coming back. I suppose that is what it means to be a fan. I keep coming back. I keep believing that the outcome will be different. Isn't one of the pithy sayings about insanity .... insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome?