Loyalty: A Response to Maury Brown

Maury Brown is a respected business of sports writer, and I am one of those that respects him.  This past week he went trolling for angry Astros fans on twitter and succeeded in this quest.  He said something that has stuck with me.  It included the term "blind loyalty", and he nearly repeated the exact line to Astros County.  I have spent time trying to figure out what he means by this.  He certainly isn't using it in a positive way.

What is blind loyalty?  It implies that one is following another unconditionally without regard to the actions of the leader.  The problem that I have is that this is baseball that we are talking about.  We aren't talking about following a potential dictator who will surely bring on World War III.  I am well aware of Mr. Crane's past business issues and so was MLB.  They deemed him to be a worthy candidate.  We all know that this was a matter of convenience with the push for the Astros to move to the AL.  I don't speak for all Astros fans, but Mr. Crane was not my first choice to own the club, but he is the man that we are stuck with.

We were here first.  The fans were here before he was.  We already have years of devotion invested in this team.  So, I am supposed to switch my allegiance that I have maintained for 30 years?  No.  I was here first.  This is where I feel slighted by MLB more than anywhere else.  Crane was not good enough to be approved for the Rangers, but he was good enough for us, because it was convenient for MLB.  So, we are stuck with the guy that couldn't be approved for any other team.  It is not my fault that this happened, and I won't switch allegiances, because Bud and his cronies stuck us with this.  Read my first ever blog post to find out how deep my Astros roots run.

Is it really blind loyalty?  The answer is yes, but it is only yes, because we can't tell the future.  Loyalty has to be blind until we see the plan taking shape.  This leads me to my shocking revelation.  The Maury Brown that interviewed with Astros County is from the future.  He must be.  That's the only way he would be able to judge us for "blind loyalty".

Another point from Brown is one that I completely agree with.  In fact, I have always believed that sports franchises belong to the city first.  Owning a franchise is far different from running a freight company.  Many fans, including myself, are displaced and remain loyal to the home town teams of their youth.  It is a connection to where they are from.  It reminds them of their childhood in many cases.  Mr. Crane isn't just an owner.  He is a steward and protector of a city institution.

I am still not 100% sure what Maury Brown was implying in his statements, but I do understand what loyalty is.  My loyalty is to Houston, and the Astros are an institution of the city, therefore I must have faith in the new keepers of the franchise until they show me that I shouldn't.  I might be blind, but so be it.