Am I A Reds Fan Now?

There's a fine line between love and nausea

Drunk on Elly De La Cruz highlights, I howled at the moon this weekend about the benefits of being a Cincinnati Reds fan in the present day. Such a declaration would have seemed preposterous to the casual observer just a few weeks ago. (Full disclosure: I had been casually observing the Reds until earlier this month.)

While I don’t think I owe the Reds an apology, I am willing to reflect upon the decisions that led me here.

In each of the past 10 seasons, the Reds have finished no higher than third in their division. On two occasions, third-place was good enough for a Wild Card berth — and promptly being swept by their opponents. In fact, since Jose Rijo and the Nasty Boys led the Reds to World Series victory in 1990, the franchise has won two playoff games total. Two.

Enter: Elly De La Cruz.

One year ago, these Reds began the season 3-22. Team president Phil Castellini kicked off the ignominious season by rhetorically asking unhappy fans, “Where you gonna go?” Team payroll had been slash…