Schadenfreude, the Baseball Gods and Winning with Dignity

For Cubs fans, after the heartbreaking loss to the Brewers, initial thoughts went to whether they would try to re-sign Kyle Tucker or exercise the contract option for Shota Imanaga. But all of that took a back seat after social media was inundated with the photo of the Brewers celebrating their NLDS win by bringing out an “L” flag for their team photo.

It sounds like it was something provided by one of the fans, and was a spur of the moment thing, but someone in the Brewers organization should have stepped up and gotten rid of the flag before the image went viral.

As a Cubs fan, I didn’t need too much of a reason to root against the Brewers. But most of that dislike was due to their success – and jealously on my part of all the NL Central titles they’ve won over the past several years. I honestly had lots of respect with what they’ve been able to do with somewhat limited resources, always seeming to surpass expectations. For other teams I disliked, like the Cardinals and Yankees, the dislike went a bit deeper, as the organizations had a level of smugness that made them very easy to dislike, but other than some annoying fans on Twitter, the Brewers were not nearly as hatable.

But this one photo – with one organization rubbing it into the faces of the other, trolling their opponents after a hard-fought, close playoff series, the Brewers crossed a line that made it much easier to hate them.

And so, as the series against the Dodgers began, I had ample reason to root for the Dodgers, and gain satisfaction from the one avenue left: schadenfreude. And as the Brewers lost the first two games, I did not just want them to lose. I wanted them to get swept by the Dodgers, and spend another offseason without a championship. And in Game 4, Shohei Ohtani took things on his shoulders, and end the Brewers’ season almost single-handedly.

Now, I am not someone who believes in curses – whether in baseball or elsewhere. However, I do realize that lots of people do believe – and when someone starts to believe something, it can impact their behavior and performance. I don’t think the Brewers could have gone on such a great run during the regular season without thinking that they had fortune on their side. There were just too many games where it seemed like luck smiled on them – but teams make their own luck sometimes.

And just as easily, a team can go through a slump, and the feeling that nothing will go right can be a self-fulfilling prophesy. Certainly the Dodgers had great pitching performances in the NLCS to shut the Brewers down, but you do have to wonder if any of the Brewers hitters had doubt that creeped into their minds. There were a few key moments that might have changed the trajectory of the series – at least making it a little closer.

But beyond bad mojo/karma, upsetting the baseball gods, or any other way you want to describe a supernatural negative impact of the “L”, the bottom line is it was just a petty, classless display. It emphasized celebrating the loss of the opponent as opposed to the triumph of the winning team. For a team that had not won a playoff series in several attempts. For a team that had defied the odds, and gone on a historic run, it may have tarnished how the team will be thought of.

Now, it’s fair to say that getting swept in their last series might have tarnished the outcome anyway, but if they had shown some dignity in winning, I think the story would have been the small-market team that got overmatched against the ultra-high payroll Dodgers, who had gotten all their big money starters healthy at the same time.

Instead, they are seen as the team who couldn’t win a game after trolling an opponent in the previous series. They are being mocked all over social media, and not just by us angry, jealous Cubs fans.

Trolling can be fun, but I think that it’s important for teams to be good winners and good losers. Show some respect for your opponent, no matter how bitter the rivalry.