Reds fans have waited long enough to know what Astros fans already forgot

The Cincinnati Reds have not hosted a playoff game since the team won 97 games and the NL Central Division title in 2012. Sadly, the 133,018 fans who packed a sold-out Great American Ball Park for Games 3, 4, and 5 of the National League Division Series went home broken-hearted.

After winning Games 1 and 2 against the San Francisco Giants, the Reds fumbled away the final three games of the series, and with it, the hope of a return to the NLCS and maybe even the World Series.

The Reds have been to the playoffs three times since then, and have lost all five games they've played. Cincinnati lost the NL Wild Card Game to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2013, dropped the first two games against the Atlanta Braves during the pandemic-expanded playoffs in 2020, and were swept out of the Wild Card Series by the Los Angeles Dodgers last season.

Reds fans have been met with disappointment after disappointment, and with the recent news of Nick Krall's return and the rumored tension between the front office and ownership, faith in Cincinnati's return to prominence is at an all-time low.

But when that day finally comes — and it might not be anytime soon — Reds fans should learn a lesson from the Houston Astros fanbase. DO NOT BE LIKE THEM.

Astros fans just handed Reds fans a lesson in spoiled fandom

The Astros lost the opening game of their AL Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday afternoon in Houston by a final score of 6-3. But the story was lack of attendance and the fan reaction during the game.

Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported that more than 7,000 seats inside Daikin Park were empty for Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, and the Astros fans were so upset with the team's performance that boos were audible from the home crowd. The Astros players took note.

“The fans here are definitely spoiled with a lot of ALCS and World Series runs, and we have to earn that right to bring this team back to that position,” Astros reliever Bennett Sousa said. “That being said, when this team was in their first (playoff) series 10 years ago, Minute Maid Park was probably packed. It makes a big difference."

Sousa himself was culpable — spiking two breaking balls into the dirt during his appearance in the seventh inning and allowing one run on two hits — but his point still stands. Astros fans are spoiled.

Apparently, watching your hometown team win the AL West for the fifth time in six seasons and advance to the postseason for the ninth time in 10 years wasn't enough for the Houston faithful to even show up. During that 10-year span, the Astros have been to the World Series four times and won it twice.

Call me old fashioned, but you shouldn't boo your own team. Do you honestly think the players on the field are going to play better because you audibly vent your frustration? There isn't a single fan in the stands who wants to see their team win more than the 26 guys in the dugout — that I can assure you.

Fans pay a lot money (especially for playoff tickets) to go to the stadium and watch their favorite team play a game; I'll grant you that. But do you honestly think that the players on the field aren't trying their best to win the game? This is the time of year when you put it all on the line. Trust me, these players want to win.

The fans in Houston have forgotten that, and frankly, it's sad. Moreover, the Cincinnati faithful can never allow themselves to follow in their footsteps.

The Big Red Machine of the 1970s is widely regarded as the greatest compilation of baseball players ever assembled on one team. Though the league was admittedly smaller back then, from 1970-1979, the Reds won six division titles, went to the World Series four times, and won it all twice.

Since their NLCS appearance in 1979, Cincinnati has been to the postseason just seven times over 46 years, and have advanced only twice.

Astros fans have become used to seeing their team win — something Reds fans aspire to witness sooner rather than later. But let this latest show of impudence from Houston's fanbase inspire you to be a better fan. You never know when that next bout of long suffering will begin.

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