CinciNnati Reds

deep down, I want them to compete always.”

While Muma wants his team to start losing, junior Ethan Wong’s team talked the tank talk and then walked the tank walk.

Wong supports the Philadelphia 76ers, a basketball team infamous for tanking, a term for when a team intentionally loses games in order to get a high draft pick. Starting in the 2013- 14 season and ending in the 2016-17 season, the 76ers lost a whopping 253 games.

Wong initially was drawn to the team because of this ineptitude.

“I thought it would be pretty funny to become a 76ers fan, because they were really bad, and because they went 10-72,” Wong said, referencing the team’s record during the 2015-16 season.

Initially however, Wong did not understand the practice of tanking.

“I thought they would be bad forever,” Wong said. “I didn’t really know too much about the NBA, so I started cheering for them as a joke.”

Wong said he learned what tanking was after the 76ers ended up with consecutive Number 1 picks before the 2016 and 2017 NBA drafts.

“I learned what tanking was, but it was pretty funny that they just kept losing,” Wong said. “And I did not really care as much during the tanking seasons.”

Wong said after he learned about the strategy, he became filled with optimism regarding his chosen team’s future.

“I was not frustrated with all the losing because I knew it would pay off in the long run,” Wong said. “And it did, as we found stars in the draft like Ben Simmons and Richuan Holmes.”

Wong said he faced teasing and ridicule for being a fan of one of the most inept teams in NBA history.

“People laughed at me, and they thought I was crazy,” Wong said. “Tey called me stupid and a moron.”

However, Wong has been vindicated. Te

years of turmoil nicknamed “Te Process” came to fruition in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. “We drafted Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, and when they started playing, I started watching the team more and learning more about the other players,” Wong said. “I also began buying Sixers gear when they made the playoffs (in 2018).” However, Wong still faces criticism from his peers regarding his team of choice.

“People still think the Sixers are a joke because Ben Simmons can’t shoot, and people laugh at us for making horrible financial decisions, like maxing Tobias Harris,” Wong said, referring to the 76ers decision to sign forward Tobias Harris to a five year $180 million contract in the 2019 offseason.

Despite facing criticism, Wong said he stands strong when his team is attacked. “We are not incompetent, we are actually the best team in the Eastern Conference; the Bucks, Craptors and Ltics can’t stop us,” Wong said, referring to his team’s divisional rivals, the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics with derogatory nicknames.

While Muma said he would not abandon his team in the case of baffling ineptitude, Wong said his logic would be the opposite.

“We have not won a ring yet, but once we do, I’ll probably root for another team, maybe the Charlotte Hornets,” Wong said.

While Snyder supports an unconventional team in order to gain more of a personal stake in sports, Washington Redskins fan and junior Luke Tieman supports a sports team for family reasons, similar to Muma.

“My dad, he’s from Washington D.C., and they’re his favorite team,” Tieman said. “Even though he’s not a big football fan, he likes the Redskins, so I kinda started watching them, and now I’m a fan. I also still have a ton of family back there, so that’s why I’m a Redskins fan.”

In supporting the Redskins, Tieman said he finds himself frustrated with the team’s management, specifically the loss of the current coaches of the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams.

“Everything is frustrating,” Tieman said. “Te owner, in general, is just not a good owner, and, I mean, hindsight is 20-20, but Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan were both once on our coaching staff, and now we have no coach.” T h i e m a n also wasn’t a fan of the team’s treatment of their top pick, D w a y n e Haskins.

Accord- ing to Tieman, the front office insinuated that Haskins was not their top choice, alienating their first round pick before he even played a game. However, Tie- man said that fans should not put all the blame on the front office, because injuries also have contributed to the team’s poor record. “I WAS NOT FRUSTRATED WITH ALL THE LOSING BECAUSE I KNEW IT WOULD PAY OFF IN THE LONG RUN.” ETHAN WONG

Like Muma, Tieman finds himself frustrated with his team’s historic position of constant mediocrity.

“I’m frustrated that we’ve never really been making any aggressive moves,” Thieman said. “We just stay around 7-9, 8-8, 9-7, since the times of RG3, may God bless him.”

Thieman did say there is some enjoyment in watching a middling team, though.

“To be honest, it’s not really that fun to watch when we’re just being OK,” Thieman said. “It was fun a couple times though, back when Kirk Cousins was still quarterback, and we were always in close games.”

However, Thieman’s team isn’t mediocre this year. The Redskins have dropped to the bottom of the NFC standings, yet, due to a weak division, could still possibly make the playoffs, and Thieman said he is pleased with the current standings.

“If I was in charge of the team, I would just tank,” Thieman said. “This year, I would say, just throw in the towel and try to get a high pick.”

Thieman says he faces some scrutiny when he reveals that he is a Redskins fan.

“It’s always frustrating because I have to remind myself that I’m a Redskins fan,” Thieman said. “Usually they (people) understand, but one of the things about being a fan of a team that’s not from the Bay Area is that people kind of question your loyalty.”

Thieman said that liking an out-of-state team can lead to criticism no matter the success of the team in question.

“If you’re a fan of an out-of-state good team, then people call you a bandwagon,” Thieman said. “But if you’re a fan of an out-of-state bad team, people ask, ‘Why even bother?’”

While facing joking criticism from his friends over supporting the Redskins, Thieman said that he can’t see himself jumping ship.

“I’m gonna like the team regardless of what people say,” Thieman said. “Which is what a sports fan should (do).”

8. Buffalo Sabres Not-so-proud owners of the longest missed playoff streak in the NHL, with a current eight year hiatus.