A Wheaton, Illinois native and current Minneapolis, Minnesota resident, Scot Moore, tried to sell his team loyalty on eBay. Like the Cubs season in October, that didn't get very far either.
Scot had offered his team loyalty to the highest bidder, all in the name of charity. Moore had planned to donate his winnings would go to two Minneapolis theater companies that perform for low-income audiences. Despite both companies being backed by Springboard for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Scot did not have the proper documentation. So, eBay pulled the listing, citing that it violated policies.
The highest bidder when it was shut down? $7,100, from a White Sox fan. There were no discernible bids from any Cubs fans.
This is troubling on many levels. Do Cubs fans not care that one of their own is losing his faith enough to auction it off? Does a fan of another baseball team care that much about converting someone? Can loyalty be bought off, even for a good cause? All are reasonable questions that I don't have an immediate answer to.
If the charity angle wasn't used, how many bids would Scot have actually gotten? Maybe most of those bids were for the charity part. We'll never really know the intentions of the bidders.
Take away the important part of the auction, which is the charity donation, and this is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen on eBay. One can't simply switch team loyalties because someone pays him enough money. The heart wants what the heart wants. It is not swayed easily by large sums of cash.
Are Cubs fans that fickle? Your team breaks your heart over and over again and you simply give up? That's not the definition of a fan, to me. You stick with the team you chose through good and bad. It makes those winning years even sweeter, when they happen.
Are White Sox fans the desperate to convert Cubs fans? I would hope not, but there's always a few wackos in every crowd. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that the main motivation on everybody's end is the charity, but who knows. Every team has their "interesting" fans and misinformed fans. They will do stupid and pointless things and try to convert the masses in ridiculous ways.
I disagree with eBay about pulling this one. Let's skip the charity part. If someone is stupid enough to auction their loyalty off, let them. If someone is stupid enough to actually pay thousands of dollars to purchase that one person's loyalty, let them. Each of them deserve their own special place in commerce hell.
Scot did say that if the White Sox fan did win and he was forced to root for the White Sox, that he would become a fan of A.J. Pierzynski. He likes his spirit. My question... if Scot likes Pierzynski's spirit, why isn't he already a fan? Officer Barbrady, I call shenanigans!
4 comments:
That's funny...and sad!
Once upon a time, I had vowed that if the Indians ever won the World Series again, I would sell my entire Tribe cards collection the next day. I was not going to switch loyalty, but rather pass on my collection to another fan of the team.... I know, crazy talk!
Excellent post!
Perhaps these shenanigans stem from postseason grief.
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