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The "Even Year" brand needs to be stopped.

Let me clarify: I'm not talking about the tradition of the Giants making the playoffs, followed by Giants fans living in terror for weeks, and then ending with the Giants winning the World Series every other year. That can carry on. It's a grand tradition that I'm quite fond of. Fun for the whole family.

I'm talking about it becoming its own brand. The fact that the Giants are now using it on merchandise. The media are already talking about it like the season is lost because it's an even year and I'm not sure how many are actually serious. The worst part is that some Giants fans are growing to actually expect it, which is absurd. Now, I'm no good at "math," but I'm pretty sure there are 29 other teams, many that probably have decent odds of winning. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. None of us were that arrogant in the beginning of the 2012 season and we certainly weren't in 2014. We didn't walk into those seasons like we owned them, and it's troubling to see fans doing that this year.

I know what you're saying, "But Sami., this is all in fun. It's a joke." Well, theoretical-you, you're wrong. And you should feel bad.

Sure, it started off as a joke and we've all made it from time to time. Maybe it was to make ourselves feel better over the course of the 2015 season, with all its injuries and disappointments. Or to taunt Dodgers fans. (Or fans of lesser teams in general, we don't have to get that specific.) Maybe we used it to write off a bad Spring Training game. Or maybe it was to pass the time in the off season, wondering what tomfoolery, chicanery and shenanigans await us in this, the promised Even Year. And that was all well and good. It was fun.

But, guys? The regular season is almost upon us. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to go running my mouth all season about how it's a foregone conclusion that the Giants are going to win it all again because it's an Even Year.

"Why not?" scolded, theoretical-you asks, "It's not that big of a deal if the Giants don't win the World Series again." You're right, this time. The games will be played, the players will get paid, people will still pack the ballpark, and a new season will await us the following year. But you forgot one thing.

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The schadenfreude.

My god, the schadenfreude. Sure, we've been happy to dish it out to others, mainly Dodgers fans, but that's not a check I'm ready to cash. And if everyone believes in the Even Year, we will receive all of that schadenfreude back with compounded interest.

Let the season play out, act cool, pretend like it's a really long no-hitter - be cautiously optimistic, then let that optimism grow into excitement and then celebrate like a jerk at the end, if applicable. The way the baseball gods intended it. Because the baseball gods, they are fickle and they can be merciless. They giveth and they taketh away. Don't get cocky.

This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.

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