As the Baltimore Orioles storybook season came to a screeching halt at the hands of the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series (ALDS), a sense of ambiguity seems to have swept over its fanbase. Rob Long, Big Bad Morning Show co-host on 105.7 The Fan, had become infatuated by this year’s team, and was having difficulty processing the team’s postseason exit.
“Am I the only one that doesn’t know what emotions I feel right now when we talk about my baseball team?,” Long said. “I don’t know what I’m feeling right now – I don’t know if it’s sad because it’s over [or] proud because of what they accomplished. I don’t know whether it’s disappointment.”
Consulting his co-host Ed Norris, Long concurred that the steps forward the team had taken during the year rendered watching the team an appointment-based viewing experience. Attaining the No. 1 playoff seed and receiving a bye to the ALDS raised the standard. The sudden elimination and cessation of a postseason run, however, has caused a disquietude of emotions.
“I’m not lying to you – is there a therapist listening to the show right now that could call up for me and Ed?,” Long said. “….I really don’t know what I’m feeling right now – seriously. Resentment; jealousy; anger; disappointment; [happiness] – it’s just the whole – I’m running through them right now.”
When the season began, Long was hopeful that the Orioles could compete for the third Wild Card Spot, and he would have been content with the team being eliminated during the Wild Card Series. If that scenario had played out, he would have given them “a golf clap” and encouraged the group to take further strides next season. By June, he was having off-the-air conversations with Norris pertaining to how special the team looked and that they were poised to exceed what they once thought was possible.
“I don’t even remember what I felt when I hear those expectations,” Rob Long said, referring to his pre-Opening Day prediction. “Now they grew, so now we’re getting swept in the first round, [and] for a team that hadn’t gotten swept in over 90 series, [that] is not acceptable to me.”
