They Won - Poem

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A poem can capture the emotional weight of long-awaited victory. In “They Won,” Greg Luti reflects on the moment a lifelong sports fan experiences their team finally winning a championship — and the unexpected peace that follows years of disappointment.

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I guess I got so used to them losing that I never thought I would see them win.

No title for them.

No talks of championships.

None of that.

My team would lose, and for no other reason than that is what they do.

I got so accustomed to this way of thinking that I couldn’t even know what it meant for them to win.

They would never win a title.

They would never have a parade.

They would never do any of that.

But when it happens….

The clock struck zero, the score was set, and they won.

There are no more games.

There is no tomorrow.

They are the champs.

I won’t start talking about tomorrow about how they need to improve to help them win.

The best part of the off-season won’t be the draft.

I am not going to put hope in players I know are not even worthy of being in the league.

I am not doing any of that.

Because they won….

They really won.

I called out a few times after the championship, and then I didn’t celebrate anymore.

Not out of confusion, but of shock.

We are not supposed to win.

Not my team.

Not now, not ever.

How are we allowed to win this thing?

Are they going to take back the title?

Perhaps the league will make my team win another game, just to really prove they are champs.

I sat there in shock, for I never thought this would happen.

I felt a sense of peace, of happiness, I never thought I would feel.

I never played in a single game.

I didn’t coach this team.

I couldn’t even afford tickets to a game this season.

But this team, they are a part of who I am, and now I can say something I never thought I would say.

My team won a championship….

Let the other fans jump up and down in triumph.

Let the parties happen across town.

Let the chaos ensue from the news that they won.

As for me, I will be silently appreciating the run of the players.

Finding peace in their title.

And as I do find that peace, the peace I never knew before today,

I may shed a tear or two for all of those who put so much time into this team.

The players who suffered losses trying and failing to win a title.

The fans who were there with the players as they lost.

The owner and management, who can never do anything right.

Those who made me fall in love with this team.

I think of all of them….

And I am happy for them.

They won.

I won.

We won.

After all these years, we won.

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