Personally I haven't checked out, but I don't watch every game in full at the moment, not since the finals charge ended this year.
My kids won't leave me in peace so it's hard to watch matches live; it's not exactly a negative thing, they just jump about and ask a million questions, it makes the viewing experience even more tense. They certainly will never go to bed if the footy is on, so 8pm kickoffs are terrible.
So I often watch on delay. That then means I'm always highly at risk of finding out the score from my phone messages, so I need to stay away from my phone as well.
I am a full member but I don't live in Sydney any more, so the trek back to Sydney is a big undertaking if we are playing badly. I am usually pretty consistent early in the year, but for example I recently skipped the Eels and Warriors matches. Warriors because it was a Friday night at Campbo - not my favourite and taxing after work. Eels because I hate playing Eels at Parramatta Stadium, it's the worst decision ever. Freezing cold and it's their bloody home ground.
I'll be back on task Rd 1 2027. I will probably never give up, though it is deflating, I am ever optimistic. And it's kind of like lottery, if I ever stop watching, for sure they'd start winning again and I'd regret it. There must surely come a time when Tigers are good again, for some decent stretch of time?
I started following Balmain in the 80s, we've been so ordinary for so long, we've only made the Finals 8 times since I started in 1986 (86-90, 2005, 2010-11) - 19.5% success rate. I am used to it unfortunately. In some ways it does make the Finals series less stressful to watch.
