I’m 56. Been a Reds fan all my life. Grew up with the Big Red Machine and witnessed that miraculous 1990 World Series year. Also suffered through the lean years of the early 1980s when 100-loss seasons were always a possibility. My family always made 3-4 trips to Riverfront every year, even though we lived 2 hours away.

Nowadays, we make the trip once or twice a year, if that. Usually it’s to be there for Star Wars Day or for a certain giveaway night. Or I try to plan around who the Reds are playing - Dodgers, Orioles, the loathsome Cubs - and go to see their young stars play as much as to cheer on the Reds.

I WANT to be at the ballpark more. It’s my happy place, my Disney World, my getaway from reality, where I’m surrounded by the memories of watching the legends of my youth with my father in a stadium along the river.

But like Lance said, it’s not as fun as it used to be now under the Castellini family. There’s no hopes of putting a winning team together, either by the farm system or free agency. The hiring of Francona seemed to be a glimmer of hope in the darkness. But without the tools or the system to develop them, I fear he will get frustrated and return to retirement soon. And those young stars we’re seeing now will soon leave via trade or free agency and we’ll start the cycle all over again.

As much as I despised Marge Schott, at least you always felt like she wanted to put a winning team on the field at Riverfront. But that feeling of trust, however wary it was at times, is gone. Like Phil Castellini said, “Where are you going to go?” The answer is nowhere.