Sports Contracts and Fandom Where do these lines get blurry?

As a New York Mets fan, this offseason started off with a bang and wound down to a pretty slow crawl. However, this post isn't about grading the Mets' offseason. It's to possibly gain some insight into how fandom works and the love and loyalty to players. This offseason allowed for a good comparison between a mercenary/bat for hire (Juan Soto) and a homegrown talent in Alonso.

I respected Juan Soto from the start, even with the Nationals. The guy has no loyalty to a team; he just wants to get paid for being one of the best in the game. His loyalty has a price tag on it, and I respect that. I respect that he didn't try to play on the Yankees' heartstrings this whole season and say he loved being a Yankee and wanted to stay. Instead, every time he was asked, he was honest and straightforward. Do I think it was always at the appropriate times? No, but regardless, I respected it. Do I think he got overpaid? Yes, but that doesn't matter now. As a fan, Juan Soto made this very easy for a fan to interpret. Yes, you're a Met, yes, you're on my team now, but you have made it very clear this is a business transaction. You want to get paid, and I want you to produce. If you produce, you will continue to have my respect and loyalty. If you do not produce, you will get zero sympathy, compassion, or understanding from me, which I think is respectable enough. I don't want to see you complain or do thumbs-down stuff or whatever when you don't produce. Suck it up, say you need to work on it, and keep it moving. By produce, I mean competing for an MVP every year that you are healthy. Do you have to win it every year? No. Do you even have to be top 2 every year? No, but you better believe that Juan Soto is a name we hear every year around the All-Star break is in contention for it. If not, let the boos commence and take it on the chin with grace.

This now leads to Alonso, homegrown talent, a fan favorite who has been saying for multiple years he loves this organization and wants to stay here. Which is fine, but the way this offseason has gone down, I have lost most respect for him. The reason is more info seems to be coming out that he took previous offers as an insult (paraphrasing) or at least didn't see them as good enough. Which is also fine. I understand it's your body, your life, and you can gamble on yourself. However, the way that this is unfolding looks bad, or at least it does as a fan. You can't sit here and bang the drum and say you want to be with an organization and then reject a FAIR offer. It wasn't a slap in the face...it wasn't blow your socks off, but it was fair. Follow it up by wanting to make it to free agency, also fair. However, at this point, you are now gambling on yourself. You can hit the jackpot or leave empty-handed, but don't blame the casino on that...you knew the consequences going in. You have a bad year and could have taken it on the chin and come back knowing you went for it and missed...that's also fine and respectable. To then not take a qualifying offer and try to get an amount of money/years that you know isn't attainable in a dried-up market and seemingly play hardball is where I have the problem. This is where I've lost respect.

You can't go for the money, miss, fall short, and double down against the team that you have thrown roses at since they brought you up. It feels manipulative that you play up a fan base and then, as soon as the money comes to the table, you sing a different tune. I would have had more respect if you just said, "I want the most money I can get, and I hope it's New York, but if not, I am taking the money" (something along those lines).

All this being said, I think he's going to come back. Is the fandom the same, though, now for him? This is where lines kind of blur. Someone who was once a fan favorite and seemed to lead the charge for a fanbase now feels kind of dirty or tainted. It's like, "Hey, you liked me but only for the money? You made it seem deeper than that?" Which is going to be bad. I think he's not going to be received the way he was... or at least as respected and loved. Unfortunately, I think he's going to be in the same category as Soto now. Produce, or we will show no mercy.

The sports industry is a business... always has been, always will be. I don't know if there is any other type of business besides sports that has such a submerged and emotionally vested fan base for a "business." It's messy, it's people's jobs, but it's a game, and it's some people's way of life. There's a bond between homegrown vs. bought talent, and guys who sacrifice for the team vs. all for themselves. I am okay with any player that sticks to either side of that story; it's when you want both after taking a swing and missing that bothers me. It's very hard or rare to have both. If Alonso had a career year, I'd agree with him, but you fell short and got kind of exposed, and now, unfortunately, the grace and patience you were given before will probably fall short, at least for this fan it will be the case.

Who else has had a similar feeling or situation regardless of the sport?