It’s Tito Time: The Shift in Outlook for Reds Fans as the New Season Dawns

Springtime is here in Cincinnati and along with that comes the baseball season. For the first time in recent memory, the Cincinnati Reds faithful have a newfound excitement surrounding the upcoming season, filled with layers of optimism.

Seismic offseason shifts have led to this feeling for the fanbase, including additions like Terry “Tito” Francona, a storied manager with an incredible resume who will be in the dugout for the Reds, along with a new top-tier starting pitcher in Brady Singer. This of course came at a cost though, losing some veteran leadership with Jonathan India heading to Kansas City.

“India was, of course, a fan favorite,” said John Whited, a native of the Cincinnati Tri-State area and longtime Reds fan, “but I am still very excited. [Matt] McLain being hurt last year hurt us badly, so having him back this year will be very helpful.”

Widely though, there seemed to be a different buzz in the air on Opening Day in and around Great American Ball Park this season. Different from past seasons where it sometimes felt as if fans were just going through the motions of attending the Opening Day festivities for the sake of tradition, there was a genuine feeling of optimism from fans of all ages.

The pitching staff (as it always is) will be integral to the team’s success this year. The Reds spent the offseason beefing up their starting rotation with the addition of Singer and by ensuring that their ace, Hunter Greene, is back to full health and ready to give his best through the entire season’s campaign.

Amy Honeycutt, another lifelong Reds fan who made the trip downtown for Opening Day, also expressed her feelings.

“I am just super excited,” said Honeycutt. “I am really just hoping that the pitching staff has a great year, which they have a good chance to.”

Success on the mound could certainly lead the Reds to a strong season ahead.

Of course, the goal for many Cincinnati fans is that seemingly elusive playoff appearance and victory that has been avoiding the franchise for over a decade now. While that is always the hope, this year seems to be the first in many that the fanbase is finding true belief that this team could be the one to finally do it.

Jeff Weller, also a native of Cincinnati, concurs with the sentiment of higher optimism coming into the season.

“I truly believe and hope that we can make it into the playoffs this year,” Weller said. “And not only that, but win a game too. That would be fun.”

Despite the disappointing finish to the Opening Day game for the Reds, losing to the San Francisco Giants 6-4, the sellout crowd of 43,876 still has plenty to look forward to with this year’s Reds team. Both Francona and Greene made comments in their postgame interviews saying this start to the season “better not deflate us,” and that will become evident this weekend as the Reds close out with two more home games against the Giants on Saturday and Sunday.