This is the third installment of an ongoing series here at two* on deck in which Taylor Gaines and Allie Davison tackle the things about sports that annoy them, their pet peeves. In this edition, Taylor  talks about those “fans” who leave early at sporting events.

People bolting before a game is over has always irritated me. I'll never understand why, if you fork out hundreds of dollars to go to an event, you would not watch the entire thing. Barring extreme situations, I would never even consider leaving early.

Okay, I will admit, while it makes me shake my head to watch people sneak to the exits in the seventh inning, it's their decision to make; it's only actually affecting them. But true fans stick around to the bitter end, they don’t leave just to “beat the traffic.”

This behavior also sheds light upon a fan's core principles. Are you really going to give up that easily? As the cliches say, it’s not over until it's over, or until the fat lady sings. Or until one team is jumping up and down in a victory dance. Let me give you an example.

I have a friend, whom I won’t name in order to not embarrass him, who was at game 162 of the Rays' season last year (click here). With the Rays down 7-0 in the seventh inning, he and his family decided all hope was lost and they would get a head start on the long trek home. The Rays went on to score six runs in the eighth, one in the ninth, and win it in extras. The Rays wound up sneaking into the playoffs that very night.

I don't pass up an opportunity to tell him he should have stayed; I can’t even comprehend leaving the last game of the season like that. In a game with playoff implications, especially baseball, anything is possible. Comebacks happen.

Just ask my family: I am always the one who wants to stick it out, win or lose. Why not enjoy every moment? You never know when you'll be going to another game, and experiencing one in person is special. And why would you want to take the chance to miss out on history being made?