For us fans, it's getting harder to be loyal

In any other relationship, it would be over.

Don't call me again. I'm changing my number. I'm entering the witness protection program. The restraining order is in the mail.

O.V.E.R.

In sports, however, hell hath no quandary like a fan scorned.

Fans recover, always. They remain more faithful than Greg Anderson to Barry Bonds. They seemingly can get over anything.

Chicago White Sox players tanking the 1919 World Series. Ben Johnson doping up the 100-meter dash. Pete Rose betting on baseball. Mike Tyson gnawing on Evander Holyfield's ears. O.J. Simpson destroying the notion of heroism in athletics. The East German government sponsoring Olympic cheating. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa sullying the great home-run chase of 1998. NBA players punching their own customers.

Cyclists cheating.

Referees fixing.

Michael Vick's dogfighting.

Bonds' record breaking.

Just to name a dozen.

"It's amazing," said David Carter, a USC sports business professor. "We consistently underestimate just how much fans will put up with. If it were any industry other than sports, it wouldn't be able to exist."

In this decade of sports corruption, we blab about our games losing their credibility, predict outrageous crises and wait for these sports to sink.

We're still waiting.

The Titanic should've been made with pigskin and horsehide.

Our games take serious hits with each controversy, but they never endure mass abandonment. If baseball's steroids scandal can't crush the game, if the NBA survives referee Tim Donaghy's whistle-wagering, there likely is no death knell.

"The true die-hard fan's psyche is hard to match," said Stephen Ross, a sport management professor at the University of Minnesota. "It's like people who love politics and religion. You can't break their tie to it. Crazy? Perhaps. All sports fans are. It shows how incredibly loyal they are."

Despite this loyalty, there is some bleeding. Television ratings for the NBA Finals and the NHL's Stanley Cup finals were record lows this year.

The NBA can blame it partly on a series between San Antonio and Cleveland, two franchises from smaller markets. But the NHL has yet to recover from its lockout, which canceled the 2004-2005 season.

When discussing the sturdiness of pro sports leagues, it is important to divide the field into two categories.

First are the indestructibles: basketball, baseball, football, soccer (think globally) and NASCAR. It would take a series of acts we cannot fathom to remove these games from relevance.

They will experience ups and downs, but their popularity is ingrained. They will get damaged, but they are easy to repair.

Because the consumer can't get enough, even during controversial times.

We must wonder if that is a shortcoming or a virtue.

"It becomes the ultimate shortcoming if you don't recognize it as a virtue," said Carter, speaking from the sports league's perspective. "If you don't understand that depth of goodwill and appreciate it, it will evaporate on you."

Then there are the other sports. Scandal can annihilate them. The lockout made the NHL a second-tier product. The Tour de France, cycling's centerpiece event, will fade because of its doping scandal, especially in the United States. Still, they will not disappear.

Boxing, once an American addiction, is struggling after years of corrupt behavior. But there's a belief it could return to significance if a charismatic, overpowering heavyweight champion emerged.

For any sports league, a single sin likely won't harm it. A collection of misdeeds can do major damage, however.

"If people lose faith, it will be because of a cumulative impact," Carter said. "It's like the old saying about dying of a thousand cuts."

Which is why the NBA and Major League Baseball should be worried. They are testing fans' loyalty the most.

Robert Tuchman, the president of TSE Sports and Entertainment, says the NBA should be especially concerned about its referee dilemma.

"I think it's by far the worst scandal that could hit a league," said Tuchman, whose New York-based company helps those with NBA ties get endorsements. "Anytime you're talking about integrity, it's far more threatening than an individual taking steroids.

"Fans start to really get angry when they feel wronged or cheated. It's like buying a TV and Channel 7 doesn't work."

Still, if Donaghy proves to be a "rogue, isolated criminal," as NBA commissioner David Stern suggested last week, the league can make him the villain, change some policies and restore its might.

Sports business experts say some of these leagues could experience stunted growth because their problems might scare away new fans. But they are beasts.

They aren't going away easily. And they aren't going away anytime soon.

Unless we show some restraint.

Then again, how do we turn our back on the NFL when, for every Vick, there is a Peyton Manning?

When, for every Donaghy, there is a LeBron James?

When, for every vilified Bonds, there is a respected Derek Jeter?

We are optimistic; we are blind. We are realistic; we are needy.

"You've got to believe any one of these scandals can be overcome," Carter said. "Sports history says none of the major sports have ever totally lost it."

Hate the cheater.

Don't hate the game.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com. For more columns and the Extra Points blog, visit seattletimes.com/sports