Sucker!

Main Entry: 1 suck'·er
Function: noun
1a : one that sucks especially a breast or udder : SUCKLING b : a device for creating or regulating suction (as a piston or valve in a pump) c : a pipe or tube through which something is drawn by suction d (1) : an organ in various animals for adhering or holding (2) : a mouth (as of a leech) adapted for sucking or adhering
2 : a shoot from the roots or lower part of the stem of a plant
3 : any of numerous chiefly No. American freshwater bony fishes (family Catostomidae) closely related to the carps but distinguished from them especially by the structure of the mouth which usually has thick soft lips
4 : LOLLIPOP 1
5 a : a person easily cheated or deceived

Example: me and a surprising number of friends who, despite statements as late as Monday of this week that we were giving up on the Phillies this year and wouldn't even consider purchasing playoff tickets, ponied up our credit card numbers on or before the Tuesday night deadline to ensure that we'll have tickets should the Phils (now tied in the NL wild-card playoff race) actually make it to the playoffs.

If not, I will request that the non-refundable transaction fee be applied to the procurement of a new third baseman, or a reliable starting pitcher.

And each of us came clean with each other in similar fashion: "I know I said I wasn't going to do it, but I couldn't help myself..." Ahh, baseball and the subtle yet deep addiction it creates, says the man who called this team "most sincerely dead" less than a week.