Until the Chicago Cubs won the World Series a few years ago, they were the definition of optimism. They weren’t known for winning a lot, but for losing. In spite of this, their fanbase rivals the Yankees: the team most associated with winning.

Where teams reside in the standings right now has a big impact on fans. Because we want our team to win. To be first. Which also means we need others to lose. Then, when our team isn’t first, we say “maybe next year.”

Of course, there can be only one winner. And more often than not, it isn’t the most talented or most deserving.

We expect ranking to tell us something inherently true about our value to society. Usually it just tells us who got lucky or who started out with more money to spend.