Your perseverance is admirable, Nathan, but the results, I'm afraid, will always be somewhat meager. People nearing retirement age, with a published, wikipediaed record as antifascist hacks, tend to under-react to such prodding. (Try teasing Lech Walesa about being a commie...)
And I do enjoy the moment while I can. Here in the forlorn southwestern corner, sports fans are as aware as anyone else that these things don't last.
Then again, at least we're getting to experience these things once. After all, no one else ever experienced them before.