I believe being hopeful /= being delusional happens with this fanbase, any fanbase, of a beloved character from your childhood.
Ridley was indeed "delusional". But many still believed because of hope, and most knew that direct really did just meant "deconfirmed" without just saying it in the first place. I still think Ridley was handle stupidly, from a developer standpoint, and the fanbase's standpoint.
But in the end, talking about how dumb this fanbase is just seems double standard when this is just how human kind is. We do dumb crap just because we all wish for the things we all want in life, even if it's just a video game.