They're YOUR team, like it or not
This should have likely been addressed much earlier in our blog's short lifetime, but it's going to happen now, in response to some comments on our blog and a few other places. Ask yourself a few questions:
1. Where were you born?
2. We're you generally aware of sports before you moved from there.
If the answer to your second question is yes, guess what...the teams that reside in the city nearest to answer number 1 are YOUR teams, like it or not.
Why is this coming up? A few reasons. There's been some good natured talk going on over in Cleveland Park Men's Club over the recent NBA Finals. The Senator, one of their members, is a Detroit Pistons fan. And that's okay, because even though he lives in/around the D.C. area, he's FROM Detroit. At least he claims to be, it could be a cover job, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
It's people who decide they like a team because the team...
1. Wins constantly
2. Is from the city their parents were born in, but not the city they were born in
3. Has pretty uniforms
4. Has J.J. Redick/Derek Jeter etc.
...that bandwagons occur. Evil, disgusting bandwagons created by leeches who like the Yankees, the Red Sox, Duke teams, or worst of all, the Cowboys. Think I'm kidding, that I don't practice what I preach? Wrong. I broke up with a girl in college because she admitted she was a Cowboys fan. Sure there were other reasons, but I'm convinced deep in my soul that this was at least 10% of it. One of my co-workers, a delightful man in his late 40's, has two baseball hats, the Yankees and Braves. Why? Because the Yankees win all the time, and the Braves were easily accessible on TBS...and they win all the time. I have envisioned running him over with my Dodge Stratus.
(Sidenote: Yes, I drive a Dodge Stratus. No Will Ferrell jokes. For every Will Ferrell joke I hear, I'm going to kill a kitten, I've heard so damn many of them. Think before you post any Will Ferrell crap, and remember that Furrball's life is in your hands.)
I was born here in the D.C. area. You think this has been easy? The Bullets/Wizards last won a championship in 1979, a few months before I was born. The Skins won three Superbowls in the 80's/early 90's. I was ages 2, 8 and 11. Did I appreciate the last one. Of course, but I wasn't nearly as aware of it as I would be now. This is the first year I've had a home baseball team in my life, and no the Orioles don't count. They were a loaner team, and any pretense of caring for them is out the window with Peter Angelos running the show. D.C. United has won four championships in seven years. That's just great, though I'm not much of a soccer watcher. Ask I-66 or Deep Cover how elated they are.
Point is, it's been hard, but I've stuck with it, as any good fan should. And it's paying off. Wizards made the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. Nationals are in first place somehow. The Redskins...well, the Redskins have Joe Gibbs dammit.
We've had at least one person mention being an Orioles and Ravens fan. Again, I can accept the Orioles, but we have our own team now. The Ravens...you know, that just hurts. The Redskins are a Washington institution. Why Baltimore? What do they have on us, besides a harbor? If you wanted to hurt me, why don't you just dance around in a Troy Aikman jersey and break my spirit?
And for the lady who appears to be from Florida...J.J. Redick? You're from FLORIDA, root for FLORIDA teams. You are in violation of the first and fourth bandwagon tenets, at a bare minimum. There are probably other tenets of bandwagonism I'm forgetting that you may also be in violation of.
What we need around here is some old-fashioned Orwellian sports re-education. There will be no double-speak, and four legs are definitely worse than two legs! Big Brother is watching you.
1. Where were you born?
2. We're you generally aware of sports before you moved from there.
If the answer to your second question is yes, guess what...the teams that reside in the city nearest to answer number 1 are YOUR teams, like it or not.
Why is this coming up? A few reasons. There's been some good natured talk going on over in Cleveland Park Men's Club over the recent NBA Finals. The Senator, one of their members, is a Detroit Pistons fan. And that's okay, because even though he lives in/around the D.C. area, he's FROM Detroit. At least he claims to be, it could be a cover job, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
It's people who decide they like a team because the team...
1. Wins constantly
2. Is from the city their parents were born in, but not the city they were born in
3. Has pretty uniforms
4. Has J.J. Redick/Derek Jeter etc.
...that bandwagons occur. Evil, disgusting bandwagons created by leeches who like the Yankees, the Red Sox, Duke teams, or worst of all, the Cowboys. Think I'm kidding, that I don't practice what I preach? Wrong. I broke up with a girl in college because she admitted she was a Cowboys fan. Sure there were other reasons, but I'm convinced deep in my soul that this was at least 10% of it. One of my co-workers, a delightful man in his late 40's, has two baseball hats, the Yankees and Braves. Why? Because the Yankees win all the time, and the Braves were easily accessible on TBS...and they win all the time. I have envisioned running him over with my Dodge Stratus.
(Sidenote: Yes, I drive a Dodge Stratus. No Will Ferrell jokes. For every Will Ferrell joke I hear, I'm going to kill a kitten, I've heard so damn many of them. Think before you post any Will Ferrell crap, and remember that Furrball's life is in your hands.)
I was born here in the D.C. area. You think this has been easy? The Bullets/Wizards last won a championship in 1979, a few months before I was born. The Skins won three Superbowls in the 80's/early 90's. I was ages 2, 8 and 11. Did I appreciate the last one. Of course, but I wasn't nearly as aware of it as I would be now. This is the first year I've had a home baseball team in my life, and no the Orioles don't count. They were a loaner team, and any pretense of caring for them is out the window with Peter Angelos running the show. D.C. United has won four championships in seven years. That's just great, though I'm not much of a soccer watcher. Ask I-66 or Deep Cover how elated they are.
Point is, it's been hard, but I've stuck with it, as any good fan should. And it's paying off. Wizards made the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. Nationals are in first place somehow. The Redskins...well, the Redskins have Joe Gibbs dammit.
We've had at least one person mention being an Orioles and Ravens fan. Again, I can accept the Orioles, but we have our own team now. The Ravens...you know, that just hurts. The Redskins are a Washington institution. Why Baltimore? What do they have on us, besides a harbor? If you wanted to hurt me, why don't you just dance around in a Troy Aikman jersey and break my spirit?
And for the lady who appears to be from Florida...J.J. Redick? You're from FLORIDA, root for FLORIDA teams. You are in violation of the first and fourth bandwagon tenets, at a bare minimum. There are probably other tenets of bandwagonism I'm forgetting that you may also be in violation of.
What we need around here is some old-fashioned Orwellian sports re-education. There will be no double-speak, and four legs are definitely worse than two legs! Big Brother is watching you.
posted by The Captain at 5:57 PM
9 Comments:
Amen, I am a Washingtonian nand love me some DC sports!
gooo Patriots!!!
(never been there, never will)
I've been in a similar situation, as far as college football goes. My father is a graduate of Penn State university, and I was raised as a kid to practically worship Joe Paterno. As a result, I was and am a Penn State fan.
However, consider my options. Here in this area, the closest major colleges are George Mason, Georgetown, G.W., and Maryland. I'm not from Maryland, and being a Maryland fan now would make me a bandwagon rider. I'm not even sure if the other three schools have football teams.
Unfortunately, the college I wound up attending also had no football team. I support UVA and Virginia Tech to an extent, but really, they're too far away to consider home teams. In cases such as this, exceptions can be made.
However, you're in Gainsville. Now, I don't know the layout of Florida well, but you've got three major colleges, plus the Dolphins, Jaguars and Buccaneers. Aren't you close to any of those?
You go to the University of Florida, unless I'm misreading something. They have a very competitive basketball team. Why does it have to be Duke? Besides the Redick thing. Duke is evil. Stay true to your roots.
Redskins, Wizards, DC United, Nationals, Freedom (RIP?), Captials (RIP?), etc. ... Support in total.
I'd say that professional sports are cut and dry in terms of how it is determined whom you root for.. College sports are different since, generally speaking, your locality does not necessarily mean you root for that team. (Think someone from Miami that ends up at FSU is rooting for the Hurricanes ever?). I do support colleges that family members attended but I am no where near as tied into those schools as those who attended them.
At Game 3 of the Wizards/Bulls series there were 2 guys on our row loudly cheering for the Bulls - not because they were from Chicago, but because they hated the Wizards. I wish that those individuals would have the misfortune of slamming into my foot with their face.
Notice how I-66 cleverly left the Mystics out of his post.
It's a clever love/hate relationship with them. We even list currently non-existant teams before them.
For those who aren't aware, the Mystics actually hang "Attendance Championship" banners from MCI Center's rafters. How sad is that?
holy hell on a hotplate... uh... I don't know what to say for that. Well, first I don't know whether your rooting for Andy Roddick really has anything to do with his or your place of origin - but then again I haven't played or watched tennis in years. I can't really challenge your Baltimore affinity personally.. and if you can name the starting 9 for the O's from any season I'm impressed - nevermind anything before 2000 (though if you can name the lineup from the imfamous 0-21 O's I don't quite know what I'd do). Um. Yeah, that's about it.
Oh. And Go Vols. Yeah. Ok. That's about it.
We have a common bond with hatred of the Skankees... However I did not go to Tennessee - though there are family connections... I did go to Norfolk State University -- which you've probably never heard of.
You feel the same about Rocky Top as I do about "GO GATORS, CHOMP GATORS, LETS GO"... but I have no animosity for Gators fans...
Bulldogs fans on the other hand...
I went to the University of Florida AND am from Detroit, which is why I love the Pistons, Redwings, and even the Tigers and Lions. I am a loyal fan. Best recognize.
I left DC for Cali and spent 14 years hating all West Coast teams while remaining an avid DC sports fan. My loyalty was only suspect when Barry Bonds finally won me over. Now that I am back in DC and the Nationals are here I was amazed at how quickly I lost my bond to the Giants.
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