When you ask me who my bball squad is and I tell you I'm a Lakers fan, there is no faster way to lose my sports respect for you than for you to say, " I use to be a Lakers fan back when so and so were there." That's not a Lakers fan, that's a player fan. You are following a player, on a bandwagon, tasting nuts. And if that's your style, more power to you but in my eyes that's not a true fan.
A true fan is a fan of the sport first, a team second, and players third. A true fan loves the sport wholeheartedly and will defend the sport as much as possible within their personal morals. A true fan has one, and only one, team. There is no I like the Lakers, Spurs, and the Heat. That's a copout. Basically, you like players on each of your 'favorite' teams so you're actually a player fan. And most player fans are of the bandwagon variety, far from my favorite type of fan.
A couple of months back, a friend's wife asked me why sports in general, and the Lakers, Hokies, and Redskins specifically, were so important to me. She didn't understand the passion behind sports fans. I know when I replied, my reply lacked the heartstring pulling, tear jerking eloquence that I felt. And I doubt this post will do much in that regard either. But it's the emotion involved. For serious fans such as myself, there is a personal stake. And I'm not talking money as I refuse to gamble on any of my teams. Some partof me is with each of these teams. Deeply.
When any of these teams lose a game, not necessarily an important game but any game, my attitude changes for a little while afterward. I'm hurt, disappointed, annoyed, confused, lost. I don't see any reason why any of my teams should ever lose a game. It's blind faith. Regardless of how good my team is or isn't, I always believe there is a way to win. I believe they will win. I have no choice but to believe that.
I find myself arguing quite often with various people about my teams. And depending on the intelligence in their argument, I may decide to avoid talking to that person about sports again. Prime example, a coworker today said that basketball is not a sport. She's a die hard Atlanta Braves fan which will have relevance later. Anyway, I ask her why she said this and she says that it is just her opinion. At that exact point, I should have walked away. Let it go...cuz she's making statements with no supporting argument other than she doesn't like the sport. For Johnny's sake she isn't even saying why she doesn't like the sport. I knew at that point I will not be able to discuss sports with her. Anyhow, I don't walk away, I say if any sport isn't a sport it's baseball. But besides passionate disdain for the activity of baseball, I supplied many reasons for why I didn't like it and also why it wasn't a sport. At the end of my rant, she had nothing to say other than 'Blah blah' to which I replied as my parting comment 'Blah Blah, are you reminiscing about the last baseball game you watched?'
My problem is that I take it personal. Attacking my sports or my team is attacking me and I will defend it as such. It's living vicariously through these teams, their successes and their failures. It's about knowing the players, or at least feeling like you know the players on a personal level. I feel like I'm the sixth man out there. I feel my support helps them just as much as their profession helps me. It's about escape. It's about bonding. Sports bring people together in ways that no other aspect of society does. I've talked to countless strangers in unfamiliar places because of the team they were wearing on their shirt. People I likely wouldn't notice or greet in any other fashion. Sports is.....
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