A few things have happened in the last few weeks have inspired this blog:
1. I got season tickets for the first time in my life to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
2. The Chicago Blackhawks made the playoffs.
3. My dad suggested I blog about my mom, who claims to be a Cubs fan, yet can't name a current player on the team.
These three things (as well as the identity crises I have been having as a sports fan recently), have made me ask the question what does it mean to be a fan. The Timberwolves are not my favorite team, but I already feel an attachment to next year's team that I've never felt before. I'll have a more personal interaction with that team than any before. A number of my friends are Blackhawks fan, but in a sense they are bandwagon Blackhawk fans, having only begun caring about the 'Hawks since they got good again. And my mom, who was born and raised in Chicago, still claims to be a Cubs fan after leaving the city years ago, and hardly following them at all. My question: is there validity to these types of loyalty?
My answer: yes, when it comes to sports I have become something of a pluralist purist. In theory, I believe in rooting for one team, from birth until death, in sickness and health, as long as you both shall live. But in practice, I realize that sports are enjoyed differently by everyone, and by some people, differently at different times. And I have come to appreciate most forms of following a sports team. Being a fan is not a competition, you can't be a better fan than someone else, the sports are the competition and we are free to follow as we so choose. We all love sports, and teams for different reasons. So without further ado, here is the sports love list:
1. Diehard love: This is the 'til death do us part kind of loyalty. It also involves knowing minute details about your team. It involves following a team from childhood. It involves peaks and valleys, or sometimes peaks (Yankees fans) or valleys (Pirates fans). It usually involves multiple articles of team clothing. It often involves tears, or near tears over a particular team. It is how I felt about the Red Sox, Celtics, Bills, and UConn basketball for the first 25 years of my life.
2. Ride the wave love: Detractors would call this bandwagon love, but that title carries a lot of baggage. What's wrong with people getting caught up in something exciting? As long as they're not claiming to be lifelong fans, who are they harming? I am not a diehard soccer fan, but I happened to be in Kenya during the 2006 World Cup. We stayed in a remote part of Kenya, at the only home for miles that had a television. Each night, several people came over to catch the games. I got caught up in soccer fever. I watched as much World Cup as I could. I picked an English Premiership team to follow (Liverpool). I even bought their jersey. I rode the wave. So to all you new Blackhawks fans out there, enjoy the ride.
3. Sentimental love: My mom's loyalty the Cubs is also a valid expression of sports love. It is not rooted so much in sport, as it is in time, place, and memories. My mom simply loves Chicago. And she has fond memories of her childhood. The Cubs were a part of this. Just like she'll always love visiting Chicago, Frango mints, Chicago style hot dogs, she'll always love the Cubs. For her it doesn't matter that she doesn't know anyone on the team. And if the Cubs do win the World Series in her lifetime, she might not feel the same way a diehard would, but her joy will be real. She'll be happy for different reasons, but she'll still have her reasons.
4. Season ticket love: I'll have to chronicle this one as I experience it this year, but the way I see it I will end up really loving or really hating this Timberwolves team. I will have invested time and money in them, and I will expect to be entertained. I have no expectations of a terrific year, but if they play hard, and show signs of improvement, I might just hitch my wagon to this team for a long time.
5. Fantasy love: My friend Bryan insists that his favorite team is his fantasy team. I used to say this makes him less of a fan, but why not? He has no real geographical roots, he loves statistics, and he is pretty good at fantasy sports. Fantasy sports also causes people to love certain players, on teams they may not otherwise care about. My friend Dan seemed to get Hines Ward on his football team every year, and thus ended up rooting for him year after year.
6. Entertainment love: Back before Danny Ainge made the deals to get Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, the Celtics were an atrocious team to watch. It made me really appreciate what was going on with Steve Nash and the freewheeling Suns. They brought an aesthetic to the game that I wished I could see more often. Since then I have really wanted the Suns to do well, because if they win a championship, more teams will follow suit, making the game more entertaining.
7. Local love: I have already beaten this one to death. But it is fun to root for the same team that you hear about on the radio, read about in the paper, and can buy tickets to go see on the weekend.
8. Watching history love: Sometimes someone is so great, that we can't help but root for them. We like to say that Americans root for the underdog, but we also root for the transcendent superstar. I rooted for Jordan and the Bulls, because rooting against them was like rooting against Shakespeare. "Shakespeare stop being so good at writing." I enjoyed witnessing history being made.
9. Connection love: Sometimes we feel a more personal connection with a certain player. My dad likes the Jazz a little bit because Kyle Korver played at Creighton when we lived in Omaha. I continue to follow UConn guys in the NBA (although it's funny how this changes, I still really like Ray Allen and Ben Gordon, but didn't really stay attached to Rip Hamilton or Emeka Okafor). I also really liked Ahman Green because he went to my high school.
10. Patriotic love: Perhaps a subcategory of ride the wave love, as most of us don't follow national teams or Olympians from day to day. But you can bet I'll be rooting hard for the USA during the 2010 World Cup just as I did in these past Winter Olympics.
I'm probably missing a few. Feel free to weigh in.
Now I'm not saying that sports is a free for all. There are lines that shouldn't be crossed. You should generally stay away from your team's rivals. You should be able to explain why you like a team beyond just that they are good. Don't pretend to be something that you're not, but don't let anyone else tell you that you're not what you think you are. And if you're not the kind of person who could ever attach the word "love" to sports, just root, root, root for the home team.
8 comments:
Mom says: Thanks for validating my loyalty to the Cubs. I continue to say boldly that I am a Cubs fan and I love Ernie Banks. Since you brought I Shakespeare, I must say that I am a great fan of Shakespeare. One of the things I like best about Shakespeare is that his team of players always remains the same and I know most of them.
I have diehard love for Penn State, the Steelers, Penguins, and yes, the Pirates. That is easy for me.
I had local love for the White Sox, but now, I have not followed them at all this season, so I guess not. (I had local disdain for the Cubs, but that is for another post- that should be your follow up to this - what are legitimate reasons for disliking a sports team? I still have disdain for the Cubs, but I care much less since I do not have to hear about them all the time anymore!) I had local love of Arizona basketball, but I can feel that love switching to UConn.
I feel like there needs to be a category like, 'you are there when I need you' love. You know the story of how I have ended up as an Orlando Magic fan, but I honestly have so little invested in them. I will watch in the playoffs if I have time, I am mildly annoyed when they lose, but the inevitable fall to the Celtics? I will care for about 35 seconds. This is different than 'ride the wave' love, however. Because even in the post-Shaq but pre-Superman era when they stunk, I would still tell people Orlando was my NBA team. I might be willing to re-think my NBA love though. I no longer have any connections to Orlando (no family there), and I do not care enough to feel that loyal. I have been thinking I might have ride the wave love for either the Cavs (close to home) or the Knicks (close to my new home) IF they can land Lebron. But again, I just don't care enough about the NBA for it to mean that much. We'll see. I tried to have ride the wave love for the Cavs over the past year or two, but I just could not do it. I had just enough invested in the Magic to keep me from jumping ship (Really, I don't have much invested, I think it is more my sense of loyalty. How can I be so passionate about some teams and not care at all about others?) If Orlando was not among the chief competitors for the Cavs over the past couple of years, I suppose I would have jumped ship. Though, even now I am wondering if my diehard love for the Steelers disallows any commitment to any Cleveland sports franchise (Much like when I tried to have the Indians as my AL team, but chose the White Sox instead - both for local love but also because I could not bring myself to cheer for a team from Cleveland). Mark, I need your sports therapy help. Sort this all out for me! Maybe I should just quit the NBA!
AZ basketball is becoming the same. I will enjoy seeing them do well, but I do not have the local support of the community to care that much. That is why UConn is taking over my local love. It is enjoyable to talk about the teams (women and men) with the people around here. It makes me want to root for them. Plus, I look forward to having an affinity and some knowledge of a common sports interest with a friend like yourself! Do not discount that!
Paul, I'll need to some time to sort through your NBA issues. But you bring up a good point with connecting to a team to promote relationship/conversation. This also sometimes works out as Spouse Love, as in I want to support my husband/wife, so I root for this team. This is better when the husband or wife does not already follow a team closely. If they do, then they should hold onto their sports loyalties. But it's nice to not hate each other after a sporting event.
Okay, Caryn, if you're such a great Shakespeare fan, quick, name one character from "Troilus and Cressida" (other than "Troilus or Cressida")!
In answer to your question Phil, the fool.
Thank you for validating my new love for the Blackhawks. I am totally a bandwagon fan and have never watched a game of hockey before the playoffs. But I have had so much fun watching them. I also love to follow what Nick is following, its really fun to share the excitement together. It is also great, because it gives me something in common with some of my students. Its really nice to be able to chat with my students about sports.
Right this moment we are soccer fans. Why?
The USA vs. Czech Republic is on TV and it's that time of day when I'll pretty much sit and watch anything.
The Red Sox are up by 2, so we can turn away for a bit. We don't want to accused of being Johnny come lately fans in June during the 2010 World Cup and the game is being played spitting distance from us at the UConn field.
I have diehard love for the Red Sox, Celtics, Bills, and UConn Basketball.
I just got done with some ride the wave love with the Sharks. People on facebook think I love this team. I didn't even watch a minute of hockey this year. (Local radio and student-interest is what had me following it)
I have sentimental love for Husker football. Don't follow them, but no college football team has replaced them.
Season ticket love is totally made up for you social elites who can afford it.
I do love my fantasy baseball team. The Dirt Dogs are a part of me.
I have local love for the SF Giants. I follow them closer than I follow the Red Sox.
I have a local interest (not love) in seeing the A's, Warriors, Sac Kings, 49ers doing well, only because its more fun when local teams are succedding.
I have no interest in seeing the Raiders succeed.
I can't stand Ben Gordon's NBA game, how can you like him and not Rip?
Your forgot "Lived in a soccer crazy nation for 2 years" love. When I was in Honduras I had to choose a Honduran(motagua), Spanish (Barca), and English (Liverpool)club team for my students to take me seriously.
Forget patriotic love, I would absolutely root for the Honduran national team (qualified for the first time sinc 1982) over the US team in the World Cup. Just imagining how happy my former students would be would make me pull for Honduras.
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