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Sunday, August 3, 2014

Picking a favorite team

I know that sports are foreign to some people, to some people it doesn't make sense.  To others it's a way of life, something you follow passionately, something you wait for during the off-season and during the season you can't wait to see your team play again; to see your favorite player do their thing to help your team win the game and make it one step closer to sports immortality.  But how do you go from not having a team to having that level of passion?  Let's take a look in this blogisode on how to do that, how do you get a favorite team?  Let's get one thing clear right off the bat ---- There is no right or wrong team to pull for, it's your opinion and your right to pick any team, any player and like them.  It's also your right to not be bullied about the team you pick, yes they may have never won a championship or lose every game, but they can still be your team.  I pull for the Chicago Cubs as one of my baseball teams, they haven't won a championship in over 100 years. 

What is wrong however is when you think someone else is wrong for not liking your team.  Respect all fans and hopefully they'll respect you as well.  Bottom line, we are all pulling and rooting for someone, whether it’s an athlete, our own relative, or someone we will never meet, that person, whether in sports or in some other event (spelling bee's come to mind), you want people to succeed, be respectful when doing anything competitive (this goes for you online gamers too!)

Now let's look at ways teams are picked by fans to root for them.

Option 1 - Born into it. 
This is by far the easiest way to pick a team, find the team your parent(s) like and just go that route.  It's simple, it most likely helps a bond grow, and who better to hang out with during game day than pops?

Option 2 - Home Town Team
I'm in this category, I grew up in East Texas and during my teen years is when Dallas won 3 Super Bowls in a 4 year span.  Find the closest geographical team to your residence and pull for them.  For some individuals this makes the team change as they move from town to town etc.  For others, the bond with one team remains after they've left the area and with technology today it's not hard to still catch your team even if you’re out of their viewing market.  Being 1,000 miles from Dallas I still catch every game (somehow they're the NFC local team here and not the Arizona Cardinals?) 

Option 3 - Who's Winning Now
This is what's traditionally referred to as a bandwagon fan.  Pull for the hot team and move on to the next team that's doing good when this team starts to lose.  When picking your first team, it's OK to pick the hot team, to avoid the "Bandwagon" moniker stick with that team even when they aren't doing good later down the road.  The Yankees don't win every year and I remember the Cowboys when they were 1-15. 

Option 4 - Who's everyone else pulling for?
Peer pressure can be a ... insert expletive here.  If all your friends pull for one team and tell you to jump off a bridge if you don't like them... find new friends!  This is an option but as I've said in other blog postings, be a leader in life, not just a follower, find out why they like that team, if you agree or understand the reasoning, be my guest, jump on and enjoy the ride with that team; however if you disagree, never feel that you have to like a team because Jim-Bob Billy Jo Johnson likes them.  One of my best friends is a Redskins fan and another an Eagles fan, me being a Cowboys fan, I just look at it as a reminder that not everyone is perfect :)~ 

Option 5 - Research!!!!
If you put a little effort into this, since after all it may be a decision you live with forever, you can find out things about teams and if that suits your liking, then enjoy!  There are some people who like the history of the Yankees, the way the Packers are owned and operated, or pulling for the underdog (Most Cleveland fans!).  Ask your sports knowledgeable friends/family about different teams to see what makes them, their fans, and their players unique and then make an educated decision after critically thinking about this possible life altering decision. 

Option 6 - If ALL ELSE FAILS - Pick a team based on their jerseys and your favorite colors. 
Seems simple enough, after all you do want to like looking at them when they play. 

Be respectful of other fans and their opinions, enjoy whatever sport you choose to fall in love with, and always remember to be realistic, your team will lose, all records are made to be broken, and nothing lasts forever.  My sport of choice is football and the format I prefer is the NFL.  I hope everyone that reads this becomes a fan of something in their life.  Have a good night and congratulations to the NY Giants for winning the NFL Hall of Fame game to kick off the 2014 NFL Preseason (Yes, even in preseason competition I pull against my team's rivals).  

Here's some NFL Team Jerseys just waiting on a fan to find a home with their team!