One of the things I love about being a fan of sports is that it gives people a chance to grow friendships. I absolutely detest meeting someone for the first time and being asked what I do. It is like they are sizing me up for how much I make or what kind of car I will drive. Annoying to say the least.
However, I do like finding out who a person likes, or being asked what team I follow. It gives someone good insight into who they are, maybe where they are from, and what they like when you find out what team or sport they like. This can lead to good topical discussion and you don't feel like you're being sized up for how big your wallet is.
In finding out who a person likes, it also opens them up for some good ribbing at their teams expense. That's the beauty of sports is that you cannot always have a good year in everything. Or can you?
Back in the early 90's, I once had a friend that never seemed to have a down year in sports. His favorite team had a remarkable run of success. Who was his favorite team you ask? Well, good question...depended on the sport. Duke basketball, Florida St. football, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Braves. Now, keep in mind this was in the 90's when all these teams were remarkably good and winning a ton.
Now, I don't know where you come from, but my criteria for liking a team is as follows: You went to school there, you played there, you grew up there, your parents were fans, or MAYBE they were good when you were a kid. Oh, and the caveat for colleges is you MUST like all sports, not just one.
For instance, if you are an Auburn fan, you can relish in the fact that your football team is really good, but fan-hood rules require you to suffer through basketball in order to level you out. Again, I am a UK and Memphis fan (Spent half my life in Lex and the other half in Memphis). Basketball fun is leveled out by football frustrations. The Yin and the Yang.
I say all this to say 'fan-code' is being broken by a lot of people I'm around. I see a lot of people say they are UT football fans and Memphis basketball fans. Huh? That same guy that is rooting for Memphis basketball switches his allegiance to UT football in the fall. Sorry, I don't get it. Number one, they are rivals and number two, you should be a fan of the university not the team. I understand it isn't popular to be a fan of Memphis football or UT basketball (especially now), but that's the rules.
Now that we've had the convo about 'fan-code' and what is expected, the world should be a better place. And I'll make fun of your team when you're down....say for instance when you keep losing to mid-majors in the tourney.
8 comments:
Does the "fan code" include rooting for women's golf at said school? I happen to know the women's golf coach at Memphis. Can't I root for her to make a good turnaround and still be a Vols football fan?
Allegences can also be formed as a kid (in my case). At age 7, I'm fired up about playing basketball and the first game I see on TV (after turning off my Pete Maravich tapes) is Memphis in the NCAA tournament playing Oklahoma I think. It was a tight game that the Tigers pulled out. I was hooked. Couldn't wait for the final four game. All to soon I was introduced to heartbreak and getting stomped by Villanova.
Still oblivious to football, I was introduced to Notre Dame. At age 12 I saw Holtz really lay into a player. I wanted a reason not to root for them. And whaddaya know, they were playing the Vols. I watched Johnny Majors and Andy Kelly lead the Vols to a TD with 1:30 left. Then heartbreak again. Touchdown Notre Dame to win the game.
Over the years I've come to hate Tennessee basketball so I will give in on that one. Just the attitude of Kevin O'Neil and Bruce Pearl was too much to overcome.
I think what I'm getting at is love for a team can be formed based on how influential you were at that exact moment in time. As any sports fan will tell you, once the adrenaline starts flowing in that moment, you're hooked. Does that make split allegences among different sports OK? Don't know. Can a complete hate of one team lead to love of another? Take Duke in the 90's beating UNLV. Made Duke legendary for slaying the dragon. But did it create Duke football fans. Doubt it.
I had a feeling you might reply. ;)
To answer your first question, absolutely! You should root for all sports at Memphis.
And I wasn't saying you can't root for two different schools, but it does seem weird to root for two schools that hate each other. I was saying root for all their sports.
I just come from a mindset that you should root for the whole school, not just pick and choose. It's the university you are rooting for not the sport correct?
Okay, sorry about the "This blog blows" comment. Good post with good comments (except for this one). Your blog doesn't blow anymore.
I figured you could be picking on me but chose to believe you were generalizing.
What I'm saying about Memphis golf is let's say I wasn't a Memphis fan at all. Can I root for the golf team with a vested interest in the people and still root for the Vols football? I had a cousin that played Division III basketball. While I don't follow the team religiously, I do root for them (when I can find them). I don't even think they have a football team.
See what I'm getting at? I don't feel I'm explaining this well.
Actually, I was generalizing. But I figured when I used the Mem-UT reference, I had a few folks in mind that actually read this blog who would respond. I could have used a few other teams as a point of reference, but they would definitely know I was talking about them. Thus, Mem-UT seemed logical.
To answer your question yeah, but your interest in that team comes and goes with that person. Are you still going to root for them once they are gone? Most likely not. I'll use the example of the Colts. Most UT fans are Colts fans because of Manning. Will we see a lot of Colts fans after he retires? I'm sure some will stick around, but most likely not a lot.
I still think if you are going to claim to like a university, you support all facets of the program.
I agree, you should be a fan of the university not just one of its sports teams. That's why I can say I'm a "true blue" Mississippi State fan...because we all know there's been plenty of opportunity in years past to be a fair weather Bulldog fan (particularly in football). Please, don't leave us Dan Mullen! haha.
I'll pull for whoever I want to pull for. Who wants to pull for a losing team? I'm not a loser so I'll naturally gavitate towards a winning program. That's just who I am. Nothing about me screams loser.
Sorry if this sounds rude but this blog didn't keep my interest past the first paragraph. In order to keep a blog reader engaged, blogs need to be to the point and they definitely need pictures, lots of them.
I enjoyed it other than that though. Keep up the good work!
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