I'm not Patriotic

Last Sunday I had an hour & a half break at work when football was playing. Several coworkers were watching the Seahawks game (which they were winning at that point) instead of the best game of the year so far, the battle of the undefeated Pats & Colts.

Now I've lived in the Seattle area for 18 years, longer than I've lived any other place; and I came to the realization that not only am I not a Seahawk fan, I am not a fan of any of the pro. sports teams here. I'll watch them play, I'll cheer them on, but I'm only interested in the quality of the game. It's how the game is played, not who wins, that is most important to me.

I then realize that I don't completely understand blindly cheering on a team just because they are -

1. your Alma Mater (whatever level - pee wee, high school, college, etc.),
2. your home town (original or adopted or anything in between),
3. your country (i.e. Team USA sends to the Worlds in _______ (you name the sport), Olympics, etc.).

Basically the fans of these teams are cheering on a uniform instead of any one particular player. For example; Babe Ruth was a champion in Boston, until he was traded to the Yankees - now he's a pariah to Red Sox fans. Why Boston can't accept the Babe as a great player, no matter where he plied his trade is beyond me? Same teams, different times = Roger Clemens.

You could in fact list any team and multiple rosters and find that to the player it's just a job - basically chasing whoever will pay them the most (same as is in most professional careers) - there is very little team (i.e. city) loyalty. The citizens of that city where the team is located however have a different relationship. I guess they feel a certain ownership or kinship with the team & its players since they are the ones paying the entrance fee to watch them play. And if not in person then on TV or the radio they follow the teams progress throughout their season (and beyond). I imagine there's an emotional relationship there, but I'm not sure how it starts or why? Certainly the team wants you to be attracted to it and goes out to get the best players it can - then it markets itself to the community to come watch them play.

The big 4 - MLB, the NHL, the NFL, the NBA, etc. must have some great marketing folks - especially in cites where the teams consistently underperform. They get an emotional investment from the community to think that they actually belong to the community - when in fact the team will pick up and move at the drop of a hat if they can find a better deal in some other community (Colts sneak outta Baltimore, Raiders leave Oakland for LA then leave LA back to OAK, Dodgers & Giants leave NY for California, Lakers leave Minneapolis, Clippers leave San Diego, etc., etc.). The fans in the new community are ecstatic while the fans in the old are devastated - and I don't understand why in either case.

I find that this is probably deep rooted in the fact that we like who we're closest to. It starts at home - love our family. Love our friends. My neighborhood is better than your neighborhood. My school is better than your school. My home town is, my state is, my country is....better - SO THERE!! All the rest of you suck.

This is why I love individual sports better than team sports. I can always cheer for the best player regardless of where they play or what sports they participate in.

With cycling - we don't care so much that Greg Lemond was from California, grew up in Reno, now lives in Minnesota, raced for French & Belgium teams most of his career, we just love the fact that he ultimately lost to fellow teammate Bernard Hinault in 1985's TdF, and picks fights with the next generation of TdF winners (Lance & Floyd).

Pick a cyclist and you'll follow him/her throughout their sporting career no matter which jersey they don. You'll admire their courage, tenacity, dedication, etc. in the way they contend - whether they're a sprinter, a TT specialist, climber or an all-arounder. Same for a runner, a boxer, a bowler, a golfer, etc. - oh wait a minute, those last two aren't sporting events (sure they involve a skill - like chess & poker do; but if you don't sweat, it ain't a sport!).

My point is - root for the individual not the team. You invest your loyalty into something tangible and can hold accountable. Otherwise you might as well be congratulating your team's General Manager skill for putting the various players into those uniforms you're so blindly cheering year after year, and hope that next year they don't move to Oklahoma.