Thursday, February 28, 2008

a Word on Fan Bigamy

Many people have a real problem with fan bigamy, meaning being a fan of two teams at once. Bill Simmons, for example, is a staunch opponent of the practice. I feel that situationally, fan bigamy is acceptable.
Growing up in New York, I was raised a fan of the Yankees, Knicks, and Rangers. The Mets, Nets, and Islanders/ Devils never entered my thoughts. While i still keep up with these teams, I do not give them anymore attention than I would a team from Chicago, Kansas City, or Bumblefuck.
However, when it came to Football, I always was a fan of both the Jets and the Giants. One would play at one, and one would play at four. In total, they have played each other a grand total of four times since 1996, which is right about when my sporting memory begins. Moreover, it seemed for a long time that the teams would alternate years of success and mediocrity. It just became natural for me to support both teams. I currently own both a D'Brickashaw Ferguson jersey, which i hope does not become obsolete in the near future, and an Osi Umenyiora jersey. My support is evenly divided. It made the Giants victory all the more sweet, as it was over one of the Jets rivals. I bring this up to clear up any confusion that may arise as the Draft approaches. I understand many people who did not grew up in a two- team town (basically everyone not from New York, Chicago or LA) has difficulty understanding my position, which is the reason for this clarification.
Other kinds of bigamy are unacceptable. For example, if you are a fan of the Cowboys and Packers, it is clear you are simply a bandwagon hopper from the mid- to late 90's. If you like Duke and Carolina, The Red Sox and the Yankees, or Ohio State and Michigan, it is clear you don't really like any of these teams at all. Point is, bandwagon fan-dom is despicable, and rooting for two rivals is just absurd. Until I stop seeing a ground swell of Red Sox paraphernalia every time they win the World Series, and other such bandwagon tomfoolery, i will take no attacks on my football fan-dom seriously.

1 comment:

Box said...

no no no... PACKERS COWBOYS... RIVALS... maybe in the 70's. The only cowboy rivalry that matters is Redskins, cowgirls...thats it... no other rivalry involving the girls matters... never will never can and to be honest... anything with the cowgirls doesn't matter so this post is useless...