My roommate Gigs had questioned me the other night why I wanted the Caps to lose so badly. "Since you live in DC, you should support them", he quietly explained. Ah, behold the virgin mind of a sports fan. Many of you may be following this same logic. Luckily, you have your Ayatollah to explain to you the rules of a rivalry.
Rivalries are a tricky thing in sports. They can be based upon location, skill (being the top two teams), or constantly being matched-up. Exhibit A being an old school rivalry of the Lakers vs Celtics. This was a prominent 80's rivalry. These two teams were in separate conferences, yet maintained a physical hatred of each other. This was b/c they were the two most dominant teams in those 10 years, and each had the top player in the league. Magic vs Bird. It was as simple as that. They'd only play each other once during the season, and perhaps during the playoffs, but no rivalry contained more disdain towards each other.
Rivalries are what even our political system is based upon, Democrats vs Republicans. That rivalry is so deeply rooted in some peoples' minds, that it has reached the point where they don't even understand what the other party stands for. They simply hate them b/c of their affiliation with the opposing team.
Sorry, I'm getting entirely off topic. Yes, Gigs poses a great question, maybe I should be cheering for the Caps b/c I DO live in DC. While growing up, the Caps were the Penguins main competition in the Eastern Conference. The only team Pittsburgh fans hated more was Philadelphia (that's a whole separate column there). It seemed every year they'd meet in the playoffs, and I couldn't stand the team.
They wore the red, white and blue to try and gain American pride on their side. From Peter Bondra and Al Iafrate to Dale Hunter and Kevin Hatcher, they were the bane of my hockey existence. There is no way that moving 250 miles Southeast will ever change those feelings. Even if the Penguins are eliminated in the playoffs, my next favorite team is the one playing the Caps. That's what a true rivalry is about.
The Caps have put up better stats, taken individual awards from our guys, hell they even stole our best player one year (Jaromir Jagr). I will never in 100 years be able to fully support their team. That pain of one loss to them will be there for a lifetime. It will just add more ammo to the argument with an opposing fan.
A recent article I found hilarious discussed dating and rivalries. It asked people if they would ever consider dating someone who was a fan of their rival. Almost 20% said no. This is pretty high considering most people surveyed probably were just casual fans. I don't know if I could ever date a Penn State or Ravens fan. However, a Caps fan would be a different story b/c they actually watch hockey. Don't get me wrong, I can't stand the Caps from a fans perspective.
However, I will respect the hell out of their team. There is the key difference and underlying lesson. Just b/c someone is your hated enemy and rival, does not mean you disrespect their team and players. Magic showed that respect to Bird, Peyton Manning shows that respect to Tom Brady. I will respect any Caps team and fan, that acknowledges how good the Pens are. As the saying goes, "it makes for better business".
That's what it boils down to. The rivalry is great for the league, and they need more people who are that passionate towards their team. It's the main reason I always take jabs at Caps fans (yes Jane and Jen, that's you). I wouldn't be the type of fan I am without people like you. We both know the league wouldn't be as great without this type of passion.
Just imagine if politicians took to this type of thinking. Maybe more would get accomplished if they actually respected the other party instead of just hating them as a rival.
"If I can change, and you can change, then we all can change!"
-Rocky Balboa, right before the Cold War was altered.
Day At The Beach
13 years ago
I couldn't agree more with this post. I think pretty much every word is accurate.
ReplyDeleteChuck Klosterman once said, "Liking a team just because they're the local team just shows you don't know anything about sports." I would say he's right more than 50% of the time, if that's the ONLY reason to like a team, like in Gigs' case. But, I would assert that most people who like their local team have more than that reason.
1.) Attending games
2.) Following the team, current players or former playser
3.) Growing up with the team - i.e. Dad and Uncles cheer for a team
All good reasons to cheer for teams. Bandwaggoning and proximal loyalty are just bad in any sport, because they are the mentalities that produce the fair weather fans.
If I ever live in a city other than NY, DC or Pgh, I'll probably go to baseball games, maybe football or hockey, too, and will likely cheer for the local team, unless they are the rival of my real teams.
No matter how deep a rivalry is is, it is important to respect the rival, or the contention is not valid. Yankees vs. Red Sox is a great example, because I hate the Sox, but I know a lot more about the organization than the fair weather Sox-fans-by-default-Yankees-haters. Too many people hate the Pats, Yanks and Lakers because it's popular.
For invalid rivalries, presently, Pitt vs. Penn State is a great example. We haven't played in 10 years, and for 9 of the past 10, their Football team would have dominated our world. Soon, maybe that will change. For the same period, 5 kids playing IFC basketball could have beaten PSU's top 5 starters.
As far as dating a fan goes, it really doesn't matter to me at all. Just ask Terry Francona's niece.