A Fair Fan vs. Fanfare

This post is in response to Speaking of Fanfare. After I finished reading this article, I had the same reaction as I had this morning when I heard James Harrison's reasoning for deciding not to make the trip to the White House with the rest of his teammates, WTF?? Oh, and just to set the record straight, I was one of the two fellow Florida brown guys that was called out.

Now I do agree with my fellow brownie that there are many people out there that go for the best team at the time they start following sports and then ride into the sunset. However, I do not feel that this is the majority and this sure as hell is not me!

Lets start with baseball. My favorite team is the Atlanta Braves, who I started watching religiously starting at the age of 4 (circa 1986) mainly because of the national coverage of TBS. Now lets take the win-loss records of the Braves from 86-90 (before 1991, the first year of Atlanta's started their run of 14 consecutive division titles).

• 1986: 72 wins 89 losses (last place in division)
• 1987: 69 wins 92 losses (5th place in division)
• 1988: 54 wins 106 losses (last place in division)
• 1989: 63 wins 97 losses (last place in division)
• 1990: 65 wins 97 losses (last place in division)

I shed tears every game they lost. As you can obviously see from those gruesome records above, that is why I have no more tears left to offer. The bottom line is, I think I paid my dues for this one. Also, neither the Florida Marlins nor the Tampa Bay Rays existed until 1993 and 1998, respectively.

Lets go to basketball now. My favorite team is the Chicago Bulls, who I started watching in the late 80s on WGN. I will admit that I was completely mesmerized by Michael Jordan, but who wasn't? Yes, the Bulls do differ from the Braves in that they were a legit team in the NBA when I started watching. However, they were not the best in the late 80s. MJ was not even known as the best player back then. He did not get that label until they won their first championship in '91. Before that, they were losing to the Pistons in the playoffs year after year. Again, more tears and heartbreak. Any Orlando Magic or Miami Heat Sighting? Not until 1990, but my 'loyalty' to the Bulls had already been established.

Now the last of my favorite teams, the Miami Dolphins. Wow, a Florida team? But why? Maybe its because they were the only professional sports team to exist in the state of Florida 20 years ago. And this team has not even come close to winning a championship in my lifetime (poor Dan Marino). Yet more heartbreak, but in this case, still waiting for the euphoria.

My fellow brown guy has a bit of point, as I mentioned earlier, but he is talking about a small minority of fans. People connect with their teams in various ways. Something always sparks the bond, and it does not always have to be the city, town, or country you live in. It could be a nation wide cable network where you just see more of a particular team on television, it could be a player that catches your eye, or maybe you just like that team's style of play. No matter what your reason or story is for picking your favorite team, I think most of us struggle before we feel the euphoria of winning it all. And its that struggle that makes us cry over them even more, makes us hope even more, makes us love them even more, and makes us become more and more 'loyal' to them, as each disappointing year passes.

So to all of you "Speaking of Fanfare" and James Harrison fans, I am not a fan!

Speaking of Fanfare…

When is it fair to be a fan? How do we become fans? I for one do not have any respect for fans whose entire basis of loyalty was dependent on the team’s success at the initial time they started watching the sport. Yeah, this is even calling out some of my brown guy entourage - one does not even know where Dallas is on a map and the other hates the Cubs, yet loves the Bulls.

The excuse is, “When I started watching the sport, I followed the best team at the time.” Then, they try to justify it with, “Well, I have been a fan of that team even through the bad times.” The premise is wrong; you were originally a fan of that team because they were good, not because you had a connection with them. They weren’t representing your city, your school, your state, not even your favorite animal. It’s hard for a building to stay up when its foundation is made of crap. When the Olympics roll around, I am not just a fan of the Chinese gymnastic team because they were good when I started watching the Olympics. I am, and always will be, a fan of the USA because I am connected to them.

So, to all those, “Oh they were good when I started watching,” fans, I have one thing to say. I am not a fan.

Why Sports are AWESOME

I think I speak for 90% of the male population when I say that sports are awesome. But why? What makes them so interesting? Are we playing the other team? Are we earning the millions of dollars? Are we "livin' the good life"? NO. So what is so appealing?

The standard answer to that question is entertainment. You are looking at the original reality TV show. There is a story behind rivalries and drama in LeBron vs. Kobe, Federer vs. Nadal, Crosby vs. Ovechkin, and Tiger vs. Phil. It climaxes in the middle of the year and during a push for the playoffs (except for college football, different article). There is sadness in defeat, happy endings in championships. Sports really are the perfect Disney story. But I think the answer lies deeper.

Come lay down on the couch. Let's talk it out. I would like to think most of us attempted to play a sport at some point. Whether it was kickball at recess, hitting stones with a branch in your backyard, or getting 8 dudes together and playing tackle football in the snow, we all tried. And unfortunately, we have all also lost. Losing a competitive game is probably one of the worst feelings any of us probably experienced in our young fragile lives. It is even worse if you are the reason your team lost. Please God just don't let it be me that drops that fly ball. Not me that drops that last second touchdown pass. But at the same token, we have also all won (unless you were just a loser). What an amazing feeling to win, and even more exhilarating, to know you were involved in that success somehow.

Here is my point. Somewhere along the line, we all hated being responsible for a loss, but enjoyed being the reason for a win. I think watching competitive sports allows us to have the best of both worlds. Yeah, it sucks when your favorite team loses, but for you personally, life goes on - you didn't lose that game, you didn't drop that ball. Most of the time you don't hold on to those losses beyond a few weeks. But if your team wins, it was all about "us" - "we" WON. Ten years later, it was US that won that time. How can it get much better then that? Its a win-win situation. This brown guy likes those odds.

5 Brown Guys hits the ground running

For years, five brown guys have challenged each other, played devil's advocate, and engaged in seemingly endless debate about sports. We've spent countless hours on our mobiles and computers throwing around statistics, dropping minutiae, and forcing our opinions on one another.

In attempt to be slightly more productive (at least from our perspective), we've decided to move our squabbles from behind closed doors and subject the public to our rantings. We present to you the 5 Brown Guys sports blog.

We don't claim to be athletes. We don't claim to be experts. But we know what we like, and perhaps more importantly, we know what we don't like. For what it's worth, you'll get to hear about both.

Hope you enjoy it.

-5 brown guys