Now that I have a car (stupid North Carolina), I find myself listening to the radio more than I have in years. Of course, the radio is terrible. So I throw on sports talk.
Which is also terrible, especially local sports radio. But the national shows, like ESPN’s morning shows and a few others, are tolerable. This morning, I heard Dan Patrick tell a story about how, one day during the 2004 playoffs, some of his son’s classmates – Yankees fans – pissed on the kid’s Red Sox hat.
Suddenly I’ve started questioning the way I’ve been indoctrinating my son into fandom.
My son is a Red Sox fan. Which has meant something a little bit different since 2004. He is also a Miami Dolphins fan, which has meant just about the exact same thing for the past 25 years.
My son is also only three. So any allegiances he has to sports teams are based on my allegiances. The Sox and Fins are my teams. So those are the teams my son sees on TV when I’m watching them, and those are the teams whose logos adorn his clothes, and those are the teams he will root for out of loyalty and potentially misguided hero-worship, until he is old enough to make his own decisions and choose his own favorite teams.
Hopefully he’ll still like sports as much in five/ten/fifteen years as he does now. Hopefully he won’t abandon his teams to join his friends, or to hop on a bandwagon, because loyalty is the most important attribute a fan can have. (Hopefully, my favorite sports will still exist in five/ten/fifteen years.)
Regardless of his athletic prowess, or lack-thereof, I hope he’s a lifelong fan of a team or two, provided it’s not a soccer team or, god forbid, a racing team (stupid North Carolina). Because being a fan is great, even when it’s not. And thank god for that, because most of the time, it’s not. Oddly enough, the story above, about the urine-soaked hat, is one of the good times. Well, maybe not good, exactly, but rivalries are the best. Except the Giants/Dodgers rivalry because holy shit no one needs to DIE.
I mentioned that I’m a Red Sox and a Dolphins fan, which comes in handy when the Sox are repeatedly making the fall classic while the Dolphins are repeatedly being fall assholes. My son has had paraphernalia from both teams since the day he was born, and his favorite sport usually just depends on what I’m watching at the time. There hasn’t been a single day in the past 3-4 months that he hasn’t wanted to either throw his plush Fins football around with me or take some swings with his plastic BoSox bat.
Needless to say, I’m thrilled. I loved watching the Red Sox playoff games with him before he goes to bed, and I love bringing him to the bar to watch me stress out about the Dolphins while Mom and Buried stresses out about him getting antsy at the table as I ignore him to stress out about the Dolphins. I love teaching him about the sports, and about my favorite teams. I want him to grow up excited about his favorite teams (who I hope will always be my favorite teams). And I want him to learn about the rivalries.
But when I hear stories like that one from Dan Patrick, no matter how funny – and even kind of typical – it sounds, I worry about going too far. I don’t want him to piss on anyone’s hat (although I’d probably look the other way if it were a Jets hat) or jump out of the stands to assault anyone’s first base coach, but I definitely want him to be enthusiastic. Because getting emotionally invested in sports is what makes them so fun. Even if that passion can occasionally curdle into frustration and stress.
He doesn’t get it yet. He doesn’t get why Daddy was in a pissy mood Sunday evening after Miami embarrassed themselves and he doesn’t understand why Daddy won’t let him wear the Yankees shirt his Grandpa sent him and he doesn’t understand that it’s called the World Series and not the “World Serious”. But he will. And I’ll do my best to teach him that while getting invested is a good thing, keeping perspective is essential. I don’t want him to lose friendships over a bad loss, or not talk to his brother for two weeks because Grady Little kept Pedro in too fucking long. But I want him to experience the ups and downs of it all, because sports are a microcosm for life. There are good days and bad days, dry spells and winning steaks, hope and despair, heartbreaking disappointments and miraculous comebacks, and lots and lots of drug use.
He’s three. So far, he’s a fan on the most basic, visceral level. He enjoys watching the games with me, which is great, and every morning when we get up he asks me to put “SportsCenter” on and we watch highlights together, but he doesn’t feel every win and every loss in his bones, not yet. Which gives me time to help teach him how to enjoy sports without being crippled by them. To teach him to be a passionate, loyal fan without becoming one of those bitter, angry obsessives who blames God for every loss and can’t be happy in life if his teams don’t win on the field.
Which won’t be a problem if the Sox keep playing like they’ve been for the past decade or so. The Dolphins are another matter. But there’s nowhere to go but up! And even if they don’t succeed, there’s always the happiness of knowing that neither will the Jets.
Personally I’m actually not too fussed about my kids having team loyalties – I’d be happy if they enjoy watching a sport regardless of who plays, and even happier still if they want to play sports themselves. I’d take having them kick a ball over watching someone kick a ball anyday!
But maybe that’s because I couldn’t imagine them sitting still to watch a game of any sort (unless Bert &Ernie were playing), or perhaps I worry that when Sweden plays Germany they’d make the mistake of supporting their mom’s country and leave me an isolated national outpost..
Интересная статья, в которой представлены факты и анализ ситуации без явной предвзятости.
Очень интересная статья! Я был поражен ее актуальностью и глубиной исследования. Автор сумел объединить различные точки зрения и представить полную картину темы. Браво за такой информативный материал!
This site certainly has all of the information and facts I wanted concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
Мне понравилось разнообразие информации в статье, которое позволяет рассмотреть проблему с разных сторон.
Статья предоставляет информацию, основанную на различных источниках и анализе.
Я очень доволен, что прочитал эту статью. Она оказалась настоящим открытием для меня. Информация была представлена в увлекательной и понятной форме, и я получил много новых знаний. Спасибо автору за такое удивительное чтение!
Мне понравилось разнообразие и глубина исследований, представленных в статье.
Статья содержит практические советы, которые можно применить в реальной жизни.
Автор старается оставаться объективным, чтобы читатели могли сформировать свое собственное мнение на основе предоставленной информации.
If you desire to take a good deal from this piece of writing then you have to apply such methods to your won weblog.
Thank you for every other informative blog. Where else could I get that kind of information written in such a perfect way? I’ve a mission that I’m simply now working on, and I have been at the glance out for such info.
My relatives every time say that I am killing my time here at web, however I know I am getting knowledge everyday by reading such nice content.
Статья содержит обоснованные аргументы, которые вызывают дальнейшую рефлексию у читателя.
This text is priceless. How can I find out more?
Мне понравилась глубина исследования, представленная в статье.
Это позволяет читателям самостоятельно сформировать свое мнение и оценить представленные доводы.
Автор предоставляет разнообразные источники для более глубокого изучения темы.
Статья представляет разнообразные точки зрения на обсуждаемую тему и не принимает сторону.
Hey! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any solutions to stop hackers?
Я просто не могу не поделиться своим восхищением этой статьей! Она является источником ценных знаний, представленных с таким ясным и простым языком. Спасибо автору за его умение сделать сложные вещи доступными!
Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I really enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back sometime soon. I want to encourage one to continue your great work, have a nice weekend!
Hurrah! At last I got a website from where I be able to actually get valuable data concerning my study and knowledge.
Статья содержит анализ преимуществ и недостатков различных решений, связанных с темой.
Simply desire to say your article is as surprising. The clarity to your publish is simply excellent and i can assume you’re knowledgeable on this subject. Well along with your permission let me to clutch your feed to stay updated with drawing close post. Thanks one million and please carry on the rewarding work.
I’m impressed, I have to admit. Seldom do I encounter a blog that’s equally educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is something not enough men and women are speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy that I found this in my hunt for something concerning this.
Я бы хотел выразить свою благодарность автору этой статьи за его профессионализм и преданность точности. Он предоставил достоверные факты и аргументированные выводы, что делает эту статью надежным источником информации.
Я оцениваю широту покрытия темы в статье.
Автор предлагает разнообразные точки зрения на проблему, что помогает читателю получить обширное понимание ситуации.
Thanks in favor of sharing such a nice idea, post is good, thats why i have read it completely
http://power-p.ru/videotinejdzher-v-seme-v-vuz-ne-duem-uralskie-pelmeni/
I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or weblog posts on this kind of space . Exploring in Yahoo I finally stumbled upon this website. Reading this info So i’m happy to convey that I have a very just right uncanny feeling I discovered exactly what I needed. I such a lot certainly will make sure to don?t overlook this web site and provides it a look regularly.
Я прочитал эту статью с большим удовольствием! Автор умело смешал факты и личные наблюдения, что придало ей уникальный характер. Я узнал много интересного и наслаждался каждым абзацем. Браво!
I was suggested this blog by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my problem. You’re wonderful! Thanks!