NoJoMo 9

Pro sports time — list your favorite teams, along with when you started following them.

My allegencies are all over the map. Blame the Army.

Baseball: Kansas City Royals. My dad was stationed in Kansas in 1985. I was in elementary school. They won the World Series. You figure it out. I’ve been loyal, and I’m happy they were back this year, but I still think baseball’s salary system is FUBAR when it comes to revenue sharing. It’s still almost impossible for small market teams to put together a roster capable of making the postseason, much less winn it all.

Football: New Orleans Saints. *sigh* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHipzGL4dwM It was nice being able, after they won the Super Bowl, to go back and link to what I wrote after their first playoff win in 2001. But the NFL does do it right when it comes to supporting the smaller cities. New Orleans has football and basketball. They could never hope to support an MLB team. Look at how bad the Astros are, and Houston is a much bigger market.

Hockey: I’ve tried, but I can’t get interested. I do cheer for the minor league team here, but haven’t been to a game since something like 1999. I only went to that because I got comp tickets. That was when they were AA. The club is now AAA, and won whatever the championship is a few years ago. Then the parent franchise dumped them, and most of the players and coaches moved somewhere. I still don’t understand why Cleveland and Milwaukee don’t have NHL teams, either. My wife is a big-time Penguins fan. I have friends and relatives who root for the Caps. I see sniping on Facebook, and still can’t find the fuck I’m not giving.

Basketball: I was a Washington Bullets fan when I lived in NoVA. They were iffy, then, and got pretty lousy after we moved. Then the owner changed the name, and I completely quit caring. I guess the Wizards were actually good last season, but I couldn’t bring myself to really care.