JENN McKINLAY: And just like that another football season has arrived. This year my three men are in a fantasy football league together so the personal investment in each game is extra high.
It's gonna be a looooong season, my friends.
When I think about football, I feel as if it has always existed on the periphery of my life. I was in marching band in high school, so I lived Friday night lights but in a band uniform. The game was happening but I was in the percussion section so we were dialed into whatever our squad leader told us to play to hype the crowd. Watching the game was of secondary or even tertiary (if my high school crush was around) interest to me. Plus, our marching band was the east coast champion and our football team...meh, not so good. And yet..."Go, Vikings!"
When I started chaperoning the Hooligans (also percussion members in band) at their Friday night games, I started watching the play on the field between fetching water, stopping nosebleeds, and emergency uniform repairs. Their high school team won the state championship every year and were very exciting to watch, so you could say I came late to appreciating the game of football. "Go, Sabercats!"
It was during these football years, that I wrote Fondant Fumble, which features two football players who buy a cupcake franchise. I know it sounds like fiction but the idea is actually based on two professional football players who did just that. Read original post: HERE
Now when it comes to team allegiance, I was born in New England so naturally, I was a Patriot's fan. When I moved to Arizona, I slowly shifted my loyalty to the Arizona Cardinals--mostly, because Larry Fitzgerald became my favorite player (retired 2020), notably because of his game on the field but even more for his community work off the field with the Larry Fitzgerald Foundation. FITZ!!!
Now the Hooligans, however, have gone rogue. Inexplicably, they are Chicago Bears fans. Huh?! I mean I like the Bears and all, but they're not the home team! Don't get me wrong, the dudes cheer for the Cards, too, but after a trip to Chicago they decided Da Bears were their primary team. How? Why? Make this make sense to me!
So, let's talk about it.
Reds and Readers, do you pick your favorite team by geographic proximity or some other reason? Who is/are your favorite team(s)--doesn't have to be football--and why?
I guess geographic proximity has nothing to do with favorite teams in our family . . . it didn't matter, even when we lived in California or in Alabama, I was always a Yankees fan . . . .
ReplyDeleteYankees fandom is global and I say this as a member of Red Sox nation.
DeleteI was born and bred a Nebraska Cornhuskers fan. My parents had season tickets for years. We lived in Kansas City during my “formative years” so I am a Chiefs fan.(Also Royals…baseball is really more the sport I enjoy.) By the time I went to college we lived in Iowa so I am an Iowa State Cyclone.
ReplyDeleteAs for the NFL, my husband picked the Packers due to Bart Starr when he was a kid as Iowa has no teams, and has stayed with them. So we have been a Packers household even through 40 years in Minnesota. Our youngest son did ask his dad if it would be okay to be a Vikings fan like his friends. Permission granted.
My cousin’s son is a strength and conditioning coach; so now I also try to keep tabs on the team he is with. Currently he is in his 4th season with the Arizona Cardinals. Before that he was with the 49ers (4 years) and the Bengals (3 years) before them. I try to catch glimpses of him on the sidelines when the games are on TV.
Cards!!! I wish your cousin's son a fabulous season of making out team strong!
DeleteThat was me - for some reason Blogger won't let me sign in...sigh.
Deletehttps://www.azcardinals.com/team/coaches-roster/shea-thompson
DeleteI grew up in a family that didn't care about football or sports in general. But from age 11 on I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, where the Buckeyes are as central to life as air and water, so of course I became a Buckeye fan. (Though less rabid than most of my friends.) Since Columbus doesn't have an NFL team I had no particular pro football allegiance until I married my husband, who comes from a strong Browns family. I have followed the Browns ever since, which means I have learned a lot about disappointment. But I have a whole riff I do about how every young woman should look for a Browns fan to marry because you know that in him you are getting a man who is loyal, who will stick with you through the worst, who perseveres in spite of adversity.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I fell in love with the Buckeyes (THE Ohio State) watching a half time show and love watching their marching band.
DeleteHub's best friends are Browns fans and as loyal as they come, so there's something to that!
DeleteI grew up in a family that organized itself around the Episcopal church, not sports teams. (The exception was the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s, but they moved to L.A. just before I was born.) As a result, all five of us children were deeply ignorant of these American spectator passions until our youngest sister broke the mold and became a cheerleader. One of my older brothers confessed he listened to the car radio on his way to work so he could feign interest around the water cooler. When I married, my husband (captain of his high school football team) wondered if I could really be an American if I had never watched a football game. (Selden)
ReplyDeleteMy family was a UConn basketball and Red Sox family but not super committed to either, so I feel ya.
DeleteSo funny about your boys switching allegiance to Chicago!
ReplyDeleteSince I live with a rabid Red Sox fan, that's my team, too. The Celtics are fine but I don't follow them much. Growing up in a burb of Los Angeles, we were all Dodgers fans, and as a California Scholastic Federation student (that is, an A-student) I got to go to a game in Dodger Stadium in high school, which was fun.
Hugh and I both adamantly anti-football, with all the research on brain damage. I wouldn't be sad to see the whole sport go away.
I should add that we are also a soccer household - Revolution, Legacy, American women, World Cup, you name it, plus Hugh follows the Premier League and my d-i-l and her dad, and now my son, are big Arsenal fans.
DeleteI almost said that too re the brain damage. That last article in the NYT was so sickening. I don't want to watch either.
DeleteI so agree about the concussions and CTEs, Edith. Honestly, I'm shocked that any mom would allow her children to play (my mom forbid it as did I), but then I was on the women's rugby team in college, so I'm a big old hypocrite and was lucky I never got called out. Phew.
DeleteYes but we know more now, and it's so scary!
DeleteGrowing up in Buffalo we are naturally Bills fans. Well, I wasn't much of a fan as a kid. I liked hockey and baseball more. So Buffalo Sabres and NY Mets. And Pittsburgh Pirates. Buffalo does not have an MLB franchise, but for years the Buffalo Bisons were the Triple A affiliate for the Pirates, so there was that. For some inexplicable reason, my paternal grandmother was an Atlanta Braves fan. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteOf course, as Buffalo fans, that means we also know the heartbreak of constant "Maybe next year" (Wide Right and No Goal anyone) after having endured a 17-year playoff drought (football) and 14-year drought (hockey). But hey, that just makes the recent success sweeter, right?
The Girl is not a sports fan, but The Boy is very much a Steeler fan - less so the Penguins and Pirates. Me and the Hubby think the Steelers are fine and as long as the Bills are not in the mix, we wish them well. But we aren't passionate about them.
Love the Bills. They'll break your heart but I love them anyway.
DeleteThat they do, Jenn. That they do.
DeleteWhich is to say: Go Bills! LOL
When I was a kid, I was an LA Rams fan because Roman Gabriel. I don't follow football much anymore, but still root for the Rams, given a chance.
ReplyDeleteCurrently I'm very excited about Leeds United, my dad's hometown soccer team. My sister and I hooked up with a group of Leeds United fans here in Portland and have watched a couple of matches. We go to the Show Bar at Revolution Hall at 6 or 7 am. The bar is closed but we are able to use the space because one of the fans works there and got permission. These people are serious, but it's SO MUCH FUN. I don't want to jinx it, but at the moment, Leeds are third in the table after pounding Newcastle on Monday at Elland Road in front of a raucous crowd. My twin and I have a big birthday next year, and we are talking about going to Leeds and experiencing a home match.
My d-i-l and her dad, and now my son, are big Arsenal fans, and Hugh follows the Premier League.
DeleteArsenal is such a powerhouse! We've got a tough match coming up with them in a few weeks.
DeleteGillian, do it!!!!! We're Phoenix Rising fans and I have come to love soccer since they've arrived in town.
DeleteI like to watch soccer and especially like & prefer women's soccer. Our team is the San Diego Wave FC.
DeleteMost people likely grow up picking their favorite teams based on where they live and/or who their parents might root for. Here in New England, that's why there are so many Giants fans because the Giants were the only football team close by before the Patriots existed. But there are a number of Cowboys fans too (for reasons passing understanding). There are a number of Dolphins fans as well. Some Steelers fans too. And I have a friend who grew up in Ohio who is a Browns fan. I had to do a wellness phone call on him after every game for a few years when the local Pop Warner team could've beaten the Browns.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's just pro football. Baseball is a religion in New England. And all properly raised children are Red Sox fans. And yet, there are still some wackadoodles who are fans of the Evil Empire. Clearly, they need to be locked away.
Hockey, for most there is only the Bruins. But in all honesty, growing up I had an aversion to the team because of the owner who never seemed to try and put out a product capable of winning the Stanley Cup. The Bruins seemed to exist to lose to the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the playoffs every year. It was during that time; I actually rooted for the Hartford Whalers. I liked the green uniforms they had and they had a player named Kevin Dineen I liked. The one pro hockey game I've gone to was the Whalers vs. the Bruins with the Whalers winning 3-2. I even have a Whalers logo magnet on my fridge to this day.
Basketball...there is only the Celtics. Any other response is wrong.
That being said, I had to come around to appreciating the home teams (except for the Celtics who have been my passion forever). As a kid, I loved the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, John Tudor, Vince Coleman and Whitey Herzog were kings in my world. Yes, I liked the Red Sox but I wasn't as diehard with them until the dreaded year of 1986, and then my world was crushed because of Game 6 and I became one of "god's most pathetic creatures...a Red Sox fan".
As for hockey, the Whalers moved and became the Carolina Hurricanes so I don't care about them. I started caring about the Bruins once their crapheel owner finally put some money into the team and started making them a threat to lift Lord Stanley's Cup.
As for the Patriots, I grew up idolizing Walter Payton so I was a Bears fan at first. The Patriots were a flipping joke. The day I became a Patriots fan was the day they hired Bill Parcells as coach. Because it was the first time the owners made a move that was designed to FINALLY legitimize the franchise as PROFESSIONAL team instead of someone's occasional hobby.
So:
Basketball: Celtics
Baseball: Red Sox
Football: Patriots
Hockey: Bruins
And let's not get started on my rooting interests for college sports.
I am still a fan of the UCLA Bruins because of the late great John Wooden.
DeleteMy brother was a diehard Bruins fan, which he called the "black hole of hockey" as he suffered through the bad years. LOL, on the wellness check for your Browns fan friend. I used to go to Whalers games in college. Hockey will always be my first professional sport love. It about broke me when the Coyotes left Phoenix.
DeleteJay, you said, "I had to do a wellness phone call on him after every game for a few years when the local Pop Warner team could've beaten the Browns." You mean you don't any longer? Don't you like him? Because I think the local Pop Warner team could still beat the Browns.
DeleteBy the way, I also remember the Whalers and Kevin Dineen. Ah, the old Adams Division!
DeleteSweetness was the best!
DeleteWell, I grew up in Maine where we have no professional teams. My family obviously loves the Red Sox , Bruins, and Patriots. Somewhere along the way, my younger brother became obsessed with the Pittsburg Steelers (we have no idea why/how but he was like 7 years old!). My teenage boyfriend was from Quebec and played hockey so I enjoyed rattling my family's cages by declaring myself a Canadienne fan. Ultimately, I did not catch the sports bug though. It drove me nuts to hear the noise on the television and interrupted my concentration while I was trying to read books in my bedroom (my family was LOUD when watching games). I still do not watch sports (my fun interests are more music related). I am a little hung up on the financial aspect of professional sports (the salaries & ticket costs). It's pretty bonkers.
ReplyDeleteThe cost is completely bonkers and now with betting apps, they say the younger generation is developing massive gambling problems. It's horrifying.
DeleteIt is horrifying and the fact that it is heavily advertised everywhere to young people is disgusting. Why is this allowed?
DeleteJenn, I was curious about the football cupcake guys so I looked them up - they are still in business and doing well.
ReplyDeleteMy husband has lived in So Calif since 1969 ish but grew up in St. Louis and "once a Cardinal (baseball) fan, always a Cardinal fan" is his motto. I grew up in San Diego and was a fair weather Padres fan and Chargers fan, but I boo the Chargers now, since their owner demanded a new stadium paid for entirely by the city and when he didn't get one he moved to L.A.
I have to admit now I root for various football teams depending on their players, owners, etc. But, I've been watching football just for the entertainment. I am a UCLA Bruins football fan.
Oh, I'm so glad they're still in business!!!
DeleteMy dad was a college football captain and lucky for him he had a son who could play. Girls weren't allowed to play back then so I was a cheerleader, but oh how I loved football. Giants it was ....until my husband and I moved to Dallas where our daughter was born. Now we are a family of Cowboys fans. Even Thanksgiving dinner is organized around the game.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, the Cowboys dictate mealtime around here, too.
DeleteThough I am not a fan of American football, I think Chicago Bears is a cool name for a football team. In high school, we would go to football games. However, I preferred to watch the marching band. We HATED to watch the football players get hurt. We went to Super Bowl parties at friends' houses for the socializing and good food. Few of us were really into watching the football game.
ReplyDeleteI thought American football was rough and then I watched an Irish hurling match. American Football is still more dangerous by far but hurling is no joke. I used to hate boxing but I married a boxer so I have become a fan of boxing and MMA, which are both brutal. Probably, I need therapy.
DeleteI am a huge 49rs fan when I’m at my California home. But the good thing is I cs. Also be a cardinals fan when I’m in Arizona. Double chance of bragging rights! And I love watching football!
ReplyDeleteBest of both worlds, Rhys!
DeleteI grew up and have lived most of my adult life in Dallas adjacent places, but I am not a Cowboys fan. I do actually like watching football, although my hubby does not. I make him sit down and watch the Superbowl with me every year and he usually ends up enjoying it in spite of himself. Jenn, your rogues made me think of my son-in-law, who, in a sea of Cowboys, decided as a child that he was a Packers fan. He still is and of course that now includes my daughter and granddaughter. They wear Packers jerseys and put up banners--all the stuff.
ReplyDeleteI, on the other hand, root for the Chiefs. My best friend lives in KC and she and her hubby are huge fans so that gives me someone to share with.
The KC Chiefs are looking good so far this season.
DeleteI got smitten with football in high school. I was on the "drill team" and went to all the games and eventually sussed out the rules. Having said that I've never watched (start to finish) an entire football game on tv.
ReplyDeleteBaseball is more where my heart is, and of course the Red Sox with all their sturm und drang hooked me. Always the underdog, even when they're winning. And of course Fenway Park (with their monster seats) is a wonderful venue (if you can find parking.) It infuriates me that you have to pay big bucks for a subscription to watch a Red Sox game on TV if you live in the Boston area.
I've been a lifelong Texas Longhorns fan. Love the school, love the team. Growing up in Houston I was exposed to football rivalries early on in junior high and high school. The old Southwest Conference was a hotbed of rivalries with Texas, Arkansas, the Aggies, etc. I became a Cleveland Browns fan the years we lived in Ohio until they scrambled off to Baltimore. That killed pro football for me. It's just a business. For baseball my heart is with the Houston Astros although I rooted for the Cleveland Indians when we lived there.
ReplyDeletePat, I'm convinced high school football is some of the most fun around. Like Jenn, I was a pep band mother, and went to every home game, where The Boy led the percussion section. So much emotion, both on and off the field - you could see teen drama unfolding over the course of a game in the stands!
DeleteYoungest and the Very Tall Dutchman are coming back for a visit in October, and we're going to deepen his American experience by taking him to see a Bonny Eagle HS game. Go, Scots!
My father had no sons so he raised his two daughters to be baseball fans. We lived in the San Francisco Bay Area so we naturally became Giants fans. Since I have lived in San Diego for decades, I am now a Padres fan, but consider the Giants my second favorite team.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t care at all about football until I played Powder Puff football in high school and learned more about the sport than just throw-the-ball-catch-and-run-for-a-touchdown that I first understood. Back in the Don Coryell/Dan Fouts era, I was a HUGE San Diego Chargers fan. Like Anonymous above, any affection for that team was gone by the time they left for LA. I am now a very loyal SF 49ers fan. — Pat S
I am also an alumnus of San Diego State University so I’m a loyal Aztec basketball and football fan. — Pat S
DeleteDan Fouts and "Air" Coryell were the greatest.
DeleteFan of Da Bears since 1975.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, it was professional baseball and college basketball. We were not quite an hour from Cincinnati, so it was the Cincinnati Reds baseball that we followed and cheered for. It was the glory days of the Reds when they were called "The Big Red Machine." My father would have the game on TV when that happened, and if we were traveling in the car and the Reds were playing, it would be on the radio. Those were the days when the parents chose the radio station, and the kids never even had the thought of suggesting something different. It was the Reds' glory days of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, George Foster, "The Tony Perez, Dave Concepcion, and Cesar Geronimo ("The Great Eight Lineup"). I quit following the team and baseball after I married and moved away from home.
ReplyDeleteBut, I've never quit following my university's basketball team, the Wildcats of the University of Kentucky. That devotion started when I was growing up, too. Then I got my degree from UK and married another graduate of UK, so our interest and planning activities around the Cats' basketball schedule has been lifelong. It was so exciting being in college when UK was at the top of their game. We've had some lonely years of late not being at the top. We watch the games on TV, and husband has bee quite frustrated for some years now. My priorities have shifted, and I hope they win, but I'm not as invested as I once was.
Football was never of interest to me until the Chiefs and the Super Bowl runs. Philip had gone to some of their games when he lived in Kansas, right before he retired, so he was interested in their games to the Super Bowls and the Super Bowls, too. And, I have to admit that the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce was an interesting part of the watching the games. My interest has cooled now.
Kathy, like college football, I prefer college basketball to the NBA. Ross got me hooked - a Georgetown grad, he took me to a game on our second date! We followed them faithfully for years. I do have to say, now I live alone, I watch very few sports on TV. It just isn't as much fun without someone to share it with!
DeleteMy fave teams are definitely formed by geography and family history. I'm a die-hard Crimson Tide fan when it comes to college football (which is my favorite, well above pro ball.) My father was an Alabama grad, and my Popo used to take me to the "Crimson and White" games as a little girl. Those were the squad games done before the season started, and way back then, they were free!
ReplyDeleteWhen I married a New Englander, I brought my fandom with me, which explains why my kids, born and bred in Maine, are also big 'Tide fans.
I married into Ross's Patriot's fandom, and spent many a Sunday sitting with him on the sofa (or rather, I sat while he would periodically leap up and scream.) The best part of football at home was Ross making his excellent fully-loaded nachos!
I won't even get into the Red Sox. That's an essay-length topic in our family...
I lived in Massillon, Ohio for 6 years ( 3rd grade-8th grade). Their high school stadium held 19,000 people! Then we moved to New England and they little football fields and bleacher seats. So much for my football interest.. My Mom loved baseball and became one of Red Sox nation. I really don’t care for watching sports on TV but am part of Red Sox nation. Loved the Celtics, especially during the 80s. Watching the World Cup games got me hooked on soccer.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite sports teams: the Yankees, indoctrinated very young (as from birth) by my dad, and after moving from Connecticut to Seattle the 1970s Seattle SuperSonics (fan fever include the life size Jack Sikma poster on my bathroom wall. And when the Sonics return to Seattle I will be a fan again! Happy almost the weekend! Yay! Elisabeth
ReplyDelete