Sports.
Sports are a very big deal in the U.S., wouldn't you say? Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Boxing, Golf, Tennis, Soccer, etc. Billions of $$$$ are spent on sports every year. There are the die-hard fans who buy season tickets every year, no matter how their team is doing. These fans will support their teams even when the going gets tough. There are also the fans that love their team and watch every chance they can get, attending games a couple of times a year. There are also fans who will watch a few games here or there, but do not invest a lot into the teams or sports in general. And then there are the fair-weathered fans. These are the fans who only come out of the woodwork when the local team is doing hot, then they jump on the Bandwagon. Of course their are also people who couldn't care less about Sports.
Several members of my HUGE family are very BIG sports fans on both my mom and dad's sides, and my dad and brothers are also die-hard sports fans. Once upon a time I was a big fan also......
We'll start with the Twins. When my dad was the CEO of Schweigert Foods, we had incredible season tickets for the Twins, front row on 1st base. I attended a ton of games as a kid, including the winning World Series Game 7 in both 1987 and 1991 when the Minnesota Twins won the World Series. I was a huge fan of the Twins back in the days of Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Dan Gladden, etc. When Kirby retired due to his health, I pretty much quit following the Twins. I was deeply saddened when Kirby past away a few years ago.
I was also a HUGE Minnesota North Stars fan. Mike Modano and Curt Giles were my GUYS!! We also had season tickets to the Stars and I was fortunate to attend several playoff and Stanley Cup finals games. Then stupid Norm Green moved the team to Dallas. 10 years later or so, the NHL came back to MN with a new team, the Wild. I made a conscious decision not to invest emotionally in the new team. I haven't followed hockey at all since.
I was also a huge Vikings fan back in the day and during the 1998 season (when we went 15-1) I had high hopes that they would go to the Superbowl and WIN. My heart broke in January 1999 when we lost that chance during the NFC Championship when we lost 27-30 to Atlanta. At that point I realized that I could no longer let the Vikings dominate my emotions. It just wasn't worth it. I quit watching the Vikings and have only watched a few games here and there ever since. Too me, football is all about socializing- I will cheer for the home team but I will not invest any emotion into it. And here I fooled my blogging buddyHelmet into believing I was a huge Vikings fan....he even gave me an award because of it!!! Ha!
Basketball is a different story. I love to watch it!! The Timberwolves were my team since the very first game they ever played.... I was lucky enough to attend their inaugural game in 1989 against the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordon (courtside!). We had season tickets to the Twolves also, and then when Kevin Garnett joined the team in 1995, I was super excited to see where the team would go. I remained very loyal to the Twolves and especially to Kevin Garnett, who would become an incredible Superstar. My loyalty still remains with KG, even though he was traded last year to the Celtics, so I became a Celtics fan overnight. I was beyond ecstatic when the Celtics won the NBA Championship last year because I so badly wanted to see my man win! I still like the Twolves and hope they get better, but will continue to support them in the mean time.
As sad as it is to some, I now consider myself a fair-weather fan. I have very little emotional attachment to the teams or players (with few exceptions). I would be very happy if any of them had successful years, and I will admit I am the bandwagon type and would probably only show major support in the event that they make it into the playoffs.
Wow, I guess I had no idea where this post was going when I started it, but my questions for you today are:
What type of sports fan do you consider yourself? Who are your favorite teams to root for?
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Other TFT posts this week:
Dana Leigh on getting picked on
Football, Baseball, Hockey, Basketball - that's the order of my love. I love the Vikings; I'm a die-hard fan! I also love the Twins, though it usually takes about a month of play before I start following on the regular.
Hockey is a lot of fun to me and I enjoy watching it, but I would call myself a fair-weather fan for sure.
Basketball.. lol... I haven't watched a game since ... ... I don't even remember.
Great post Kristi! great topic :)
Posted by: Ang | October 02, 2008 at 01:37 PM
i'm not a HUGE sports fan, although with essentially 4 brothers i was back in the day... now i can enjoy most sports IF it's live. i don't care to watch sports on tv. and i love any sport my son is playing!
Posted by: jessica | October 02, 2008 at 02:42 PM
Eh, I could do without completely, but if I had to choose one, I would choose the Vikes. The only sport I can stomach for an extended period of time. It is definitely not an obsession or passion of mine.
Posted by: Michelle | October 02, 2008 at 04:33 PM
This is a fun topic for me! First of all, I support and like all of our Minnesota teams. I'm a homer for sure! As you already know, I LOVE the Vikings. I watched games here and there with my parents when I was a kid. I've spent most of my adult life paying attention to them and watching the games. My first game in person was the Vikings and Falcons in 1998. Yep, THAT game! Now I have been fortunate enough to be able to go to every game since Michael has season tickets. He's had them for 10 years now.
As for the Twins, I will always love and follow them. I go to the home opener every year and a handful of games throughout the year. I've loved baseball and the Twins seriously since I was a teenager. I have collected thousands of baseball cards to prove it!
I like the Timberwolves and I have gone to a handful of games. I don't watch them on TV much but when I do, I enjoy it. I really liked KG and I don't have much reason to follow them other than it's a MN team.
I do not follow The Wild. I am not a hockey fan. Can you believe it? I have been to one Wild game and it was fun but it's just not my sport to follow.
With any of the teams above, I will ALWAYS watch playoffs. Playoffs are always fun.
Lucky you to have been able to go to the both World Series game 7! I have to say I'm a tad bit jealous!
Posted by: Dana Leigh | October 02, 2008 at 07:07 PM
I LOVE sports. College football is my favorite though!
Posted by: adrienne | October 02, 2008 at 09:53 PM
Football, baby. I love my Chiefs. In good seasons, and bad seasons. Also root for the Jayhawks in football. Rock Chalk baby ...
Speaking of Rock Chalk, KU basketball all the way baby! Although I love all college basketball (NOT the NBA), and March Maddness is just about my favorite time of the year (outside football season!).
I grew up going to games at the old memorial statium in Baltimore before Camden Yard was built, and baseball still holds a place in my heart, but i'm not near the fan of baseball that i am of football.
Posted by: kirsten | October 03, 2008 at 08:09 AM
i have certain players that i love. where ever the mannings go...i am so there. oh and favre....and big ben....do we see a trend here???
Posted by: zoe | October 04, 2008 at 06:15 AM
I would say I'm a mild to moderate sports fan. I love football, but only college football. So, during this time of the year, I'm usually watching a college football game. My favorite team is of course Florida State University Seminoles since it's my alma mater! My Mom loves basketball and her favorite team is the Orlando Magic.
Posted by: Rolana | October 05, 2008 at 10:23 PM
HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY...I love it!!!! My team is the MINNESOTA WILD!!!! (Just won their 1st reg. season game) My love of hockey stems from my Dad. My Dad and his brothers started playing hockey when they were young....for fun and for school teams. Once my sister and I were old enough. We would watch my Dad play on his hockey leagues. And, watch the North Stars on the tele. Now that he is to old (lol) to play. I buy him tickets to Minnesota Wild games. There's nothing better than a guy getting SMASHED into the boards!!! Or, when the Ref's let them duke it out.....PRICELESS!
Posted by: | October 13, 2008 at 05:07 PM