Finally, the 2011 NFL 2011 season kicked off last week! It seems like we’ve been watching ads for it since the Daytona 500, in February. Weekly football pools abound, odds makers publish their numbers midweek and fantasy football teams are almost as important as the real teams. We turn on the television at noon Sunday and watch games from all over the country until 11 p.m. Monday evening, we are glued once again to the game of the week broadcast all over the world, regardless of who is playing. And, of course, everyone "knows" their team will again, or finally, win the Super Bowl at the end of the season.
One thing that amazes me about football fans is that they establish an unbreakable team loyalty early in life, and they remain loyal regardless of where they live now or how the team performs. We live in a regional market whose loyalties are mixed between the New England Patriots, the New York Jets and the New York Giants, but I was raised in Cleveland, so my heart always goes out to the Browns. We also cheer for any team that beats the Pittsburgh Stealers, Cleveland’s biggest rival.
As for Lois, her identity as a Baltimore Colts fan was stolen many years ago when the team packed up in the middle of the night and was trucked to Indianapolis. She will not recognize that act of piracy, and therefore any team that plays the Colts is effectively playing alone, even though they might lose. The only exception is when they play the Pittsburgh Stealers.
What about you? Have you maintained your hometown loyalty, or did it move when you moved?
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