Still Americas Pastime

Is it possible to switch your favorite team without being a traitor? 

For me, the answer comes down to the reasons that you’ve picked the team (more on this can be found in my post on Team Loyalty).  Let me tell you the story of my journey to become the Braves fan that I am today.

I lived in Tom’s River, New Jersey when I started T-Ball.  Although my parents remember that the Mets, Yankees, Phillies received media coverage, I don’t remember ever going to a game or seeing one on TV.  When it came time for team pictures, I remember needing to fill out a short questionnaire for the back of my baseball card.

One of the questions was “What is your favorite team?”  I didn’t really know any, but I remembered that my cousin (who lived in upstate New York) had a Toronto Blue Jays sign or poster in his room.  Since I thought my cousin was really cool (I still do), I told my Dad to write that the Toronto Blue Jays were my favorite team.  Thus began my short lived career as a Toronto Blue Jay fan.

The next question was about my favorite player.  Well, I didn’t know any players, so I asked my Dad for a player on the Blue Jays.  He told me Roberto Alomar. 

The first game I remember going to see was a Cincinnati Reds game in 1994 (before the strike obviously).  I don’t remember the score, the opponent, or really anything besides the atmosphere of the ballpark.  I fell in love with going to the games, but I didn’t really become a Reds fan.

The next year the Braves won the World Series.  I remember lobbying for, and winning, permission to stay up and watch some of the games.  At 9 years of age, I was starting to develop my respect for good pitching and defense, and also gain a more thorough understanding of the game.  Maddox, Smoltz, and Glavine thus captured my attention.  Plus, I’m sure that the Braves winning the series in a trilling Game 6 helped push me into the Braves camp.

I was definitely a Braves fan after that.  I really enjoyed the fact that their games were carried on TBS, which allowed me to follow them more closely than I probably would have been able to otherwise.  I didn’t feel like I was betraying the Blue Jays because they weren’t really my team.  Instead, I picked a team that fit my philosophy (the emphasis on pitching & defense).

As I further matured, I added to this philosophy an emphasis on scouting & recruiting talent rather than buying it.

All of this is a rather long-winded way of answering the question, “Should fans be allowed to change teams”.  My answer is yes, as long as the rationale stays consistent or shows a maturity in judgement.  My switch from the Blue Jays to the Braves is an example of maturity of judgement.  The Braves were an example of the type of team that followed my baseball philosophy, where the Blue Jays were what I thought was my cousin’s favorite team.  If the Braves enter a period where they violate my philosophy, then I wouldn’t consider myself a traitor by finding a new team that does.

Staying loyal to your team is an important part of sport culture in the United States.  Nobody likes being called a fair-weather fan or being accused of jumping on the bandwagon.  But how many of you have thought about why you are a fan of a particular team?  Here’s your chance.   Not only am I going to point out numerous reasons I’ve noticed people root for a particular team, but I’m going to tell you how legitimate those reasons are. 

Many fans have more than one reason they follow a particular team.  They will probably find that their reasons are spread over multiple tiers.  That’s OK.  Either pick the highest one, or the one that explains your decision the best.

Remember too, that I am critiquing reasons to be a fan, not merely to root for a particular team on a certain day.

Tier 1:

• Team is Popular
• Team is very good (recently won the World Series or made it to the playoffs a few years in a row)
• Team is Spouse’s/Significant Other’s/Best Friend’s team. (more…)

The WBC ended 9 days ago with Japan defeating Korea in 10 innings.  After taking about a week to digest it, I’ve come up with my top five Final Thoughts on the ‘09 WBC.

1) Other countries play the game the right way, and do it well.

Japan and Korea were teams that won without the long ball.  They did the little things: moved runners, went first to third, etc.  They proved what everyone in the Major Leagues is preaching (but not worrying about following through on), that pitching and defense win championships.

2) There is no time what would work better than March, so people should stop complaining about it.

Yes, it means that it’s early in Spring Training for Major leaguers, but that’s better than in the middle of the season or after the World Series.  So that means the big leaguers who are selected to play need to start getting into game shape earlier.  It’s a price you’ll have to pay to play for your country.

3) The US is not the ultimate baseball country in the world.

After Korea taking the latest gold medal and Japan winning the Classic in ‘06 and ‘09, it’s pretty obvious that we aren’t the #1 baseball country in the world anymore.  This is something we need to decide whether we should work on changing or not.

4) If the US wants to win the World Baseball Classic, we have to start believing that it matters.

I know the players who played believed it mattered.  And the coaching staff knew it mattered.  But what about the MLB owners?  Or the country?  It was embarrassing that Team USA had less fan support at the games played in the United States than the teams from Japan, Korea, Cuba, etc.

 5) The World Baseball Classic does matter!

This goes with part 4.  I failed at covering the World Baseball Classic.  Why does it matter?  First, the game of baseball was invented here.  It should be a matter of pride to be among the world’s best, if not actually the world’s best.  Second, it will help the game grow internationally.  This is especially important as it seems that more and more American kids pick football over baseball (or worse, don’t pick any sport at all and just sit around all day).  Finally, it showcases talent from around the world.

Hopefully, as the WBC grows, Americans will realize just how important and wonderful it is. 

Well, Jeter might not have any more comments on A-Rod’s use of Performance Enhancing Drugs, but I do.  Just one more post about it though, unless some other really big news comes out about him.

In an earlier post, I commented that I was unsure whether I thought that A-Rod should be automatically disqualified from the Hall of Fame.  Well, now I’m ready to say that I’m 100% sure that I don’t believe he should be automatically out of the Hall.  However, I do believe that his use of PEDs should be considered by the writers (as I’m sure it will be).  How much weight it should have depends on how much longer he plays, what type of numbers he puts up from now on, and what he does about his legacy as a user during the “Steroid Era”.

I am a big believer in having character considered when looking at Hall of Fame candidates.  It shouldn’t be everything, but it should be important.  If A-Rod continues to be a great ball player, and comes through with this anti-steroid campaign he hinted at in the press conference, he should be considered for the Hall.

With the A-Rod and Michael Phelps scandals making the most sporting noise, a lot of people are talking about these athletes being poor role models.  Today I want to discuss how fair these accusations are, and whether or not they should even be viewed as role models.

First off, I’m going to pin down the criteria for this discussion.  If you want to comment, you have to abide by this limitation: I am only discussing their value as a role model for young athletes. 

I’m not judging them on how good of a role model they are for young men, or young people, or people with really good hair, or people over 5′3″.  The ONLY criteria for this discussion is their value as a sports role model.

The rationale behind this is that I think this is the only level where we as a society can place these people as role models.  It isn’t fair to an Olympic swimmer to be considered a role model for young boys who want to paint, or even just as a good person, nor is it in A-Rod’s contract to provide an example of how to wear your jeans or follow the traffic laws.

So when measured against this criteria, I find that one is a good role model, and one has been given a chance to redeem his failure.

Michael Phelps did not fail as an athletic role model.  Yes, pot is illegal, and there is that issue to deal with.  But it did not give him an unfair edge when he won 8 Gold Medals in Beijing.  As an athlete, he is an inspiration to many, both swimmers and others.  He not only has great talent, but he works hard, which is exactly what young athletes need to do.

Alex Rodriguez, however, has proven to be a failure as an athletic role model.  He cheated by using banned substances to gain an unfair advantage over his opponents.  His enhanced stats got him the largest contract in baseball history.  Additionally, when first questioned about whether he used steroids, he denied it.

However, A-Rod has a chance at redemption, or at least partial redemption.  He came clean (after he was outed).  He acknowledged his mistakes, saying he was young, stupid, and naive.  Now, he can become a good role model again by doing three things. 

First, he can never use performance enhancing drugs ever again, nor can it come out that he used them longer than he admitted to. 

Second, he can never act like he is owed the benefit of the doubt about anything baseball related, be it a Hall of Fame ticket or just that he’s not juicing now. 

Finally, he has to accept that he made a mistake, and deal with the consequences without complaining.

If he can stay clean, accept the burden of proof for the rest of his career, and not whine about being singled out, he can still have a positive influence on the young athletes of the world.  As long as he makes it clear that cheating and then saying “Oh, my bad, I’m sorry” isn’t enough all there is to it.

What are your thoughts?  Phelps and Rodriguez good role models?  Unfairly considered role models?  Just tired of hearing about it?