My two favorite teams are in the Super Bowl. Sometimes you get lucky. Who am I rooting for? Doesn't matter; I can't lose.
So, I'll wear a Steeler shirt and Packer ballcap for the next week or so. I expect the usual insults about a split personality or being from a dysfunctional family, but I take it all with a smirk. After all, I CAN'T LOSE!
My two favorite teams are in the Super Bowl. Sometimes you get lucky. Who am I rooting for? Doesn't matter; I can't lose.
Growing up in Memphis in the 1960's, we had no professional sports teams. In baseball we had the St. Louis Cardinals as our "almost" home team, with Tim McCarver and two other players from Memphis. We became fans of the St. Louis Hawks because they played a slate of games in Memphis in the '66 and '67 seasons, before they moved to Atlanta.
For the NFL, there was no appealing team nearby. The St. Louis (football) Cardinals were a colorless, uninspiring bunch, whose games we were fed every week. No matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't get excited about them. So the local kids chose their favorite football team on the basis of . . . other stuff.
My first favorite was the Green Bay Packers. Green was and IS my favorite color, and was a governing factor in a lot of choices when I was 7 or 8. The Packers were also great at the time, and had some of the most colorful characters on any team: Paul Horning, Bart Starr, Ray Nitszhke, Willie Davis and Max MaGee. I was a Packer fan before they had Super Bowls, and went to summer camp in 'Sconsin after they won the first two. So that die was cast.
We watched a lot of college football in Memphis. When I saw great players for other teams, I tended to follow them in the pros, including Mean Joe Greene. I saw him play twice for North Texas State against Memphis State. The Steelers made him the #1 pick, so I followed them to see if the best defensive player I saw at the time could make a difference in the WORST team in the NFL. At first, not much; but then the Steelers got other great college players and assembled a competitive team.
I was fully on the Steeler bandwagon before they made any Super Bowls. The Oakland Raiders were my favorite AFL team before the merger, so Super Bowl II was my first challenge of mixed loyalties. But I was a committed Packer fan and understood prior loyalties. Why Oakland? Those cool Silver and Black uniforms and outrageous characters like Ben Davidson and Ted Hendricks, whom I also saw play in college. Now I live here.
Fate and a job took me to Pittsburgh for 3 years before I moved to California, and my Steeler fandom was solidified. During that stint, I was sent to St. Paul for job assignment, and collected a duffle full of Packer gear on the drive through 'Sconsin, in the aftermath of the '97 Super Bowl win.
Mixed loyalties in big events can bring great anxiety. As a Michigan grad and Memphis native, I did not enjoy one minute of the Michigan-Memphis State basketball game in 1985. Now I know more - YOU CAN'T LOSE.
Three years ago, I attended the Cal-Tennessee football game in Berkeley. I wore my Big Orange game jersey and a Cal ballcap. Whenever anyone gave me grief about, I shrugged dismissively and said real loud, "HEY, I CAN'T LOSE!"
I enjoyed watching Aaron Rogers work his magic for the Cal Bears, and was thrilled when the Packers drafted him. When Brett Farve retired a few times ago, and Packer fans were in mourning, I placed a letter-to-the-editor in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel saying, "Hey, ya'll quit crying; Brett was great, but I'm looking forward to seeing Aaron Rogers play." I want to personally thank Aaron Rogers for making me look like a smart guy. But what do I know?
I've enjoyed a few Steeler playoff games at Kelly's Bar in San Francisco, one of the most spirited Steeler bars in the country. I'm told every county in America has at least one. There are at least 4 in SF.
So, I'll wear a Steeler shirt and Packer ballcap for the next week or so. I expect the usual insults about a split personality or being from a dysfunctional family, but I take it all with a smirk. After all, I CAN'T LOSE!