In the world of sports you will notice there are three kinds of fans. Type one is the casual observer, they enjoy cheering along with everyone when their 'team' is winning, but really would walk away with the same attitude if the game turned the other way. Type two is the 'fair weather' fan. These are the ones you never want rooting for your team because they are temporarily, transient, gone the instant a bad play threatens the game. Or a bad game threatens the season. And type three are the dedicated fans. The ones that stick by their team through thick and thin, win or lose they proudly exclaim that is THEIR team. And they wouldn't have it any other way.I am one of those dedicated fans. And my team, the one that I can't imagine not cheering for is the Florida State Seminoles. I'm one of those kids who was born and raised to be one of these die hard fans. Ever since birth it has been embedded into my brain. But I can still recall the exact moment that I truly became a Seminole, the moment I let that team steal my heart. I was in sixth grade and was dealing with some untrue friends when I sat down and watched my first football game. I don't recall the opponent or the end result but I do recall the undeniable feeling of excitement as I sat on the couch next to my parents and we cheered in unison for a shared passion, a shared love. It was on that day, in that moment, that I had reached the 'point of no return'. Afterwards I became an avid fan, I read every newspaper clipping and magazine article, I watched every game, I kept up with players stats, and thus an obsession was born.
When I became a fan of the Seminoles, there was no warning, no disclaimer. I got no whispered secret message like, "Watch out kid they'll break your heart." though time and time again that particular mantra has proven true. But when you open your heart up to loving something as out of your control as a team you always take the risk that at some point in time they will break your heart. They will make mistakes and lose a game they should have won. They will have off days when you question if their heart is in it as much as yours. They will fail. But as inevitably as those things will happen, so will victory in the face of defeat. Incredible comebacks that leave you breathless, plays that make you wonder if your eyes have deceived you, and the happiness that comes from knowing that YOUR team just won.
One of the most interesting things about sports though is their ability to unify people. To bring them together. For example whenever I step out of the tunnel into the stadium where my Seminole football team plays (Doak Campbell Stadium) and I see 84,000 other fans who are there for the same reason I am and I feel like we are united in a way. We share a common goal, a common passion, a common love. Honestly stepping into that stadium each Fall feels like going home in a way. To a different family that I haven't seen in a while, but that is always there, waiting until the next time our paths cross and our team suits up, walks out onto that field and plays.
You know that cheesy little saying, the one where people say, "It's not just a game it's a way of life." Well cheesy or not it applies in this case. Where I come from, where I grew up, and most importantly in my heart when my team plays it isn't just a game, it IS a way of life. At the end of the day win or lose I will proudly yell from the rooftops I AM a SEMINOLE. Why? Because something about that team, that group of people, won my heart and I know with absolute certainty I'm never going to get it back. And really even if I could change how I feel about them I wouldn't because being a fan of this team has taught me so much. I learned the importance of hard work and dedication. I learned about sportsmanship, conduct, fairness, heartache, sacrifice, and teamwork. But one of the most important things loving this team has given me is a hero. Someone I look up to as one of the greatest human beings on the history of the planet. His name is Bobby Bowden and he will forever hold a special place in my heart.
So now that I have bored you to death with my love and dedication to my team, I want to hear about your team and when you 'fell in love' with them...please, I'll give you a cookie! (or maybe even THE Cookie! lol)
P.S. I'm a little tired right now so if this makes no sense at all to you and is just random babbling...sorry! =)
love this blog tee tee. you know my team. Chicago White Sox. First fell in love with them when I went to see them play for the first time just to go cause my dad got free tickets from his work. Ever since then Sox fan all the way. There has been many ups and downs. 2005 greatest year when I got to watch the, win the World Series. Amazing!!! Even today they lost a game against our crosstown rivals but I still love them.
ReplyDeletelove it!!!! My dad and grandpa have made me a die hard sports fan :) It all started with baseball. Growing up here in AZ, we didn't have a team until 1998. With this being said, my grandpa grew up a cubs fan and my dad a dodgers fan. Neither team never really appealed to me. Sure I would cheer for the cubs every once in a while, but I never really felt it in my heart. Then in 1998, the dbacks were created. My dad and grandpa got season tickets together & I'm sure they took me to games here and there, but I don't really remember them as much as I remember the year 2001. I still remember being so proud that my "baby" dbacks team (only 4 years old) were in the playoffs and eventually the world series. This was also the year of September 11th, so the world series was postponed a bit and had a little bit of a somber light to it. But I still remember it like it was yesterday! My dad and grandpa still had season tickets and the dbacks had home field that year so they went to 4 of the 7 games. One of the games in New York (oh yeah we were playing the yankees) fell on Halloween and I can remember going around trick or treating asking at every house how the dbacks were doing. It was such an intense series that eventually went 7 games. On that seventh game I still remember everything about it. I remember holding the white pom pom my dad had gotten for me at one of the games. I remember sitting in our lazy boy chair holding my breathe. I remember my mom and brother losing faith and saying that we had a good run but they didn't think we would pull it out. I remember telling them the dbacks could do anything! this was MY TEAM! we were going to win this game. I remember the feeling of sheer joy when Luis Gonzalas hit the blup base hit to score the winning run. I remember the exact words the announcer said "base hit. Diamondbacks win. Gonzalas did it. Honk your horns and stomp your feet, celebrate in Arizona. The Diamondbacks have won the world series". I remember getting in the car with my mom and brother and driving down the street to cars honking and people screaming with such excitement. I remember that night, the night the dbacks were my team. the night I had faith in them and they won for their fans :) ever since that night, the dbacks have truly had my heart. and they always will. <3
ReplyDeleteI also support the AZ Cardinals which my grandpa has also gotten me to love and the Phoenix Suns..but my true sport is baseball. and my true team is the Arizona Diamondbacks :)
--sorry that's so long!