Who's your favorite team?

Now that the Chicago Cubs have won the World Series this has me thinking....when people pledge allegiance to a favorite team what or why is that team your favorite? What prompted you to choose this team or sport as your favorite? There are a million different answers I'm sure.

I love the Yankees! And honestly I can trace it back to when I was a kid. My cousins from New York would visit Iowa and I developed a fascination with the city and all that I'd heard them talk about and read. So on my first visit to New York, I was impressed to say the least by the city that never sleeps. But I was just a small town Iowa farm girl, it didn't take much. All the sights and sounds, tastes and experiences on my first visit was wonderful. And one of the views on that first trip was the old Yankee stadium. Between the influence of my cousins and seeing the stadium I became a fan. After returning from that trip to NYC that summer I found I could pick up Yankee games on my radio in my bedroom or a battery operated transistor (a hand-me-down from my sisters which had really great reception). I'm not sure what radio station I was picking up the games on, I could also pick up a Chicago radio station and Cubs games on that old transistor, but none-the less I would stay up late at night during the summers listening to games either in my bedroom or outside on the back step.

My favorite players of those early games were Bucky Dent or Reggie Jackson. Thurman Munson earned me some respect from the male gender from a teacher as well as classmates back in my junior year of high school while playing current events trivia in an economics class. The questions were worth 20-points for your team if you answered it on your own and 10-points if you answered it correctly with help from your teammates. I got the question asking who was the NY Yankee who was killed while practice landing his airplane in 1979. I took the question on my own and my answer of "Thurman Munson" earned my team 20-points. I think every male in the room, as well as the females were shocked when I knew the answer. Even back then I had a thing for sports, especially the NY Yankees, and this was back in the day before internet. Everything I knew about current events I read from our daily paper or heard on the radio which was usually on in our household.

So now that the Cubs have ended a 108-year drought with this World Series win, it has me thinking, what makes someone a fan of a certain team? My answer is my relative connection to the city of New York. I great up with a dad who was a BIG Iowa Hawkeye fan. I too am a fan, as well as a UNI Panther fan (both Iowa City and Cedar Falls were equal distance from my home). But we cheered for all the state universities, but Iowa was always the top pick.

I know my kids were influenced by their parents as to who their favorite baseball team is. Yes I dressed my kids in Cubs gear from the time they were babies on. Chicago Cubs clothing is easy to find in the midwest, New York Yankees, not so much. But we are a house divided. One son is an avid Cubs fan. He was supposed to be named after Chicago Cubs shortstop RYNE Sandberg. But in a moment of stupidity after 48+hours of labor (I'm going to blame it on exhaustion here) I insisted his name be RYAN not RYNE...and my reasoning "everyone would get his name wrong and he'd be called Ryan even if we did name him Ryne". I still wish we would have went with Ryne. But I love the name Ryan as well.

My other son is influenced by his mom-he obviously has great taste! And I'm not sure what swayed him to follow in his mom's footsteps? He is my cohort in baseball allegiance to the Yankees. It might be because we share the same birth date, or that he has taste or maybe he got tired of the whining and complaining and loosing the Cubs fans had. While us Yankees fans take World Series appearances and wins in stride.

And child number two, well she also went to the lovable losers, the Cubs, side of the house. Although for a while she would swing her allegiance back and forth between teams. I'm betting she finally went the Cubs direction because she is a daddy's girl and the love of her life is a diehard Cubs fan too helped seal the deal. So the deciding vote in my house swayed the majority to the Cubs. And that's okay. I will cheer for the Cubs but my heart belongs to the Yankees. There have been days or seasons where I have hated the Cubs with a passion. It's not personal but because of the pity card,  the constant complaining, whining, bitching and moaning gets damn old...BIG TIME, pitch after pitch, out after out, inning after inning, game after game...all....season....long. And some people lose the perspective of the fact that this is just a game. It is a past time, just entertainment. The world is not going to end if the Cubs blow this lead or the Yankees don't make post-season play. Life goes on.

So it is always interesting to ask or listen or hear why someone is a fan of a certain team, be it a professional sports team of some kind, a college team or a high school team or little league team,(usually the last two of those is due to location or relatives playing). Some people are fans for some pretty lame reasons...but it is what it is, we are not judging here. You don't have to have a reason either. I'm sure some people are fans because of the team's colors or mascots. I have cheered for the Oregon Ducks purely for the fact that who doesn't like a duck (they are harmless, kind of cute fowl and they taste good at Christmas with sweet dressing!) and their colors are a cool dark green and gold, it looks pretty sweet!! I know lame (duck, haha!!) but hey who doesn't want someone cheering for them? We all needs fans!!

So regardless of why you choose who you do as a favorite team enjoy the ups and downs along with the good with the bad when it comes to your team. (I happened to love pinstripes, navy and gray and Derek Jeter helped the cause along the way as well over the years!) Be a good, positive fan and just enjoy. It's not a matter of life or death or world peace...it is after all, just a game.