Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

The Casual Fan

I have always considered myself a casual sports fan, although my wife and daughter might argue that point with me. I've always followed the local teams cheering them on, hopping for that dream season where they win the championship. For some reason it's important to me that my city of Los Angeles has the winning team yet it means nothing to me other than bragging rights over my friends and relatives across the country.

The dichotomy of this is my favorite sport is pro football and LA no longer has a team. Suddenly I had no team to root for, I no longer cared if the Rams beat the Vikings or if the forty-Niners lost to the Cowboys. One would think my interest in football would diminish with no team to follow, to cheer on to victory. However, I now find I can watch a game for pleasure without worrying about how the outcome will affect the home team. I now can enjoy a good play that either team makes instead of feeling that a knife has been plunged into my heart when the Chargers run back a kickoff for a touchdown against the Raiders.

I still manage to pick a favorite team or two to cheer but it usually changes from year to year. For the most part, they are 'Cinderella' teams; those who are not expected to win and yet manage to go deep into the playoffs, a good example would be the Saints who last year won the Super Bowl. Just lately, I'e been picking 'villain' teams to root against, the Ravens being a good example. I can only assume it is their strong defensive play and bravado talk that makes them a villain team to me. Another example is the Patriots, who are just too darn good for me to root for and I find myself cheering for them to lose.

As a casual fan, I can have a life outside of football and I enjoy doing things with the family on a Sunday in the fall. However, if I'm home believe me the game is on and I'm glued to the couch in front of the TV. I do believe that as a casual fan I actually enjoy football more now that there is no longer a home team in LA. I should say no home team if you don't count USC, which many believe is more of a professional team that the Raiders ever were when they were in LA.

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