Home Team Bias

The 2008 World Series win for the Philadelphia Phillies was the greatest sports related moment in my life. Come to think of it, maybe the best non sports related moment as well. The drama, the excitement, the sight of Brad Lidge falling to his knees and Carlos Ruiz embracing him. It still gives me chills watching it to this day. But I always wonder if the Phillies were not my home team would I feel this way? If Citizens Bank Park wasn't just a short drive down 95 South, would I have felt years of losing seasons and missing the playoffs was finally worth it? If I was a Phillies fan from lets say, Kentucky, would I really have had the same feeling? I do not think I would have, but that raises this question. Is it really ok to be a fan of a non-home team?

Before I give you my answer to that question I would like to give a break down on different types of Sports fans.

Home Team Across The Board: They like every pro sports team from their home city. They hate every rival team, and display their colors proudly. The best type of fan. This one gets a thumbs up.

The Different City Allegiance Fan: They, or their parents are from a different area but their allegiance remained. My friend's father is from New York, he likes the Jets and the (please hold your laughter to the end) Mets even though he lives in the Philadelphia Area. This type of fan is totally acceptable in my book. If I were to move, my allegiance would remain with Philadelphia. This fan also gets a thumbs up.

The I Like a Certain Player on the Team Fan: Okay so you like Kobe Bryant, so you're a Lakers fan now right? Well not in my opinion. I love watching Kobe play, but you can like a player without liking the team. Its kinda like buying Lucky Charms just for the pot of gold marshmallows, of course they're the best but its just not worth it to buy the whole box! My only exception to this is if a family member of a close friend ends up on a team away from your home city. If your cousin gets drafted to Bengals, well...first off im sorry, but second yes it is okay to become a fan. This one can go either way, thumb in the middle.

The I Don't Have a Home City Sports Team Fan: Okay so you live in North Dakota, well the first thing you need to know is that you should probably move. Second is that its okay, you can still be a fan of sports, just choose wisely on how you determine your favorite team. This one can be tricky. The obvious choice is whichever city is closest to you, in North Dakota's case the closest major sports city would be Minneapolis, Minnesota home of the Twins, Vikings, Wild, and Timberwolves. But a decision like that isn't always as simple. Some people live in between sports cities. For example someone living in New Jersey maybe just as close to New York as they are to Philadelphia. Well you don't have to bust out a map (if they even make those things anymore) to figure out who to be a fan of. This decision should be made but what I call the grandfathered rule. Simply ask a parent, or grandparent who their favorite team is and let the sports allegiance be passed down to you. If they are not a fan of sports, then what you should do is disown your family. Thumbs up for this one.

The Home City -1 Fan: So your from Chicago, and your a fan of the Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs, and...Packers? Well that just doesn't make any sense, or does it? This happens more often then one would think. I don't really have a clear cut explanation on why something like this happens. A couple guesses would be the random team maybe doing better than the home team, revenge against a parent who has put you in timeout while he watches a football game where his team is being beaten by this random, or maybe you just like the jersey color. This one has to be a thumbs down.

The Throw Darts at a Map Fan: We all know this guy. In football you like the Ravens, but baseball you like the Red Sox, hockey you like the Oilers, and basketball you like the Magic? Fans like this usually will start to gravitate towards their home teams when they are doing well, but back to their dart targets when the home team struggles. No one, including the fan them-self actually knows why these teams are their favorite. Thumbs down for this guy!

The Just to be Different Fan: This guy goes hand in hand with the Dart Fan. He does not want to be a fan of the home sports team, because everyone one else is a fan of the home sports team. Well I got news for ya buddy, if you go to that city, everyone there is gonna be a fan too. You're not the only person in the world who likes the Marlins, well wait have you seen the attendance? On second thought you ARE the only one who likes the Marlins, but you're still not cool! You're not joining a cult by liking a home team, but you are making yourself look stupid! Thumbs down!

The Frontrunner: Everybody's favorite fan to hate. So your telling me your favorite teams are the Yankees, Lakers, Steelers, and Red Wings? And the answer they give is always the same "I've always like those teams ever since I was :insert low age here:" Well I call shenanigans on that! During the before mentioned 2008 MLB playoffs, I knew someone who from September to November was a fan of the Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, and Rays. Totally unacceptable. I mean you see these guys all the time, anyone who is walking the streets of Philadelphia with a Green Bay Packers jersey is a frontrunner, whether they hopped on the bandwagon in 2011, or they did it in 1997, unless you're from Wisconsin, than you are a frontrunner. I wish I had more hands so I could give this fan 4 thumbs down!

So we get back to my question of is it ok to be a fan of a non-home team? Well at the end of the day you can do whatever you want, but beware because being an out of town fan without the proper credentials can make you look foolish. Its like a guy wearing a dress, you can give your different reasons for wearing the dress but nothing you say will make it right. Will the Dart Fan, The Frontrunner, The just to be different guy, and the rest of the non-home fans feel the same way I did in 2008 when their "team" wins, I don't think they will. Its like working out, when your cheat in the workout you're really only cheating yourself. So technically yes, it is ok to be a fan of an out of town team, but all you are is a guy wearing a dress cheating on his workout.