Sunday, March 30, 2008

Sports Dilemma

So I just finished reading the book, True Believers probably for the fifth time. I truly enjoy the sense of humor and the way in which the book is written. In fact, amongst my friends, this book has come into our sports conversations on countless occasions. I have actually been quite interested in what others opinions would be on this specific issue that I am having regarding my fan loyalty. I would love to get a clear response from you in the comment section.

Here is my problem. I was born in Montreal, but grew up for most of my life in Minneapolis. I was there when both World Series took place for the Twins as well as the recent playoff games that occurred. So you could say as a kid growing up I was a Twins fan. But, I was also a New York Yankee fan as well. For the following reason, my mom's father grew up in the Bronx (he really did, not like your example in the book of the guy who just says he had family in New York or the South Bronx) and he actually grew up with the team. He was a die hard fan of the Yankees until he passed away a few years back. My grandpa and I did not have the best relationship only because I did not know him or my grandma very well, but whenever we did see them he would talk NY Yankee baseball with me. Which was really at the time crucial to me becoming a huge MLB baseball fan. I should also mention that both of my parent's were born in the New York area, but again my dad was not a sports fan, and neither was my mom except when my grandfather took her to Yankee games.

My friends at the time when I was growing up were mostly Twins fans, but I seemed to be going back and forth through my growing up years all the way through college with the Twins and Yankees. The problem is, you can't really be a true fan of both teams. They are rivals, and meet in the playoffs. Then what are you going to do, my friends would always ask. I wouldn't have a response, I was torn.

Now I am actually living in Manhattan. Just had a baby, she is 8 months old. With the job that I am working towards in my master's degree here in NYC, I will probably never end up in Minneapolis again. The job market there would have no use for what I am pursuing. So, I will probably continue living in New York or the tri-state area. Which also means that my daughter will have never lived in Minnesota. So why should she be a loyalist to Minnesota sports?

My question is simple, which team should I root for from now on, and why?

I feel like I have emotional attachments to both the Twins and Yankees, and now living in New York City, the Yankees are easy to watch and follow, but I do have this attachment growing up with the hometown Twins.

Post your comments and when I finally resolve this problem, I will write a new post.

Thanks!
Steve

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a shocker. The baseball season is about to start and everyone is picking the Twins to finish 5th in the division, so now you are having second thoughts about wanting to cheer for them. What happened to denouncing the Yanks? Not much of a shocker I guess.

Steve Abelson said...

it honestly has nothing to do with where the teams will finish. the yankees might be just as poor as the twins this year. i think boston and toronto are going to be too much for the yankees in the east. i don't even think they will make the playoffs this year. i think they will both finish in 3rd place.

Felicia said...

If you fully convert to being a Yankees fan I will never speak to you again. That's sacriligious. By the way, we're sitting here awaiting our open air stadium while it's home opener day and there's a blizzard outside!

Steve Abelson said...

exactly! the twins and minnesota are so stupid and sad. i mean the end of march beginning of april in minnesota is always terrible! they are going to have to cancel so many games.

The Abelsons said...

I still think we need to support the team where we grew up. You were at 2 World Series of MN not NY!
Alissa