Blogocentric Formulations

Fan Dilemma

A couple of weeks ago, I went with a coworker to a networking event at a L.A. Dodgers baseball game... and I have to admit, I really enjoyed myself. The problem is, I'll forever be a San Francisco Giants fan because they're my "home" team where I grew up. Or at least the closest thing to a home team my MLB-less hometown had.

I should back up for a minute and say that there are very few sports teams that I would consider myself a "fan" of. Other than the Giants, the Sacramento Kings, and the San Francisco 49ers being my home teams, I don't really follow sports closely enough to have a long list of favorite franchises. Most of the time I will just catch a game between two teams and decide which one I want to root for at that moment. Lately I've considered myself a fan of the Anaheim Angels (sorry, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim ) just because they're the closest team in proximity to my current home.

However, I've been to two Angels games now (one was against the Giants so that's not really fair to the Halos ), and while the stadium is beautiful and the games are always fun... I was kind of surprised at the lack of energy the fans had. Sure they cheered for home runs and spectacular plays and all that... but there just didn't seem to be that unbridled passion that true fans have for their favorite team. It felt like most of the fans were in the same place I was... Angel fans by proximity, but not out of any deeper connection to the team.

When I went to the Dodgers game, it was like night and day. The fans cheered like crazy for every single strikeout, base hit, caught fly ball, and ground out. I'm sure a lot of that had to do with the fact that they were playing the Yankees, but there was such a remarkable and fun energy about the game, it brought back memories of the games I used to travel to San Francisco to see with my family when I was younger. If I were pressed to choose, I think I might actually like the Dodgers a little more than the Angels, at least in terms of the game-watching experience.

The only problem is that the Dodgers and the Giants are pretty much mortal enemies.

So is it possible to like teams with a very contentious history if one is your true home team and one is your current home team? Or is that just asking for trouble?

Then again, maybe I should go to a Dodgers game when they're not playing someone controversial like the Yankees or the Giants and see if the energy is more like the two Angels games I watched when there's not a historic rivalry there.