Detroit Sports: A Test in Loyalty

You want to know why I loved the Olympics? For a couple weeks every other year people have no choice but to watch sports (because it is on every channel, all the time) and because they are all rooting for a flag. Everyone is a fan of their country. You don't see a lot of people out there going "I hope the US loses this curling match because I am a huge fan of that Swedish Skipper." The Olympics force us to embrace what is ultimately the number one trait of any sports fan, and that is loyalty.

Now before I launch into this I would like to say what loyalty is not. Loyalty is not blind faith. It is not attending every game in person. It is not road trips for the team, and it most certainly is not say "well we won today" after your team blew out Rutgers (I am a Michigan fan but this is universal...everyone blows out Rutgers).

Loyalty is about making a lifelong commitment to a team and then enjoying the roller coaster.

Loyalty Free Agent Period and a Lifetime Contract

Before you can be loyal you have to establish you loyalty. In my mind you get basically one chance to establish loyalty, this is what I like to call the Loyalty Free Agency Period. This takes place between the ages of 13-17. At this point you have likely lived in a city long enough to be exposed to friends who are fans of a team, you know the teams your family members are fans of, and you have been able to track certain players careers. In these five years you will "date" different teams and players. See which ones you like, who you identify with. You will have flings with teams, try out all of the trendy teams, and ultimately breakup with teams. Until you finally embrace a team through a few seasons, find a sense of camaraderie and they become your team (the one exception to this if you go to a college you are allowed a one time switch to your school...this is within the rules.)

Sports fandom never means more than between the ages of 13-23, when most of your life is spent with too little to do so we spend most our of time worrying about sport, spending inordinate amounts of times in garages, drinking entirely too much, and having hypothetical discussions like "If Paul Crew played for any NFL team what would it be and would he be an All-Pro." By the end of your early 20's you have established which teams you will be a serious fan of, thus ending your Loyalty Free Agency Period and signing you to a lifetime contract with that team.

Staying Loyal

At this point in life you have established who are a fan of and likely in the next decade one or all of those teams is going to be awful. Like the decision to add Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten awful (too many Rutgers jokes yet..). This is going to be when your loyalty is tested. The lean years of a franchise or college program can be rough on being a fan, if you want to leave that is up to you, but as a fan I say this...You leave you don't get to come back.

Why do I write this now? Because Detroit Sports is in a rough place professionally, and I am a loyal fan of all of them. The team that might be the best equipped to win soon is...I honestly cannot answer that question. The Lions are mired in 60 years of futility, the Red Wings and Tigers are both in a post-Mr. I rebuild, and the Pistons are going to be the 6th seed in the East for the next ix years with no chance to advance. So here is your chance to prove your loyalty. You can buckle up, ride it out, root for the young guys, and stay patient...or you can bail now and turn your back on that team you made a commitment to.

If you do though don't come back when this turns around, because we don't want you.

We on this blog though do want you...so come on back and read more...and comment if you want...and tell your friends about us...and be loyal, because we will be loyal right back.

-SW