Sunday, September 09, 2007
Sometimes, you have to root against the Hokies
Christian Trejbal
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I hope the Hokies lose bad next weekend. I want the Ohio University Bobcats to feast on turkey.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a Virginia Tech football fan. Not as rabid as some, but I'm a fan nonetheless.
It's mandatory, living in these parts, and I am glad I can root for a team that competes nationally. I add my voice to the cacophony that echoes off the hills when they score a touchdown and to the groans when there is a turnover.
Just not next weekend. Yesterday I cheered for them to beat LSU. Saturday I will tailgate in green and white and cheer for the Bobcats in Lane Stadium.
A few months ago, a friend e-mailed me. His season-ticket companion couldn't make it to the Sept. 15 game. Did I want to go?
Of course I did, I sent back. I haven't had a chance to attend a game in person yet.
Then he started to hedge: They are playing a lousy team that week.
Who? My mind envisioned North Central Appalachian College (yes, I made that up) or some other cream-puff team of the sort Tech schedules to start each season.
Ohio University, my friend reported, so if you don't want to go, that's cool.
Not only will I go, I told him as firmly as one can tell someone anything by e-mail, I'll be wearing my Bobcat gear. That's my alma mater, you jerk.
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On Labor Day, I took down the maroon-and-orange VT flag that hangs in front of my house, and hung a green-and-white Ohio Bobcat banner.
I suspect divergent sporting loyalties like mine are more common than they used to be. The labor pool is mobile these days.
Workers leave the communities in which they grew up for jobs elsewhere. One, two, three times or more they might move during their careers.
Easy travel and communication make it all possible, of course. Cellphones and e-mail enable people to maintain close contact with family states away.
Each time I move to a community, I adopt the new sports teams without giving up the old ones. Sometimes the timing has been fortunate. I moved to Minneapolis the year the Browns became the Ravens. The Vikings helped fill the void.
In college sports, I root for the Bobcats, Hoosiers, Gophers, Ducks, Beavers and now Hokies. There are some smaller schools, too -- Highlanders, Maroons, Loggers and others -- but it's usually the big ones that come into conflict.
Some advice to help other travelers rank and clarify their loyalties:
Always root for your alma mater and the professional teams from the city of your youth. If you attended a school, there is no excuse to root against it. Undergraduate schools take priority over graduate schools.
The longer you lived in a place, the more you should favor its teams. Loyalty grows over time, especially when you hang out with native fans who indoctrinate you over multiple seasons.
The place you currently live gets special consideration. It's your home team even if only by the coincidence of employment.
Be a fair-weather fan. Side with a team that could win a national championship.
Most important, remember that it is just a game. Sports elicit passion, but they are not worth an ulcer.
This week, I am a Bobcat. I'm honest about Ohio's chances. A touchdown will make me happy, but maybe, just maybe, they can pull off the upset. I'll be in the stands cheering for it.
Next week the VT flag goes back up, and I will root for the Hokies for the rest of the season -- unless they play the Bobcats, Gophers, Ducks or Beavers in a bowl game.
Trejbal is an editorial writer for The Roanoke Times based in the New River Valley bureau in Christiansburg.
