In our never-ending pursuit to crank out posts without actually doing any work bring you the best of what the blogosphere has to offer, we’re always on the lookout for friends, readers, randies, etc to write the Friday Morning Wood. Plus, it means less work for Brinson! Yay, less work. To that end, we bring you “Show”, subject of this week’s Sitting Here in Limbo and author of the blog, The Loud Mouth of Show, which can be found by clicking the yellow words. If you’d like to submit something (again, we like less work so don’t be scared) for a MW rant on Fridays, hit us up at blog@brahsome.com.
So last Saturday night I was sipping on some quality beverages in the local sports bar with some friends, and the first time the Jaguars did something positive in the AFC playoff game (which didn’t take long), the place erupted into a state of ecstasy. For those who don’t know – most of you – I’m a Bears fan living in Indy. The three other Bears fans in my group and I were taken aback. Were the Colts playing and we didn’t know it? You know the answer: All Colts fans hate the Patriots with every fiber of their being for various reasons. The reasons I was given that night?
- “We want the easiest possible road to the Super Bowl.” (Oh c’mon, that title would have a huge asterisk next to it because you didn’t have to beat the undefeated team. Plus, wouldn’t you want to be the one that slayed the dragon yourself?)
- “We want one more game in the RCA Dome.” (need I even discount this garbage?)
- “You’d be doing the same thing if the situation involved the Bears and Packers.” (I’m sure you’d have an easy time proving that argument, and it’s also not really an answer to the question. It’s a justification. You don’t justify behavior unless you think there is something wrong with it. I don’t have to justify rooting for the Bears by saying, “well, you root for your favorite team, too!” And by the way, if the Packers were undefeated and the Bears were 12-4, I’d absolutely want to be a fan of the team that knocked them off in the playoffs. Don’t kid yourself, Dolts fans.)
- “We hate the Patriots because they are cheaters.” (Hilarious, because most of these people are Indiana basketball fans as well. You can’t pick and choose morality. Either you don’t care if your team cheats as long as they win – like Show – or you hate all teams that have anything to do with anything morally casual. Plus, “cheating” is quite a stretch. The Pats have won 17 games since they allegedly cheated and lost none. It obviously wasn’t the reason they won games in the past.)
Not one person just straight up said they were jealous that the Patriots have three rings, soon to be four, and the Colts only have one. Colts fans hate the Patriots. Just say it! At this point, most of America hates the Patriots for the same reason most of America hated the Yankees in 2000. They aren’t your favorite team and you hate winners. This week would be tough to judge because Colts fans are probably bitter at the embarrassment that was Phillip Rivers’ behavior last weekend (Ed. Note: Walking a fine line, Odenkirkso they hate both teams at this point. I’ll tell you this, though: Every bar in Indianapolis is going to be cheering for the NFC representative in the Super Bowl against the mighty Pats. Whether the excuse remains the cheating thing (right, IU basketball fans!?!), or shifts to “We like Peyton’s brother” or “Brettfavre is a classy guy;” it’s going to be something manufactured.
I’m not saying Indianapolis fans are better or worse than any other city. What I am saying is that it’s ridiculous when people can’t just admit they hate teams for the real reasons they hate teams. I hate the Cardinals because they are the Cubs’ rivals, and probably a bit because deep down I am jealous that the Cubs can’t win a World Series and the Cards can. That’s okay. Jealousy – while ugly – is a natural emotion. You just shouldn’t flaunt it so shamelessly like these awesome Colts fans were doing last Saturday night (while rooting for division rival Jacksonville who run their mouths about the Colts being overrated – I guess the Colts fans got past all that). That’s embarrassing.
Enjoy the games this weekend. Root for a team, not against one, unless you make it clear why. Don’t hate.
