Fair Weather Fan

So, football season is upon us. Exhibition games or "pre-season fixes" have started to tide us over until September 9th, NFL season opener.

Today's musing is about definition of character. Not some overwhelmingly grand idea of character but, in simple terms, are we Team A or are we Team B? You may know that I am a Seahawks fan. I know, I know. I am not from Seattle, never even been there. Not from the Pacific Northwest either. So you may wonder how I became a Seahawks fan (why would I be of fan of that hot mess?). Back many ten years ago, I fell in love with a Seahawks fan, a die hard Seahawks fan. So it was easy to assimilate my non-defined football persona into a Sea-Fence chanting, Holmgren loving, blue and green wearing Seahawker. Seven seasons I was rooting my heart out every Sunday! The Seahawks even went to the Superbowl! Many of my close friends also remember this, as I made many drunk calls after the Seahawks won the NFC.

After the Superbowl, life for the Seahawks wasn't so great. I wouldn't characterize it as a fall from grace. It was more like a shove off a cliff and a faceplant in a dry creek bed. Such is life...in fact, the NFL mirrored my life in that, following the grand year of 2005, my life began it's leap face first into the jagged rocks of the broken hearted.

What became evident, after the break up, was that even though I was no longer in the presence of what originated my character definition....I was still shaped by that mold. Those seven years are a part of who I am. For better or for worse, I am a Seahawk fan. ---We won't go into the other crap that I am because of those seven years. That's a musing for another day---

Now I have a Packer fan in my life. I really struggle with this. Of all things -- A PACKER FAN???? He isn't a hard core football fan. Truth be told, I am the one that got him into the habit of watching football. I think he feels that my allegiance to the Seahawks is some latent loyalty to my ex lover. Just as much as I can understand this thought, I CANNOT be a Packer fan. So we've decided that he'll root for the Packers, I'll root for the Seahawks and together we'll root for anyone playing the Cowboys. If the Seahawks don't make the playoffs (which is more of a given than the exception lately), I will root for the Packers in the post season.

I think that my Packers fan thinks that if I assimilated for my ex, why wouldn't I assimilate for him. I think the difference is that I was Switzerland before being a Seahawks fan. No real allegiance to any team. Those seven years defined me. If I were to give that up, I'd be the biggest poser ever. If I were to cheer for his team, the team that so many times crushed my heart, I'd be such a football hypocrite. I couldn't tolerate myself as a football fan.

Therefore, I'll shout SEA-FENCE at the top of my lungs. I'll wear my cute Seahawks apparel. I will speak of a pilgrimage to Qwest field. I'll taunt other teams for the first 5 minutes of a game and then console my team at the end of an embarrassing loss. I will say "TJ Housh ya mamma!".

In staying true to my team, I'll try to stay true to me.