This article originally appeared in the April 25, 2013 issue of The Arkansas Traveler.
My girlfriend was mortified when the umpire ejected me from her high
school softball game Friday.
While I had not intended to get kicked out (all I yelled was,
“Go check the rule when you get home tonight!”), I was not at all ashamed.
After the game, the other parents and players respected me and greeted me like
a hero, but my girlfriend wouldn’t even look at me.
Naturally, this upset me, so I apologized and asked for
forgiveness, but it was useless. She wouldn’t listen to me. While consoling me,
one of the parents told me not to worry and that I couldn’t help it because I
was “passionate.”
That’s how my grandfather and father are; it runs in the family.
When she said this, it made total sense. The more I thought
about it, the more I began to realize that this type of fan is a true fan. A
fan fueled by “passion.”
What is passion?
Well, first of all, let’s establish what passion is NOT.
Passion is not rooting for the Yankees because they have 27
World Series titles. Passion is not rooting Alabama because they have won three
national titles in four years. Passion is not rooting for the Miami Heat
because they bought the best players and put them on one team.
A passionate fan is not a bandwagon fan. A passionate fan is one
that sticks by their teams no matter their record, their coach or any other
factor.
If you are a passionate fan, a win by your team makes a bad day
good and a loss makes a good day bad.
Being a passionate fan means yelling at umpires, officials or
referees, whether you are at the game in person, watching it on TV or listening
to it on the radio. It means referring to your team as “we” and “us,” even
though you aren’t a player or coach.
Of course, being a passionate fan isn’t easy, not at all. It is
an emotional investment that many people sell out on after a few years of
disappointment or don’t buy into in the first place.
I am only 19 years old and a freshman in college, but I have
found several gray hairs on my head.
My only explanation for this is that being a passionate fan of
Springdale High, my alma mater, the Arkansas Razorbacks, my current school, and
the Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Cardinals, my favorite professional teams, has
finally caught up to me.
The amount of emotion a true fan puts into their teams should
make them physically tired after watching them play. Heart problems possibly
developing down the road should be a real concern.
Is this emotional investment really worth it, especially with
the amount of disappointment that comes along with those teams?
Absolutely.
No loss will ever trump the euphoria I felt standing in War
Memorial Stadium with “Pour Some Sugar on Me” blaring over the PA and sugar
cubes flying everywhere after Arkansas beat No. 6 LSU to clinch a spot in the
Sugar Bowl in 2010.
No loss will ever trump the pride I felt standing in Bud Walton
Arena after Arkansas beat No. 2 Florida this year or No. 4 Oklahoma in 2008 or
No. 7 Texas in 2009.
No loss will ever trump the exhilaration I felt standing in Baum
Stadium after Arkansas beat Kentucky on a walk-off grand slam by James McCann
on Easter Sunday in 2010.
True
fans should be too passionate to lose their love for their teams.
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