Enough Plant City youths have told me that their favorite sports team is the New York Yankees that I’m no longer surprised to hear it during Athlete of the Week interviews with baseball players. So it’s nice to hear teams like the Angels, Cubs and Pirates mentioned instead, all of which have been named recently.
I’m also quite familiar with going against the Yankees when they’re the popular choice, as many of you have probably seen me wearing Baltimore Orioles gear around town. But I always have to ask, how do the kids settle on these teams instead of the Rays?
On that note, I’m also curious why Plant City lifers don’t go for the Buccaneers.
How is it that, in something so territorially-defined as sports, so many of us go against logic when we pick teams to root for?
I grew up in Buffalo, so rooting against the Bills and Sabres has never been an option. I probably should have reconsidered on a few occasions, given how bad the teams have been throughout my lifetime, but you just learn to hang in there and hope that all of the tanking will pay off soon. That’s how it was for everyone while I was growing up in Buffalo, and I’ll bet all of my money that is how it still is.
Yet down here, the “hometown team” thing doesn’t really hold as much water. If we’re talking “home state college team,” most of you are fiercely loyal to one of the big four Florida schools or USF. But for pro sports, it’s been kind of hard to find a lot of Bucs, Rays and Lightning fans most years. Two of my best friends, both born and raised in Winter Haven without ever moving away, are loyal only to the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs for reasons still unknown to me to this day. Our office manager, Plant City native Linda Lancaster, hates nothing more than the Bucs, but that’s just how she is.
A lot of kids tell me that they’re big fans of a certain team because that’s where their favorite player is. I respect that. Cal Ripken Jr. is a reason why I’ve rooted for the Orioles.
Sometimes, I hear that people latch onto a certain team because they visited that area and liked it and perhaps even saw that particular team play. Again, this is something I’m okay with — apologies in advance to all of the Gator fans, but I love Athens and am never pulling for Florida against the Bulldogs.
More often than not, I get a lot of because-the-Bucs-stink comments. That’s perfectly reasonable, and I honestly have no idea if bailing on losing teams keeps people sane. On one hand, you’d think it would work for everyone — most kids out here who have said that to me have been pretty smart, so far. On the other hand, Florida is the nuttiest state in the country and the place where eight out of every 10 weird, viral news stories happen. The Bucs’ habits can probably be blamed for a few at a time.
Whatever the case may be, my Buffalo-centric upbringing is the reason why I’m fascinated when someone’s favorite teams aren’t localized. While it would be nice to see more people thinking that way, I’m not going to be disappointed if the next kid I interview says they’re a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan.