As I've mentioned before, I'm a fair-weather fan.  Years of rooting for loosing teams have left me jaded and cynical.  At least I admit it.  I don't claim to be a Colts fan or a Patriots fan.  People who do this are below scum in my opinion.  Unless you can prove you liked either team before they got good, you're a fair-weather fan too.  You just haven't been around long enough to ditch them when they get bad (largely because they never get bad; Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are godlike).  It's easy to like teams that always win.  It's also shallow.  So there you have it:  Two insults in one paragraph. 

For this reason and a few others, I've decided to adopt a "no favorite team" policy.  I've been teetering on the edge for over a year now:  I claim to like the Eagles, but I show absolutely no loyalty to them.  They win some, they lose some.  I'm apathetic.  To be quite honest, it's extremely difficult to like a team that's not from your area (or if you live in a dual-team region) because their games are rarely televised.  It's a heck of lot easier to like the local team simply because it's a heck of lot easier to watch their games.  And go to their games.  And fraternize with their fans.  And buy their merchandise in stores. 

But again, I have no favorite team.  I'll watch the local team.  I'll also watch their division rivals.  I'll watch last year's Super Bowl champions.  I'll watch this year's likely Super Bowl champions (Pats).  I'll watch that old guy from Wisconsin.  I don't really care.  I like watching football (by the way, this post is entirely about football because I don't watch or care about other sports ... perhaps I should've mentioned that at the beginning ... oh well).  I like watching good football.  Watching Tom Brady systematically get first downs and score points is amazing.  The man doesn't make mistakes.  I enjoy watching stuff like that.  Watching my favorite team fumble the ball and stumble down the field is disheartening at best.  It would be easier if my favorite team was a good team, but it's not and has rarely ever been.  So yes, I'm essentially giving up. 

The advent of fantasy football has really helped my decision.  With a fantasy team, I manage players from all over the NFL.  Some are on good teams, some on bad.  The success of a specific team often has nothing to do with the success of an individual player in fantasy football land.  This makes it easier to watch games that would otherwise have no impact on me or my favorite team.  I have a wide receiver from the Jets and a kicker from the Cardinals (my kicker is oddly a reliable point-scorer).  Do I like the Jets or the Cardinals?  No, but I'll watch their games because I like some of their players. 

I have to admit the idea of not having a favorite team didn't occur to me until a few weeks ago.  When asked what his favorite team was, a guy I know said he was undecided.  He made it sound like he didn't know much about the sport and was still formulating an opinion.  I have a feeling he knew exactly how he felt and intentionally chose to not have a favorite team.  I liked the idea and latched onto it. 

So that's how it's gonna be.  I'm not basing my decision entirely on fantasy football, mainly because I just started about a month ago.  That interest may fade.  But my disinterest in a favorite team probably won't. #sports