Sports Logic

Written by Wayne Coristine

Professional sports are a bizarre animal. They create an incredible source of pride and ownership for the millions of fans around the world. When you break it down to individual teams, there are all sorts of fans: the casual fan, the bandwagon jumper, the hardcore fan, the incredibly knowledgeable fan and the complete homer.

The homer is the most recognizable of all fans. He tends to be the loudest; the kind who throws unbridled support behind anything and everything the team does or says in the media. They can also give a team or a city a bad rap. The homer is well-known for clinging to any-and-all past success the team had, and use them as their trump card in any argument…even though those successes generally have little or nothing to do with the current edition of their teams.

Another problem with homerism is how much these fans value and devalue certain players on their team, often based solely on what the local broadcasts, papers and even the team makes public. The homer fan is generally quick to jump all over any player that spends any time in the coach’s doghouse and cries for that player to be sent out of town; often offering up trade scenarios that border on ridiculous.

If the homers get their wish, the team trades the scapegoat player, and he immediately plays better with his new team, homers are quick to denounce how bad that deal was and how the team never should have moved that player. The homer fan is a strange breed…they want it both ways and never acknowledge any of their hypocrisies.

I’m not saying loyalty to your favourite team is wrong, far from it. But there is a fine line between being a loyal fan and complete and utter bias. The best sports conversations are between people who have a balanced view on most of the teams in the league. With the bevy or sports channels and nationally broadcast games available, plus websites that allow you to watch virtually any game imaginable, more sports fans should take the opportunity and watch out of market teams. Watching the out-of-market teams not only allows you to see how good players throughout the game are, it’s actually a great barometer of what your team has to offer.

No matter who you cheer for, watching other teams a game or two before they play your team let’s you understand what your team is in for, who to watch and who to exploit. It gets you more into the game and makes you feel almost like an armchair scout.

Sports fans are nothing if they’re not entertaining. I’m not against cheering for your favourite team; everyone does it. It just makes for better conversation and debate when fans are able to criticize their favourite team and players positively and negatively. A more balanced view of the game makes for a more knowledgeable – and tolerable – sports fan.