KIRS Notebook – Fans Jumping Ship

Hey Guys,

How do you feel about this “Seinfeld” clip, its a commentary about being a fan.

20+ years later that clip is so relevant. I think most people are guilty of “rooting for clothes” and it’s a sign of the times. I know a girl who knows basketball really well and has been watching Ray Allen since he was at UConn. As you can imagine because she’s a huge Ray Allen fan she’s been a fan of the Bucks, Sonics, Celtics, Heat and whatever team he signs with this year. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was a Lincoln Railsplitters jersey in her closet either. Anyway, is she any more or less of a fan because she roots for one player no matter where he plays? We see it all over the place though. It’s hard to call it a problem because before free agency, these players were basically indentured servants to one franchise and one owner. I will say though, there’s something to be said about a player that comes up with one team and stays with them his entire career. Those guys tend to get more respect.

What counts as a fickle reason for rooting for a team though? I don’t think that rooting for a team because of your hometown is a bad thing. That seems like more of a tradition thing to me. I’m a Knicks fan because my dad was a Knicks fan, and I’d imagine my son (if I have one) might be one too. On the other side of the coin, I’m a Miami Hurricanes fan because I started watching college football on my own when I was around 8 or 9 and just fell in love with the team. So I can see both sides of the argument.

I have a bigger issue with people jumping on bandwagons when a team is good then fans that jump ship when a team is bad. It’s essentially the same thing though lol…to be fair, if there was a good college football team in the New York Metro area, I’d probably root for them. I’m not rooting for Rutgers or UConn and Columbia sucks. Plus, how can I not root for the team that basically invented swagger?

I guess for me personally being a Knicks, Jets, and Mets fan are just what I can easily identify with. Even when rooting for Michigan State, I think since I went there it represents a portion of me. I’ve always been a fan of specific players, but at the end of the day I always wanted them to play for my favorite teams.

  I think this whole bouncing around to various different teams shows a lack of loyalty. What happened to the good ol days where we would stick with our teams through thick and thin and bask in the glory of watching our team go from terrible to a contender? I get more gratification from that then out of no where being a Spurs fan.. But that’s just me

The idea of loyalty is gone. Loyalty doesn’t exist in college or the pros. It’s rare to see someone stay with one franchise their entire career. All we can do is bear no ill will toward that player if he does leave. I was a big Jose Reyes fan. I can’t blame him for leaving because the Mets owners and front office are inept. Fans can call him greedy but he did what was best for him.