Make Them Wish They Had Never Been Loyal To Their Country
The Chargers beat the Colts today.
I had been kind of torn by it.
The Dolphins have nothing to offer my oldest son, who is forming his allegiances at the crucial age of 7. It's at that tender age that you develop those deep, lasting bonds with a team (the kind that makes a 34-year-old man stick with a bunch of losers).
What do I offer him? Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor in the twilight of their careers? Some Mormon quarterback? The promise that some aging, self-important a-hole (Parcells) is going to ressurrect a once-proud franchise?
Well, at least they re-signed Ricky Williams.
Somehow, some way, he's picked the Chargers as his team. Playing that PS2, I imagine. All of a sudden it was all about LaDainian Tomlinson, so I got him a powder-blue L.T. jersey for Christmas.
During basketball practice today, a coach looks at him and wonders aloud how my boy's Chargers are doing against the Colts.
My boy and his team.
My boy. Not my team.
Interesting.
I'm pulling hard for the Chargers now that they've made it to the AFC championship game.
I want my boy's team to be good. I want the hero whose number he wears to do something ... heroic ... for him.
And something else: A part of me had wanted the Colts to win because I thought they had the best shot at ruining the Patriots' perfect season. After all, besides the one win we got this year, all we've got left is 16-0 perfection in 1972. Even though the Patriots have 17-0, I'd love to see it 17-1. Hell, I don't care if it's 18-1. Just don't let them end it perfect.
And, yes, that's what losers who use to be winners do. They become haters.
But, no, I've got to go with my boy.
And ... what if the Chargers could knock them off?
The Dolphins got two shots at the Patriots this season and couldn't do anything with it. No repeat of Marino ruining the Bears' perfect '85 season.
But what if my boy's team can do it for me? Save this old man's glimmer of faded glory?
And here I thought it'd be a while longer before I'd be leaving it to my children to handle my business.
2 comments:
At least he's not a Jets or Patriots fan. It would be much harder to deal with if he was a fan of one of the Dolphin's hated rivals. I remember the disappointment my dad felt when he realized I didn't hate Texas as much as he did. Or hate Texas at all, for that matter. But, we still had Notre Dame to hate together, so it wasn't all bad.
Did you see Tom Brady's "scramble" in that last game? He got out of the pocket and did a slide AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE when there was NOONE IN SIGHT.
What a pansy.
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