I’m a Patriots fan

Before we get started, I know that explaining my love for one football team more than another is a bit obscure. Who cares, right?

However, the parallel grapples of today are far more difficult to discuss sensitively, and I’d rather step on the toes of a Colts fan than someone passionate about more delicate issues.

Fans of the Indianapolis Colts often confront me on the days I wear my New England Patriots skullcap, especially on the rare occasion when my team encountered a loss during the weekend.

I must say, I bring it upon myself sometimes.

I’m an infamous Colts-hater above all else, and those who know it have impeccable timing, choosing me as the first person they call to gloat about a Patriots loss.
Needless to say, after the 21-28 loss the New York Jets dealt the Pats this weekend during the Divisional round of the 2010 Playoffs, people were eager to point me out.
Particularly a group of guys that was passing me in the hall Sunday night.

“Why are you still wearing that hat?”

“Why are you a Patriots fan?”

Comments like this bring about a couple of thoughts.

First: Maybe there is one thing I do dislike more than the Colts. The Colts fan base.

From what I remember as a little girl compared to now, Colts fans have gone from irrelevant to royalty in the blink of an eye, and it is inescapable, even if you cross state lines.

While my dislike runs through every vein in my body, I commend Colts fans on some levels.

I would rather they do well than, say, J-E-T-S fans (notoriously drunken smack-talkers are far more terrible to deal with in the off-season if they win any sort of Super Bowl).
All fan bases are unique and have their own set of beliefs (geez, that sounds too much like religion), and it will always be fun to talk trash with our rivals.

However, this time, when a very confident Colts fan tried to knock me off of my pedestal, asking why I am a Patriots fan and not a Colts fan, I decided against pointing out that the Colts lost in the Wild Card round this year and decided to give myself an answer.

Funnily enough, I was raised in a house where my father cheered for the Pittsburgh Steelers and my mother for the Tennessee Titans, both of which have notorious fan bases.

Maybe I would have stuck to cheering for those two teams for the rest of my life if a parent in my fifth grade class hadn’t brought in cookies designed like NFL helmets.
I would say that picking up that New England Patriots helmet was a life-changing moment, a choice that determined my destiny.

But the truth is, I was a kid who liked cookies, and the fact that I took interest in the team I was eating was only a bonus when I began understanding the game.
I can’t say that it was an unwise decision, there are three championship rings to boot.
Today, as an educated Patriots fan, I can say that I love this team for a multitude of reasons, and I wouldn’t dare go back in time just to better mesh with my Coltish surroundings.

I like a team that doesn’t make me feel obliged to paint my naked chest in roaring royal and silvery silver (that’s both scandalous and terribly redundant).
Now, some would say that being a fan should entail a fiery sort of passion that involves war paint and a cacophony of incoherent screaming and belligerent degrading of opposing quarterbacks. I’m not that sort of fan.

I just want to watch the game.

Lamely put, the Patriots and I are in an open relationship.

I can feel free to skip out on a game or two to spend it with the Vikings, whom I am often sweet on because of their retired-unretired quarterback.

My Pats also don’t mind if I go to sleep in the midst of the game. We talk about it in the morning, and they don’t make me feel guilty about it.

A Patriots game is a direct reflection of the sorts of relationships I tend to lead — four 15-minute intervals of action, and when I ask about it later, I receive an attitude that says “If you got yours, great.

If you didn’t, we can try again later, but I’m not too concerned about it right now.”
Sarcasm and jokes aside, asking why I’m a Patriots fan will rarely get you a straight answer.

I love my team, and I will never take off my hat to appease the majority’s choice.
In fact, I will wear it just to see the smiting glares when I stand at bus stops if that helps me get my point across.

It’s just a game, right?


E-mail: aysymatz@indiana.edu