The joys of my favorite sports teams

Back "a few"years, say, in 1975-1976, I was coming of the age when sports was becoming a little more understandable for me. I was playing Little League, and soccer, and realizing how entertaining it was to watch sports on television. So of course, I had to start choosing my favorite teams. Like so many people who decide that they must have a favorite team, especially when they are new to the sport, or new to following that sport, usually whoever is the best team at that time, is their favorite.

I must say, I fell into that pattern hook, line, and sinker.

Lets start with baseball. It was my first year of baseball, and I was given the "opportunity" to play catcher for the whole season. Part way through, my coach started calling me "Little Johnny Bench". At the time, I was thinking "who the heck is that?" So, I found out that Johnny Bench played for the Cincinnatti Reds. I did some research on him (if you call an 8 year old reading a sports page as research), and thought that it fit pretty nicely. The Reds won the World Series, so, I became a Reds fan.

Next is hockey. Now, growing up in the central valley of California, it's not like that area was a hot-bed for hockey. I don't believe there were any games shown on television (mabye CBS?). So I was left with the newspaper again. My baseball team that I was on was called the Islanders. It just so happened that there was a team from New York called the Islanders. They won the Stanley Cup that year, and my baseball team took first place, so, that was an easy call.

Basketball. My dad was a Golden State Warriors fan, and he got me to listen to the games with him on the radio. He also taught me how to keep score sheets, so there we were, lying on the rug, listening to the games. He took me to a couple of games, Warriors won the championship, and there you have it.

Finally football. Ahh, the Oakland Raiders. They were close by, they had a bunch of gnarly, scary looking dudes. They were viscious on the field. They won the Super Bowl in 1976. Another pretty easy pick.

There's the old saying of "the past is nice, but what have you done for me lately?" Now-adays, it is tough for me to admit who my favorite teams are. Lets take a look...

The Reds. Their last championship was in 1990 I believe. The baseball season starts in April, and for the last two decades, their season has been basically over by the end of May.

The Islanders. They've been bad for so long, they're looking at the possibility now of moving from New York because of lack of fan base. Sigh.

The Warriors. Yeah, they had a nice season two years ago, taking down Dallas in the first round of the playoffs. But their last championship? Scroll up for that answer.

The Raiders. Double sigh. Are they even a professional team anymore? Would someone please tell Al Davis (owner) that it's no longer the 60's and 70's please. I stuck with that team when they moved to (gulp) Los Angeles, and was pretty happy when they moved back to Oakland. Now their home games are usually blacked out in my area because they don't sell enough tickets. They play so horribly, that it's actually painful to watch.

I continue to stick with those teams. They are still my favorites. Yes, I've picked up a few teams that I'd rather watch, like the San Jose Sharks and 49ers (because they are close by). But all in all, my faves are my faves.

I must be a glutton for let-downs.

Joyous.