Is it me?

I am a fan of the Washington Redskins, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Washington Capitals, New York Jets, and Tennessee Volunteers. Do you see a pattern? Every team I cheer for is either terrible, loses at the worst moments possible, hasn’t won a championship in my lifetime or ever. Which begs me to ask the question, is it me?  Am I a curse?

The last time any team I love won a championship was the Washington Redskins in 1991. I didn’t care about football in 1991. I was too busy creating Jamestown out of Popsicle sticks and learning about the fundamentals of the 1st grade. I have lived in NYC for 3 years and have witnessed a Giants and a Yankees parade. Both events were painful. I have listened to Yankees fans discuss how hard it’s been for them in the past and how 27 championships still isn’t enough.

I worked with a Pittsburgh fan when the Penguins and Steelers won. It took all my self control not to throw a bar stool directly at their face.  I had the unfortunate pleasure of being in Los Angeles a week after the Lakers won their 2nd consecutive championship. I had to watch a group of people from Philadelphia run around a bar like kids on Christmas morning with the Phillies won the World Series. I was in a stadium full of fake-American soccer fans when Turkey lost to the USA in the pre-World Cup friendly. That might have been the worst, but at this point all of these sad events just seem to blur together.

I feel as if I am constantly surrounded by people celebrating the happiness of their teams success, while I do my best to fake some sort of happiness for their pleasure.

So I ask you, is it me? Am I the problem? I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC and as much as I couldn’t contain my excitement to leave, I still have a place in my heart for my hometown. The Capitals and Redskins are the reason I am a sports fan. The Nationals…well the Nationals were a mistake, but I can’t turn my back on them now. I even tried to adopt a different MLB team in order to lessen the pain of the Nationals and I chose the Twins! Backfire!!

I don’t need my teams to win championships in order for me to love them (clearly) however it would be nice to get the chance to watch a championship parade while wearing the teams jersey. It would be nice to reach for a beer after a championship game not in depression, but in celebration.

Capitals, Jets, Suns…you’re my only real hope this year.  Do you hear me?

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