What it means to represent your team

You see it everywhere about sport. Ethnic slurs, homophobic slurs, death threats, offers to fight. Fans from just about every team seem to come about and these things pop out. While some fans might be more vocal than others, we need to realize that, on these sites, we have become fans of these teams, and therefore, represent those teams. Admittedly, most of the people reacting in these ways are most often young fans, teenagers and folk in their early twenties. when people speak as they do, they don't realize that they are taking away from the organization they claim to love.

I admire a fan's passion for the game, as anyone who is on this site are gung-ho and go team go. I am a Cowboys fan, and spoke at length on this very site to a lifelong Redskins fan about rivalries long past, and realized that, between the two of us, it was one team that elevated the other and made it relevant. Drew Pearson being covered by a rookie Darell Green, and Michael Irvin in Green's middle to late years. Randy White, LaVar Arrington, Art monk, Tony Hill, Emmitt Smith, Ernest Byner, the No-Name Defense and the Posse. While they did wonderful things in their time, being a Redskin or Cowboy is what sets them apart in the lore of other teams. This goes for any sport's rivalry. Red Sox-Yankees, Lakers-Celtics, USC-UCLA. To belittle people for such a choice is just another way of belittling your own team. Respect that  team is a rival because it is, or was, good enough to be considered a threat to your team.

Ultimately, we are fans of a game. Baseball fans, football fans, basketball, or soccer fans. We are fans of the game because of the marvels of human athleticism, fortitude, and ingenuity. So, when Albert Pujols strokes a Carlos Zambrano sinker ball onto Waveland Avenue, I can only tip my cap and hope that Big Z can get The Machine next time. As a fan, sportsmanship and class are just as important as passion and intelligence. Remember, we are all part of humanity, and we are all fans of the same game, and represent the game we love as well.