Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Making new fans
For the second night in a row, I helped put the girls to bed and then came downstairs to watch baseball, but this has raised a question for me. How do kids decide on teams? One told me last night that she wants the Giants to win, but the other picked the Royals ( I'm pretty sure neither really had much concept of any teams other than the Twins until the last week or so). Obviously they aren't just picking my team, so it's not quite that simple (though obviously that pattern is fairly common). Last fall, this fall's Giants fan consistently chose the football team that was playing against my Niners, but now she's on my side. Meanwhile, her little sister has changed course, choosing the Royals even though she historically has liked my teams. So...what's the deal? Is this a phase and an assertion of independence? Did they see colors they liked on the uniforms? Do their friends have opinions that matter in shaping their decisions on this (this is why these two insist on having Washington NFL tshirts)? Are they just choosing opposite sides out of sibling rivalry? I have no clue, and asking them didn't provide one either. Maybe if there is a game they can stay up to watch I will be able to figure it out.
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Now that the series is over i can actually concentrate.
ReplyDeleteAs far as new fans- I can speak for myself and how I will with Kayden. For myself it was a geographical decision. Grew up with baseball, played baseball and love baseball. The Giants are my favorite team of any sport, followed by Niners, Cal, and than the Kings. Mom/Dad took us to both A's and Giants game growing up, but I went to spring training for the Giants and thus when I got older I rooted more for them. Lots of people who didn't really watch/play sports start rooting for teams based on past success, colors and or relevance at the time (Cowboys fan that live in california). Fans choose teams that are doing well when they choose them, that's why the cubs don't have any fans outside of chicago because Chicago has sucked for more than a century. I also grew up rooting against certain teams, mostly because dad did (notre dame). I have no beef with nd, it's mostly their fans i can't stand. Kayden can choose whomever he wants to root for and for whatever sport. If he likes the dodgers, lakers, cowboys and notre dame football, i will be upset but there's nothing i can do. Those are his teams. I won't force anything on him.