There’s a tendency that many of us have, including at least two people I love and admire, to refer to our favorite teams as “we.”
For example …
“We lost that game because Anthony Parker didn’t do anything but miss two pointers.”
“We’ll never lose to the Celtics in the playoffs if Garnett isn’t healthy.”
“I can’t believe we won all those games with two quarterbacks who weren’t a threat to throw the ball.”
I understand the use of “we” as an expression of solidarity. We have some kind of connection to the team … maybe its from our hometown, maybe our parents rooted for it, maybe we’re front runners like LeBron. Because of this, we have a deep desire for our favorite team to win. The competition of the game we’re watching bleeds through the TV screen and infects us. We become as competitive as the players on the floor, the diamond, the field. We yell, we swear, sometimes we even sweat (I know I do).
Except there’s one huge difference…
We can’t control anything.
They play the game. We just watch.
They make roster moves. We just talk shit.
So next time I’m watching the Cavs game with Tim and DAD and they say to me, “We’re not rebounding well,” they’ll understand why I respond with something like, “I’m not doing anything. I wish I was able to rebound at all.”
The Cavs winning the championship this season is out of my hands. I wish it wasn’t, but it is.
And unless some monumental life change occurs, the Cavs will always be “they” and I will always be “me.”
For better or for worse.
