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Wow! It’s Wednesday: Are You Ready For Some Football?

To tell you the truth, I only became a fan of football less than 10 years ago. I think this is because I’ve always found it incredibly hard to follow what’s going on and find myself having to ask lots of questions to keep up. But it’s also because I didn’t grow up with a team. The Cardinals left St. Louis when I was just a kid, and “Good riddance” according to all the men in my family. The Rams moved to St. Louis shortly before I left for college. And they didn’t go to the Super Bowl until I was abroad in Japan.

Not until I moved to Pittsburgh (for what I thought would be a couple of months, but for what turned out to be over three years) did I discover the beauty of living in a sports town. The only thing that cut across the intense gray shadow that is a Pittsburgh winter were the black and gold signs that sprouted up all over town and the ebullience that took the city over whenever the Steelers even hinted that they might make it to the Super Bowl. “Go Stillers” people called to me upon meeting and departing, like Hawaiians say “Aloha!”

What’s funny is I became a fan even before they started winning again, getting my hopes up every year, only to have them crushed in the playoffs.

But then a miracle happened. Less than two years after I moved from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles, the Steelers won. Then they won AGAIN two years later. And now, two years later, they’re in the Super Bowl again.

To my great surprise, I find that I cheer for my one true team in the same manner as my father. Yelling at the TV when things are not going their way, yelling at the TV even when they are. This, I think, alarms my husband and MIL who both watch football quietly, content to smile broadly when their teams score, while I insist on not only waving my terrible towel, but also singing a 70s-marching-band-inspired ditty that I like to call the “What-What!” song. Ask me about this the next time you see me IRL and I’ll sing it for you.

So today’s question is two fold. I’m wondering how the rest of you came to love the football teams that you love. And I’m also wondering how you cheer for them. Are you a yeller and a crower like me or a quiet smile and nodder like my husband? Either way, sound off in the comments.