Five things you can do to become a more credible sports fan.

5. Stop referring to your favorite teams as “We"

            I get it, you’re passionate, you never miss a game, you know the complete history of a team and you have closet full of merchandise.

Call it a hobby.  Call it an obsession.  Just don’t call it a job and using “we” when referring to your favorite club indicates that may be exactly what you believe.

Not trying to be an ass, but you’re not a player, coach, general manager, owner, water boy or even the practice facility’s janitor.

You’re not getting paid, you’re not practicing and you’re not making major team decisions.  However, if you’re rich, and do happen to own some a percentage of a team with a return on your investment, carry on. 

Green Bay fans that bought “stock” in the Packers a couple years ago don’t count.  That piece of paper is worthless. They receive no special privileges on merchandise or seating and see zero profit.  Still not part of the team.

4. Leave "Bandwagon" fans alone

I think it’s finally time for me to go to an actual Chicago Blackhawks Hockey game. 

That’s right, I’ve never been to a Blackhawks game and I literally live three blocks from the stadium. 

Honestly, until the 2010 season, when they won the Stanley Cup, I, along with half of the Chicagoland area had no desire to go.

That’s cause growing up, the team was dreadful and their senile owner, Bill Wirtz Sr., would not televise home games as he thought it would be unfair to the small minority of season ticket holders. 

Wirtz croaked in 07, his son took over, and the team’s been a cash cow ever since.

Six years ago, you could give Blackhawks tickets away, now they’re one of the most sought after in town.

This angers the old-school Blackhawks fan that spent a lot of years watching what a 2004 ESPN article called the worst franchise in all of sports, ALL OF SPORTS! Veteran Blackhawks fans would rather be bitter about new fans hopping on the bandwagon than just enjoy the team’s new found success.

Do “real fans” actually think their favorite players care whether the people who pay for those seats or who take their time to watch them have been rooting for as long as 30 years or just as recent as yesterday?

They don’t.   Why not enjoy the ride and attention that comes with being a consistently competitive franchise? If anything those people should be helping to inform the less knowledgeable fans.

Or go ahead and be a jerk. Just get out of my face with the “Oh, you’re just watching because they’re winning now” argument.

3. Stop being hateful

              While I stay true to the Windy City with my rooting interests, I have friends who are Vikings fans, Heat fans, Ohio State fans, Pistons fans, Twins fans, Packers fans, Cubs fans, Redwings fans, Knicks fans etc.  During the season, when their teams meet mine, yeah, I’ll talk some shit, because it’s fun. There's never any ill-will intended.

Afterwards, it’s over with until next time.  I don’t post pictures of another team’s cheerleader and berate her with names like some Bears fans did on one of their Facebook Fan pages.

 I don’t make fun of a player’s recently-deceased grandmother like a group Duke fans did last week in a basketball game against North Carolina State when they chanted "How's your Grandma?"

 I wouldn't knock a man out like some Baltimore Ravens fan did to a guy who was wearing a Ben Rothlisberger Jersey during their Super Bowl parade.  Maybe they thought it really was Ben?

There are always going to be people in EVERY fan base of EVERY sport who take things to the extreme.  It’s not just limited to one group and it’s more a problem of society in general.

As human beings, we need to start being better to each other.  Trust me, it’s not the end of the world if your team of choice loses to it's rival.  Saying or doing something hurtful isn’t going to make you feel any better.

2. If you interact with an athlete, don’t be an asshole

            When attending Bulls games the last few years, I’ve been fortunate enough to end up sitting behind the visitor’s bench.  It’s a pretty fun fan experience from a league where the players are a lot more open to fan interaction during games than others. 

Last season, Brooklyn Nets Shooting Guard Josh Childress (then on the Phoenix Suns) was pretty receptive to our jokes and cool about posing for a photo.  At a different game, Lakers Forward (a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers at the time) Antwan Jamison couldn’t stop laughing after my buddy “U” offered to broker a trade that would send him to the Bulls and ship out mercurial Bulls Forward Carlos Boozer.

It was a nice departure from a season earlier when I was at a game with my father and the two bros sitting five seats down decided to harass and shout at then Dallas Mavericks SG DeShawn Stevenson regarding a 2001 statutory rape charge (reduced to a misdemeanor, got off with community service).   

Sorry fellas but it’s a Basketball game, not a court room or the street.  By the second quarter, security had tossed these clowns.  They ended up looking like idiots while potentially getting the season ticket holder who gave them their tickets into trouble.

 Nice job dickheads.

Situations like this are what make some athletes weary of interacting with fans. I mean what’s the point if some jackass is going to get into your face every minute with a snarky comment?

If you happen to spot a famous athlete in a public place that you’re not a fan of, don’t pay attention to him or her. 

I promise you 9 times out of 10, if you walk over and say something unnecessary, you'll come out looking like the asshole.

1. Understand Sports are just a distraction

            Tom Brady isn’t going to go to work for you tomorrow.  Kobe Bryant isn’t going to pay your cable bill.  A-Rod isn’t going to chauffeur your kids to soccer practice and Patrick Kane isn’t going to help you and your girl get back together (He’ll probably get ON her, if anything).

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren once told Sports Illustrated, “I always turn to the sports section first.  The sports section records man’s accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man’s failures.”

Sports are just a distraction to take away some of the stress and trials of the every day grind.  We choose to make them apart of our lives and that’s a beautiful thing but we should always remember that after the game is over, there’s still a life to live and if you understand that, you’ll be all right in the world.

-WST