Inspired by Night Owl

I was inspired after reading Night Owl Cards 2014 preseason ranking of teams he likes and dislikes so I decided to do the same but from a different angle. Like Night Owl my favorite trumps all else.  I will briefly discuss teams, one player and a uniform that I like and dislike. Now, with the exception of some Giants’ fans, I don’t dislike other team’s fans or cities. So please take this in the lightness this is intended to be.

The only National League team I root for is the Padres. I have always enjoyed the Padres with Tony Gwynn, Steve Garvey, Jake Peavey, and Dave Winfield.  My wife is from the SD and I love their people, city, beer, and food. Even though she revoked her Padres’ nation citizenship she still pulls for the Padres. The one uniform I root against is any Padres’ uniform that came after the brown and the gold. Will someone please bring back the brown and gold uniforms!

Because of the spending spree they have gone on since Magic Johnson and the new ownership has taken over I root against the Dodgers. It isn’t good for baseball to have a new version of the Steinbrenner Yankees on the west coast. Opps I almost forgot about the Cubs. It is natural to root against the North Siders. However, Chicago is a wonderful city, the people cool, and I have many great memories from the Windy City. For kicking Jason LaRue in the head and ending his career I root against Johnny “Kung Fu” Cueto. Watch for yourself.

The only fans I root against are some Giants’ fans. Since I live in the bay area I know many Giants’ fans and they are good people and good fans. These aren’t the fans I root against. It is the “fans” that sat behind us during the 2007 All-Star game, the numerous “fans” that were down right hostile towards us during games against the Cardinals, the “fans” that threw items at, and taunted, three teenage girls in their A’s gear during an inner league game as we sat a few rows behind. This is how some Giants' fans celebrate a World Series championship. Imagine if they lost the series at home?

There are three teams I pull for in the American League. First up are the Rangers. My mother is from Texas and during the 1980s I spent many summers in the Big D. The A’s are the next team I root for. This goes way back to the mid-70s, then the Bash Brothers, etc., and our experience with A’s fans at two inner league games against the Cardinals this past June. We were full on Cardinals’ geared up and unlike a Giants’ game we never got a jeer, a curse, a stink eye, nor had anything thrown at us. Nothing, not even walking through the tailgating section of the parking lot were we made to feel anything but welcome. This is how fans of all teams ought to behave towards others.  The last team I root for is the Tigers. I lived in Ann Arbor, MI from August 1999 to August 2005. Unlike my wife I didn’t get a chance to see a game at old Tiger Stadium. However, I did see several games in new Tiger Stadium. While I lived in A2 they were terrible, I mean awful. The Tigers had an over all record during this time of 455 and 677.