In case you haven't heard, the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. This is a big deal around our neck of the woods. Since the baseball playoffs began several weeks ago, it has also been big business."I'm the only one without a Phillies anything," whined my daughter on "Phillies Day" at her elementary school. I thought my five year-old's assessment of her peers' wardrobes was a gross exaggeration...until I picked her up from school. Almost every man, woman, and child who exited the building was wearing a Phillies t-shirt, and 99.99 % of them had never been washed.
I apologized to my daughter for making her a social outcast, but I didn't give in. We like the Phillies, but we definitely don't bleed red, white, and blue. Out of respect to the true Phillies fans--those who have endured dismal seasons and the annoying Philly Phanatic (the team mascot) for the past two decades--I won't pretend like I am Chase Utley's #1 fan. Nor will I let my kids pretend like they are either.
That night, my husband sat down our eldest three and explained to them the importance of not being a poser.
"Just because everyone else is buying Phillies gear," he told them, "It doesn't make it right."
"When you're an adult," my husband added, "You can pick which church to attend and which teams to cheer for, but until then, we decide."
That was my cue to produce the visual aids. Next to a picture of our church's temple, I placed a Duke jersey, Angels t-shirt, and special edition UCLA Bruins 3D soda cup.
Everyone got the point.
The only problem with spelling out our loyalties so clearly is that now when our kids want to get our goat, they threaten us with the unthinkable.
"When I grow up," screamed Cortlen yesterday, "I'm going to cheer for the Phillies!"
Tim shrugged his shoulders.
"And Carolina! Go Tar Heels!"
My husband turned white as a sheet.
"Just because everyone else is buying Phillies gear," he told them, "It doesn't make it right."
"When you're an adult," my husband added, "You can pick which church to attend and which teams to cheer for, but until then, we decide."
That was my cue to produce the visual aids. Next to a picture of our church's temple, I placed a Duke jersey, Angels t-shirt, and special edition UCLA Bruins 3D soda cup.
Everyone got the point.
The only problem with spelling out our loyalties so clearly is that now when our kids want to get our goat, they threaten us with the unthinkable.
"When I grow up," screamed Cortlen yesterday, "I'm going to cheer for the Phillies!"
Tim shrugged his shoulders.
"And Carolina! Go Tar Heels!"
My husband turned white as a sheet.
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13 comments
Yeah! I am first......Way to go not giving in to peer pressure. As avid KU fans who have supported our school through ups and downs. It was very sweet indeed when they won the hoops title last spring. But, yes we were super bugged by all the "posers" who came out of the woodwork and hopped on the bandwagon. Sorry, we will never let our kids cheer for the Tarheels (Boo Roy Williams) OR the Blue Devils but I am impressed that you are not fair weather fans:)
As a die hard USC Trojans fan the day my son declared his love for Notre Dame was the day I disowned him!
Also this family is a die hard Padres and Chargers fans... that should explain it all LOL
I love picturing your little shrine of sports paraphenalia stacked up around the temple photo. It's nice to make sure all those doctrinal points are nice and clear. (And despite all blashpemy, I love NC and I cheer for both the Heels and the Blue Devils, and just watch for fun when they play each other.)
Kids as smart as their parents.. :)
I told the boys last time I saw them that they were supposed to cheer for the Red Sox!
Born and raised with the Dukies you'd think I'd be all dark blue inside. NOPE! My Dad loved UNC.. in fact, we weren't even aloud to date boys who liked Duke. Is was Tarheel everything, we had a rams head statue and my Dad even got some of the original seats from the Dean Smith center when they rebuilt it (Michael Jordan's numbered seat along with many other players) and hung it on our fence around the pool.
He even carved the winning score (Duke versus UNC) one year in our pumpkin for Halloween! LOL
I think I'm the only Durham native that screams "Go Heels!" ;)
Mr. Farty rides around in a Wisconsin Badgers car seat...wearing his Wisconsin Badgers snow suit. I have a sad suspicion he will hate UW in a few years just for spite...
There will be nothing wrong when your boys decide that Tar Heels are much better than Duke.
Yes. We were given bad looks at the parade for not wearing Philly gear.
The problem is you didn't start brainwashing your kids soon enough. We started the Penn State brainwashing of my triplets when they were about 6 weeks old. We also encourage them to root for the Steelers. However, there is a BIG difference of opinion between their parents if they should root for the Pirates or Yankees. They are only 2 so right now they have to wear whatever team I put on them.
Lori
Great post! I read almost everyday, but don't comment so often. But today, I just had to shout out "Go Duke!" :O)
Yikes. I thought we were long lost twins but DUKE? The ANGELS? Eww. Though our team choices differ drastically, the conversations in our house ring familiar.
This made me chuckle! I think I've bought stuff for just about every university/state team we've lived near. Walmart makes the prices extremely attractive! I have no loyalties except one: a rival of the USU Aggies. Okay---all in-state rivals of the Aggies!
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