Oregon Daily Emerald S ports ■
If you’re going to be a fan, you gotta follow rules
This spat <• wits originally
going to hi' taken up with
an heartbreaking (tmmwtl
tarv on tin' amazing dismantling
of tin' Oil I Ins (.1 iw hoy s. featuring
lorry Jones and liniinv Johnson,
hut tilings i hanged Afti-r taking
a frnuid to llio bus station this
morning, I had the opportunity
to road four newspapers while
vvuti fling the 10 00 bus slowly
turn into the 10 4S departun'
I’ve read enough common
taries and different angles oil the
breakup to make me sic k and
they combined to tout h all the
points I hoped to. so I won't
bore you with any more of this
besides, .IS a lifelong Cowboy
fan. I'm having a little trouble
keeping my eyes drv as the
sound of Johnson's "How bout
them Cowboys" and sight of
Jones and Johnson, arm-in-arm
with the Super Howl trophy
raised high runs through my
brain
So as I Ml here and mourn tin*
i rippling ol mv beloved Cow
boys, I'd like to lit IW uIkiiiI the art
of being a fan OK, maybe I'm
taking sports a little seriously by
railing the ai lions of fans an art.
but it really is So ns we study
the fans, or artists let's look at
the ground rules
RULE NO. 1- Pick a team, any
team, hut just one team The
[irst step in Iteing a fan is finding
a team to root for and stu king
with them I Ins is not as easy as
it may sound, because if you're
going lo lie ci true fan. it's a it' 1 i
sum Ili.il will affi*i I von for
v ears
There is nothing more frus
tralmg Ilian .1 person who
1 hanges favorite If a ms People
ofli'ii trv justifying this In saving
linn Iratii'tl their favorite plavt-r.
dr.ifli'il someone thev don’t like
di However, none of these
e si uses are good enough You
jin k the team, vou keep the
team
A friend of mine was a
Philadelphia 7(.ers fan until Iasi
\e.ir when thev drafted Shawn
lirudlev His hate (or Hradlev
made him unable to root for the
7(>ers anymore and he is now in
purgatory, trying to find a new
team lo like This is a dirts t vio
lation of fandom Rule No 1
Also, no i boosing two or three
teams ns ii favorite !l is ok to
Imvi! a i unpin of olfuir teams you
like, but (hurt! should always lie
one team that is the real (nvnntr
team Another friend of mine
has made a habit of < boosing a
new baseball team every year,
and it's no (.nine.idem.e that
every year it's a good team that
can contend This too is unfair
and in diret t violation of Kule
No 1
RIU.F NO. 2-No Bandwagon
fans allowed I'll use an exam
(ib* to make this rule i lear 1-et s
take the case of talk show host
Arsenic "I'll root for you only if
it’s hip to" Hall, who was one of
the mainstays at the Forum lor
Srm Mims
I A lakers games during their
sin i essful run 111 the mm is
When tlie l akers went had
last \ear. Hall sold his i ourtside
seats to the games It made sense
to hint, hei ause the l.akers
weren't on teles ision mill h am
more and so it wasn't hip to he
.It the I oruiil So what's the use
of shelling out the lug bin ks if
there's no 1 V < ameras to show
it
However. last week "Manic
Johnson, (ho loader of.lho 1‘lHOs
Showtime Lakers, was namoci
head c one h and it became hip to
go to the games again. Jack
Nii holson led a pai k of stars
who returned to the- seats that
made them as famous as any
movie in tlie 1‘tttOs However, by
jumping riff the bandwagon,
flail was left out in the c old and
had to buy seats
There is nothing more frus
trating than a bandwagon fan
Ibis is the type of person who
rmits for the team during its sin
t essful years and then cpm kly
jumps to a new team when bad
times hit It's amazing how few
1. A I nkers and Boston Celtic s
( lothw I see niivinon
Sty lc is another aspet t of the
bandwagon. I've never been
known for inv dapper dressing
styles so I »ill refrain front
telling anyone how to dress lint
it does bet ome annoying vs ben
people wear hats and other
things of te,mis that they have
no lovalty I"
Before anyone tails in the
At I I' bet ause I nt taking a wav
freetloin of tlress. I want to reit
erate that it is just my wish that
people would only wear the
t lothes of the teams they like
Isn't that the point of buying
t lothes ss itli team logos, to show
support'
l or .1 while now. I've been
i onsidering going around ( am
|ms and asking people at ran
dorn with baseball hats on to
name at least five people on the
team of the hat they an' wearing
I wonder how many rwallv mold
do this'
Another part of this rule is to
continue rooting for a team no
matter how bad the season is
going Even if vour favorite base
ball team is ^H-127 heading into
the final week of the season, you
should he rooting for them to
win ea< h gume This |ust has to
do with pride.
RULE NO 3- Enjoy the good
times Believe me, as a fa.ii there
are only a limited number of
sue (esses and even fewer titles,
so when c hampionships ore ur,
i (definite For me. the recent
bai k to h.n k ( oWhoy s tit Ics
were onlv the sis ond and third .1
favorite team of mine fins won
si nee ! followed thom. going
along with tin- Kansas , it\ Res
Ills 19S 1 World Series tit e
There aren't mans times that
are as rewarding as when the
team vnu follow at tuallv wills
the i hampionship It quit klv
makes all the early plnvoff fail
ures and heartbreaking losses go
nwav As someone who took a
lot of grief for the Cowboys 1 1 r>
record in 1989. it has been fun
to gloat now Kspei uillv in front
of people who followed the
Cowboys in the 1970 s and
1 mho's, before finding a new
team when the Cowboys
slipped
So iill you fans out then*, keep
up the ( heenng and the support,
hut try to follow a couple guide
lines that make it fair for all of
us I don't mind hearing a life
long fan brag about his team's
sui c ess However, when the
same person roots for the Lakers
in 1991 to beat my Blazers and
the Bulls hi 199.;. it gets a little
unfair And annoying
However, if your one and only
team does win. go ahead and
holler, you've earned it And
while you're at it. enjoy it while
it lasts because pretty soon that
team might do something that
kills you like hire Barry
Switzer
S/eve Mims is the Sports Fill
tor of the Kmeraid
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r
ATTENTION WRITERS Of POETRY AND FKTIONt
In the first week of the coming Spring Term the ( rralivr Writing Program will be accepting
applications tor not year j Kidd TbtmrimL Hr d likr to encourage ail students who are
interested in developing their potential as writers lo apph for this unique program Friday,
April IS, 1994 »iB be the dradlme for application to this program and will also be the deadline
for entering the competition for the Kidd Priirs m fiction and poctrv Submissions must be
rrcnred in the ( reative Writing Office ( olumbia Kail. Room 144
Heat's the KM TaUriaJ all abtit? The goal of the program is to encourage
undergraduate writing by giving students the opportunity lo do intensive wort in small groups (or
a full year i bach trmi students enroll in CRHK 410 a four unit class which may be taken for a
gradr oe for crrdil ) Students are espreted to write a great deal lu participate in workshops and
to hold conferences with their tutors They are espec ted to read a great deal as well the goal
bring to irarn to read as writers that is to read poetr> arid fiction cfosrh with an eve for craft
legairmrals: H* rr taking for full time undergraduates who havr a strong desire to
write a willingness to work hard and the ability to give and receive constructive criticism
Students frum ail grade Irvrb majors and wnting backgrounds mav apph Hr would abo like to
rn< *uragr minority students lo apph While it is usuaih helpful to havr takrn previous
courv wock in creative writing it is not required
Haw !• apply: Admission to the Kidd Tutorial is based upon two things a sample of portr\
or fiction and a statement of interest in the program >ou ruav include a separate page which lists
am literature and'or writing courses vou hair taken and if they wrrr taken here at l O the
names of the instructors this would be in support of vour application and not required (Vase
put your name on everything vou submit. dip or staple your work together and atu« h a • >rr
slvret which mrludrs your name student It* number addrrss and trieph' -.r number
The writing sample: Helioi writers * ' s ’ ;nit or abort ston •_!w s? .rt s' f
stones There is no page requirement however vou sh old give us a sample which is long
!or us to fairh aaaess o . * »\ ri Ki st - ■ ■ ■.%! be typed Poets
should submit four to sis poems
The statement of interest: s'
i us Hr a/*- not looking 1m creative rrspons
We're hoping to ripaad the program seat yrar. so don't be shy about applying
\gali, the deadiiae for submitting work to the Kidd Tutonai and the hjdd Prices Is
Irtday, April IS. 1994. in the (realise Writing Office. Columbia Hail. Room 144
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