Odd allegiances

When you are a boy, your allegiances and dislikes are created by the simplest occurances. For instance, my first big sports hero was Mickey Mantle. I think that hero was shared by a ton of boys all over the country, not just in parts of New York. But when I was growing up, I didn't live anywhere particularly close to a major sports team. When I was old enough to be aware of professional sports, we lived in Indianapolis. Indianapolis is right square in the center of the state of Indiana. Chicago is to the northwest. Cincinnati is to the southeast. Cleveland is to the northeast and St. Louis is to the southwest. Even most of the major colleges are spread out away from Indianapolis: Purdue, Indiana, Notre Dame. Only Butler and IUPU are in the general area.

As I got older, I remember sending off for a baseball book which included a part on hitting by Pete Rose and a part on pitching by Denny McClain. Both were big stars in professional baseball, although perhaps not the biggest stars. However, due to that book, I became a Detroit Tigers fan. It didn't hurt when Denny McClain pitched 31 victories in 1968, helping the Tigers win the 1968 World Series against the Cardinals. Later, when I played little league baseball, my original number was #6. One of the best outfielders in baseball at the time was Al Kaline, #6. That was an easy one.

In basketball, one of the best college basketball programs was the University of Kentucky. That was also easy, given my birthplace. During that same time, the best professional basketball team was the Boston Celtics. Their best player was Bill Russell, #6. Boston was always playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship, so I have always disliked the Lakers. Later, I briefly swapped allegiances to the New York Knicks, whose point guard was a cool dude from Atlanta named Walt Frazier, #10. I also liked Dick Barnett, who used to kick his heels up when he took a jump shot.

When I was a child, the best professional football team were the Green Bay Packers. I used to love them. They always played the Rams, the Browns and the Cowboys. Early on, I didn't like those teams. Later, the Dallas Cowboys drafted a running back/receiver from Georgia Tech named Craig Baynham. Suddenly, the Cowboys became the family team. I loved all of the linebackers: Leroy Jordan, Craig Howley, D. D. Lewis, etc. My love for the Cowboys lasted until 1981, when they eliminated the Falcons from contention for a Super Bowl slot, one I still contend should have been owned by the Falcons. I haven't much liked the Cowboys since then.

The Falcons were in the western division of the NFL, and so I disliked the Rams and the Forty Niners. The Braves were also in the west, so I hated the Reds, the Dodgers, the Giants and the Padres. The first professional baseball game I ever saw was between the Braves and the Reds. The Reds won and I hated them ever thereafter. Later the local radio station in Hopkinsville changed their alliance from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Cincinnati Reds. More reason to hate the Reds. Don't get me on Pete Rose.

When I played little league football, I was 27, 54, 60, 25, and 66. In high school, I was 48, 66 and 65. In college, I was 47 and 95. Most of my numbers in football have been multiples of 3. The number 6 has predominated. The number 5 has appeared often as well.

Being a Braves fan was difficult for many years, until 1991, when they finally went to the World Series. With the exception of 1969 and the early 80's when the Braves put some good teams on the field at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, cheering for the Braves was a hard thing to do. They often had good players, but rarely had good teams. Its hard to imagine a team who had Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Phil Neikro, Ralph Garr, Dusty Baker, Davy Johnson, Darrell Evans, Gene Garber, Bob Horner, Gary Matthews, Dale Murphy, Brett Butler, Steve Bedrosian, Orlando Cepeda over the years couldn't put winning numbers on the board more than they did.

A lot of times, my allegiances in sports depended on the numbers I wore:

#6 Al Kaline Detroit Tigers

#6 Bill Russell Boston Celtics

#10 Walt Frazier New York Knicks

#60 Tommy Nobis Atlanta Falcons

#54 Chuck Howley Dallas Cowboys

#66 Gene Hickerson Cleveland Browns

I still like all of those teams. The Mets of 1969 eliminated the Braves in their first appearance in the post-season and then eliminated the Orioles in the World Series. I have cultivated a good, healthy hatred of the accursed Mets ever since. Some things never change.

The first high school game I ever lost at Dunwoody High School was against the Tucker b-team.
I wanted to beat them so badly that I recovered a fumble, caught an interception and made thirteen unassisted tackles. The following week, I was the only captain to go out for the coin toss before the game. Two years later, we held Tucker's offense to three first downs and 7 points, after a fumble inside our ten yard line, in a 13-0 loss. Afterward, the coach at Tucker told the local newspaper that the game was not as close as the score indicated.

"Mom, what team do I hate the most of any team?"

"Tucker."

Kate and Cindy, in unison, "Tucker sucks."

Somethings should never change.