Friday, September 16, 2005



Official Sports Teams



Following the lead of Dr Steven Taylor...here are the official sports teams of Eye of the Storm:

Pro Football: Washington Redskins, first and foremost.  When I was a youngster and my family lived in Italy, I got up at 2 in the morning to watch Super Bowl XXII (the one where Washington scored five touchdowns in the second quarter to thrash Denver).   In the other conference, coming in a distant second, is the Jacksonville Jaguars.  An odd situation with them as I like them for being from Jacksonville, but I don't like the franchise that much, and I am annoyed to no end at how uncritical the local media is of them. 

College Football: Florida State, first and foremost.  When I was young I cheered for all of the schools from Florida (before the aforementioned Super Bowl, I got up early in the morning to watch Miami lose to Penn State, an unpleasant experience that made me question whether I wanted to risk a repeat experience).  But by the Charlie Ward days I was an FSU fan to the exclusion of the other two schools.   Coming in second is my father's alma mater, Virginia Tech.  Thanks to family, I've been a fan of them since the Bruce Smith days through their rise to the top thanks to Frank Beamer.  

Pro Basketball: No preference.  Back in the days of Parrish, McHale, and Bird, I liked the Celtics, but since, I haven't cared much for professional basketball.

Pro Baseball: Baltimore Orioles, first and foremost.  Unfortunately, my family did not move to Maryland until after the '83 season (it was in Maryland that I saw the first baseball games that I remember).  I've been a fan since the days of Eddie Murray, Rick Dempsy, and the young Cal Ripken.  I totally despise Peter Angelos, and was somewhat disgruntled at the thought that every Orioles ticket I bought probably amounted to a small contribution to the Democratic Party of Maryland.  Ah well.  Coming in second is the Washington Nationals.  Definitely helps that the former Oriole great, Frank Robinson, is the manger.

College Basketball:  Like football, FSU first and foremost with Virginia Tech second.  Like baseball, the first college basketball games I remember watching, I watched in Maryland.  Because of that I still have a special place in my heart for the Georgetown Hoyas.  I didn't care so much for the Maryland Terrapins, but I did like Len Bias.  Even though I was only eight years old at the time, I remember the exact moment when my mother informed me that he had died (remember that he was the first round pick of the Celtics, so the anguish was amplified).   That had more effect on me than any anti-drug commercial ever produced.

 College Baseball: Other than casually watching the College World Series championship, I didn't follow college baseball until going to FSU, so Florida State is the only team I cheer for.  Happiest (and saddest) moment is sneaking into Section B for the final games of the 1999 regional. (Click on the black ribbon towards the bottom of the page for an account of that day).

Hockey: Washington Capitals.  Again, a throwback to my living in Maryland during part of my formative years.

Soccer: Don't follow it much anymore.  Adopted DC United as my team when the MLS formed, but I haven't paid attention at all in recent years.  On the international level, I tend to cheer for Italy (assuming, of course, that the U.S. isn't facing them).

Teams I cheer against:

College:  Notre Dame first and foremost.  University of Miami second.  University of Virginia third.  University of Florida fourth. 

NFL: Dallas Cowboys

Baseball: NY Yankees


Jackpotzrebie comment []11:33:13 AM   trackback []