When the Athletes are Fans, Too: Domonic Brown, Cameron Rupp, and a little team called the Dallas Cowboys

Fan

[fan]

noun

“an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc”

[Dictionary.com]

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For many of us, the NFL season is now over.  Our teams have been eliminated and we continue through the NFL playoffs as observers.  We’ll cheer for teams or players we like, but we won’t lose sleep regarding the outcomes.  We’re no longer an “enthusiastic devotee.”  And, we might even take time out to help take down the holiday decorations during the games!  (Mrs. Kram, I said, “might.”)  This group doesn’t include Dan, as of this writing:  His Seahawks are still well-alive.

As we look back over the NFL season, you may recall the relative firestorm created on Twitter when IronPigs/Phillies players Cameron Rupp and Domonic Brown revealed themselves as Dallas Cowboys fans.  Philadelphia fans were not pleased.

“How dare they?” they asked.

“How dare, professional athletes who are employed by a Philadelphia franchise not assimilate and cheer for the local team, the Eagles.  How dare they express their opinions via social media?  Who do they think they are?  Are they trolling?  Are they not committed to their jobs and their careers in Philadelphia?  Don’t they not understand the nature of their business?  Don’t they understand that thousands or millions of fans follow them on Twitter?  Don’t they know where their paychecks come from?  We should trade them, now!”

It was sometimes rude.  It was classless.  And it was embarrassing.

It was also silly.

Here’s the thing:  Don’t you want the athletes you cheer for to know how you feel, as a fan?  Don’t you want them to empathize from a fan’s point of view when the team loses–or wins?  Don’t you want the athletes to know how helpless fans feel when something bad happens on the field–and the teams we live and die with come out on the losing end?  It’s their career, and they’re immersed in it, but don’t you want them to know–at least a little bit–how we feel on the outside?

Do you really want to be a fan of a player who would change his allegiance that easily? Do you want to be a fan of a player who’s never ever been a fan of anything himself?  By professing their fan-dom, Cam and Dom are actually expressing that they are a lot like all of us:  enthusiastic observers and loyal followers–with a strong rooting interest based on regionalism or identity, but with no real ability to impact the outcome of the game on the field.  They are our equals, in this case.  And that’s a good thing.  It should help them identify with us, when we’re cheering and rooting for their victories and mourning and lamenting their losses while they’re playing for our teams.

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“But wouldn’t it be great if the Phillies’ players could all put on Eagles’ jerseys and go to the game and support the professional athletes who work across the street from them?  Didn’t the Steelers’ players put on Pirates jerseys and support them during their playoff run this past fall?  Why can’t it be like that?”

Well, it can be.  But it wasn’t all the players.  Like everything, there are degrees:

Let’s say I have to move to Dallas for a new job.  Do I become a Cowboys fan?  Nope.

Let’s say I move to Dallas for a job with the Mavericks, and it pays me 2-10x what I make now.  Do I become a Cowboys fan then? Nope.

But what if I get a job in Dallas working for the Rangers, and I’m suddenly making 100x what I make now.  I’ve got a gigantic house in Dallas and the Rangers expect me to be part of the community.  They have a suite at the Cowboys’ stadium and they expect me to go to the games (for free) and not cheer against the Cowboys.  Will I do it?

Yes.  Yes I will.  I won’t cheer against the team I’ve liked since I was five years old, but I’ll do my job.

So what am I trying to say here?

When (if?) Dom Brown gets Pujols money, moves to Philly, and builds a huge house–then we’ll pressure him to get to a few Eagles games.  Until then….

I’m saying relish the fact that a couple of guys we’ve gotten to know little through their affiliation with our local team (the IronPigs) and the closest MLB team (the Phillies) are just guys who are fans themselves sometimes.  Good-natured banter?  Fine.  Just like I might poke at my brother-in-law who’s a Cowboys fan.  But lets try to keep it in perspective, huh?  I’m not trying to speak for Eagles fans–I’m not one.  But just as a fan in general.  Hey, I’m a Steelers fan, and I put up with Kurt Landes and his Browns devotion, right?  I mean, it’s cute.  When was the last time the Browns won anything?  When was the last time the Cowboys won anything?  It’s been a while, right?

Shouldn’t we also be glad that Dom and Cam aren’t “that guy.”  You know “that guy.”  He’s a fan of a different team every year.  Who’s doing well?  You’ll know by looking at his jersey.  He’ll never wear the jersey or cap of a losing team.  He’ll never say who his team is early in the season because he doesn’t know who’s good yet.  Unless, he just picks last-year’s Super Bowl team.  He’s the first one to point out how poorly your team is doing because he knows his own team is winning.  He usually does really well at fantasy football because he has no team allegiances or biases.  He’ll always show up to the Super Bowl party wearing the jersey of one the teams.  His team is in it every year, you know.  That guy.

“That guy” has a brother, “The Other Guy.”  “The Other Guy” is a fan.  He’s got the jersey and the hat.  He’s got a sweatshirt from the one time his team won the division.  However, you’ve never see that gear.  Why?  He’ll only put them on when his team is doing well–otherwise you’ll never know.  He’s also got a step-ladder handy.  It’s to help him climb up on the bandwagon.  If “The Other Guy” didn’t already have a favorite NBA team, he probably purchased a Miami Heat hat recently.

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So take it easy on Dom and Cam.  Enjoy the tweets.  Maybe smile and say, “How ’bout them Cowboys” next time you see them.  Have fun, and remember we’re all in this (life, sports) together.

See you at the Phillies Banquet,

@Kram209

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Footnotes and disclaimers:   You haven’t seen me wear my Angels hat recently, have you?  Right.  I also have a fondness for the Pirates and Phillies, but only when they’re winning.  Ditto the Lakers.  But at least I didn’t buy a Heat hat.  I only have a Charlotte hat and a Durham hat because my son played for teams with those names/logos.   My Penguins allegiance will be severely tested with the arrival of the Phantoms this fall.  I maintain that it’s OK for fans to own and wear jerseys of their favorite teams and players.  However, it is the ultimate expression of fan-dom and meant to be worn mostly at games or when watching on TV, as well as adjacent times thereof.  I personally own jerseys of only two teams: IronPigs and Steelers.  The SteelHawks are next on my list. One of my sons owns a Phillies jersey, and one a USMNT (soccer) jersey.  That is all.