Cheering (in the negative)

There comes a certain point in most sporting seasons where the average fan is no longer defined by who he is cheering for, but rather who he is cheering against.

This fact has been more than apparently as of late for me, mainly due to the sad state of Minnesota sport franchises. If you exclude the NHL, the last time that a professional franchise from Minnesota played a post season game was when the Twins got swept by Oakland in October of 2006. (And the Wild lost in the first round this year anyway.) Suffice it to say, when it comes to the 'second season' I have had very little to cheer about the last couple years.

So after my favorites are out of contention, what is left? Not much. I usually settle on cheering against other teams. One great example was the recent NFL Playoffs. As a rule, I only supported one team: Anyone playing against the New England Patriots. I'm not a Patriots hater, really. It's just that when it all boiled down, there was no one I supported enough to root for, so my natural inclination was to choose someone to root against.

We've arrived in the same place with the NBA playoffs (or at least I have personally). The Timberwolves were out of the playoffs since November 2nd, so I couldn't cheer for them.

But even after their early exit, there were still a few upstart young teams that I was looking forward to watching. If either the Hornets or the Magic were still playing, I would positively be backing them.

But now? I am only negatively backing. I will be consistently cheering against the Spurs and the Pistons. I don't even know what I'll do if they end up playing each other. (I'll probably not watch.)

So does that mean I'm cheering for the Celtics and the Lakers? Not remotely. I'm choosing the lesser of two evils in the Lakers/Spurs series. And while I could cheer for Kevin Garnett, I don't have any feelings for the Celtics as a team or franchise.

There you have it. I have nothing to cheer for. But luckily for the NBA (and ESPN, ABC, & TNT and all the companies placing commercials on those channels) I have something to cheer against.