When I heard the Yankees were coming to play the Braves I was stoked. I couldn’t wait to get tickets and a new Jeter jersey. I grew up in New York loving the Yankees, watching the games with my family and really not liking the Red Sox (sorry Steve and Carla…not!). Well the first game of the series was this Tuesday night at Turner Field. The game started and I started as a dedicated Yankee’s fan.
Come 3rd inning I COULD NOT help myself from silently cheering when Brian McCann hit an RBI double. My silence broke when the Braves next batter Garrett Anderson doubled to deep right which brought in two more runs and the Braves went on to win 4-0. We won! Wait, what? Had my loyalty shifted from my dear Yankees? What happened to me?? I felt a little guilty. I should have seen this coming.
I follow the Braves more than the Yankee’s now, I go to their home games and have secretly adopted McCann as my favorite player ever. But what caused me to lose my dedication towards my childhood team? No, it isn’t their “over paid” salaries or their “monopoly” on the league or whatever other reason Yankee haters will give me, I believe they are a great American team and they’ll always be in my top 2. But I’m now open to admit that I am a Braves fan. Phew. I’m certain to get some backlash for this from my Yankee friends and family and that’s ok with me.
I can owe this switch of fan hood to the one thing – that undeniable feeling of belonging to something great. The Braves are now my home team and over the past 5 years of me being an Atlantan, they have earned my allegiance. They’re a stand up baseball club and are what you’d hope every MLB team could be. Watching the game from the Top of the Chop with your city neighbors, all cheering for the same thing and giving “We’ll get’em next time” high fives after a sore loss is what being a sports fan, or any type of fan, is all about. Surrounding yourself with a great community with a common interest is incredibly infectious, and I happily caught the Braves bug.
It isn’t that I lost my love for the Yankees, it’s that I strengthened my adoration for the Braves. I’ll still root for the Pinstripes against any other team and would be proud to wear their jersey. But I have to root root root for my new home team and give the Tomahawk chop to anyone taking their field.
This same scenario happened to me about six months ago in a taste war between coke and pepsi. I grew up on Pepsi, hated Coke, moved to the South and now can’t stand Pepsi. I don’t feel this shift in preference is bailing on or being a traitor to your roots I just think it’s inevitable to not be affected by your surroundings. Whether it be a sports team, a food or drink, a type of music or a band, if you’re exposed to something long enough and this something is pretty great, you’re bound to accept it’s greatness and welcome it into your life. Tell me I’m not jumping on the Southern band wagon and someone else has experienced a shift in their loyalty due to a shift in their environment?
-Melissa
PS. I still hate grits and the Red Sox- there’s a little New York left in me.
