Robservations – Team loyalty based on heart, not geography

I?m proud to live in Tennessee. In fact, I?m proud to have lived here all my life.

But where I live has never been that much of a factor when it came time to choose my favorite (or least favorite, for that matter) sports teams.

In baseball, it?s the Cubbies, for the simplest of reasons: We only got Braves and Cubs on the TV when I was a kid, and Dad liked the Braves. End of story.

Hockey? Even simpler. Originally, I picked the Buffalo Sabres, because they had a cool logo. They don?t use it anymore, unless it?s ?turn back the clock? night, so they?re now out. Then, for a few years, I was an Avalanche fan because a girl I knew said I should be. No further explanation should be necessary. If you asked now, I guess I?d say the Predators, although to be honest, I don?t find myself glued to the TV when they?re playing.

The same could be said for basketball, while we?re at it. I see enough hoops from October until February to satisfy any fan, so when it comes to the NBA, I?m out.

As for the NFL, I?ve always been partial to Miami. I really don?t have a reason why, but if pressed, I always claim it?s because the Dolphins went undefeated to celebrate my birth, and I owe them my gratitude for the effort they put forth that season.

So as you can see, there can be any number of reasons ? both legitimate and otherwise ? why a sports fan supports one team or another. Which brings us to the college ranks, and in a roundabout way, to my allegiances come this Super Bowl Sunday.

Yes, as I said earlier, I?m a proud Tennessean. But I?m not a University of Tennessee fan. If you see me covered in orange, it means somebody shook up my Sunkist.

If you know me at all, you know my loyalty lies far west of Knoxville, with the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State. And if you ever spend as much time around Blue Raider fans as I have, they?ll wash the orange right out of you.

So to me, Peyton Manning is just another ex-Vol. And, as such, he?s not one of my favorites. Therefore, I hope his team loses the Super Bowl on Sunday.

There. It took 9.3 inches, but I said it.

And I didn?t say it so you?d hate me. I didn?t even say it for shock value. I said it because I don?t subscribe to the theory that just because you live here, you had to pull for the Vols, or any pro team which features a former Vol.

Leading into this year?s Super Bowl, I?ve had several conversations with Colts ?fans? who are only pulling for Peyton. And if you?re a big UT backer, that?s great. Pull for your alumni all you want. Just don?t look at me in amazement when I don?t share your view.

This is America, people. We can pull for ? or against ? whichever teams ? or players ? we want. So if you hope Peyton pulls a big choke-job on Sunday, that?s your right as a citizen of this great country. And don?t let anyone tell you you?ve got to toe the Big Orange party line just because you live in the state which features the college where the Colts? starting QB used to play.

By the way, former MTSU quarterback Kelly Holcomb was formerly with the Colts, and is currently a backup with the Buffalo Bills. Should Buffalo make the Super Bowl in the near future, and should Holcomb still be on their roster, please disregard the preceding column.