Now that I've got your attention. This is not even close to the belief that some people have on the title topic. So if you share this and blast me because I "don't believe that girls can like sports," I reserve the right to call you out for not reading my blog. :) Good luck.
What this blog is about, though, is why I am so into sports. It obviously isn't something that all girls are into, I just happened to be born into it. I've always been into sports. Not necessarily into playing them, but always into watching them. I grew up playing T-ball and soccer ('98 North Carolina state champs holla) which was always so much fun. I remember the weekends we would travel for games and my mom would stay up braiding our hair, those weekends were some of my favorite memories.
After I stopped playing soccer, my brother joined an 8U travel baseball team. He always has been the athlete in the family. So that was tons of fun. I made so many new baseball friends who I still keep in touch with today. Not just baseball friends though, their brothers, sisters, and parents. Going through the bullying I did, the weekends and practices were always my place to get away from what I was going through.
If y'all know me, you know how much I stand up for my brother. You go after him, you're going after me, and that is not happening. It isn't just my brother I stand up for either. It's my brothers friends, my baseball friends, there are a lot of people on the list. I was a doormat to the people who were awful to me, but I refused (still refuse) to let anyone touch or say anything about my people.
Now to my teams. I may not choose teams by the conventional standards (colors, a certain player, because they're my hometown team, etc). I have 4 teams for 2 sports. The Yankees, the Braves, the Giants, and the Broncos. There are teams I can't stand. If you're close to me, you know who those are. If you aren't close to me, it doesn't matter who they are.
I became a Braves fan at the spry young age of birth. My pawpaw was a Braves fan, and he was one of the most influential men in my life. Pawpaw drove me to school and picked me up from school. Pawpaw was the tooth extractor. Pawpaw was just an amazing man, and his love for the Braves was passed on to me. I have always been a Braves fan, and I will always be a Braves fan.
I became a Yankees fan a little later in life, at the spry young age of 12. I had been surrounded by Yankees fans my entire life. My dad's side of the family is from up north and every time we went to see them, we would go catch the ferry across the river to a Yankees game. At the time, I fought the influence for a long time, but the Yankees are just too powerful for me to ignore. Oh, and if you want to call me a fair weather fan, let's not. Because I will spit of a ton of knowledge on you.
Now to my Giants. The G-men. My grandpa is from New York, and has been a Giants fan for the longest time. I became interested in the Giants at the spry young age of 14, before they ever won a super bowl in my life. I've been called a bandwagon fan from the start. I have news for all you who call me that, hahah, if I was a bandwagon fan, I would have jumped right off after our last super bowl win. Trust me, when I have a team, I'm there even when they suck. And trust me, it's been a rough few seasons, but I'm still right here with them. Of course, they need to get rid of Jerry Reese real quick, fast, and in a hurry if they want to do anything next season.
Now to my final team, the Denver Broncos. Now for them, I did somewhat fall into the conventional ways of being a fan. I liked them on and off growing up, but it became more permanent when the Colts sent Peyton Manning packing. Oh goodness, if I had to hear Jim Irsay say that he wanted "more of these," pointing to his super bowl ring one more time, I would have pulled out my hair. Yes, Peyton Manning is one of the reasons I became a Broncos fan, but they also had Tebow (who is amazing). I will also not be called a fair weather fan here either. I will defend myself.
The Broncos and Giants are two teams, who have almost consistently been underdogs week after week. And if you think I'm saying that for the attention, you couldn't be more wrong. I watched almost every single game this season. I watched, heartbroken when the Giants fell 3 points short of beating the panthers. I watched as Peyton was benched in favor of Brock Osweiler. I watched both of my teams through struggling and, at times, tumultuous seasons. The Broncos are the biggest underdogs in the Super Bowl and I am okay with that.
There were about 14 days when I didn't watch football though. Those were two rough weeks because it was right after the Giants and Panthers game. I was repeatedly being attacked for my association with the Giants. Apparently you can't like a team and not be okay with one of their players actions. Like I said the day of, I don't agree with what OBJ did. But like I wasn't allowed to say the day of, he wasn't the only one at fault. Some of y'all are going to message me about saying that, and just as a forewarning, I'll ignore your messages.
If you don't like this blog, feel free to not like it. I've grown tired of trying to be a people pleaser, because it's impossible. Don't message me just because I hurt your fandom's feelings. It's happened before, it'll happen again. As I was reminded 13 days ago when I found out my Broncos would be facing the panthers, I AM entitled to my own opinion. You don't have to like it.
With the Super Bowl happening in less than 24 hours, I want to say this. I won't talk trash about the panthers. I won't talk trash about their fans. I believe in letting the game do the talking, and I would hope to receive the same respect. If not, it may influence my opinion on you. I wish I could say sorry if it did, but there's a classy way to do things.
Sports are my release. You may not get it, but you haven't been through what I have been through. Tomorrow night, I will be sitting at home in my Peyton Manning Jersey, my tutu, and with my dog. I will be cheering for my Broncos. I love my guys, and I will be pulling for them as if I was in the stands. Come on boys, let's bring it home!! Let's go Broncos!