Loyalty. Webster's defines this as steadfast in allegiance to one's homeland, government, or sovereign, faithful to a person, ideal, custom, cause, or duty.
Ok, that's a little strong there folks. After all, this is sports and sports are just a game, but loyalty to one's favorite team can feel as strong as anything else someone might hold sacred. In Texas loyalty to a certain college cannot only be encouraged, at times it is expected. Households from the Red River to the Gulf of Mexico have resonated with the strains of "The Aggie War Hymn" or the "Eyes of Texas" usually followed by "Son, your Grandfather was an Aggie, I'm an Aggie, your Uncles are Aggies and you damn sure as well are going to be an Aggie". Personally I see that as child abuse, but that is another story for another time.
Most of us were raised with loyalty in a sports team. In South Texas, if you were born before 1980, odds are your first words were "mama, daddy and Tom Landry" and not necessarily in that order. There were those who were Houston Oiler fans and they were usually Oiler fans just to tick off the Cowboy fans. Of course in San Antonio, there was but one team to be loyal to. Growing up a Spurs fan meant the Iceman, the Whopper, big Afros and red, white and blue basketballs.
Has that loyalty gone the way of parachute pants and Members Only jackets?
A true fan never deserts his or her team regardless of how well or poorly they perform. Let me say this again slowly, a true fan NEVER deserts his or her team regardless of how well or poorly they perform. It doesn't matter if your team is 20-62 or the NBA Champion. How about all those fans in Tampa who stood by the woeful Buccaneers for season after season and never gave up? That effort was finally rewarded this year with a Super Bowl victory. How about those of us who bleed Spurs Silver and Black? Hey I was there when our low post presence was Petur Gudmunsson, were you? We survived continual playoff disappointment until we were vindicated in 1999. You never give up ever. Its easy to root for a team when they are winning, it takes guts to stay with that team in times of trouble. To desert a team because they are not playing well is the sure sign of a coward. What is sad though is that there are less and less true fans everyday. Remember all those people who claimed to be Bulls fans? Rumor has it that they are the focus for an upcoming episode of "Where are they now?"
Then there is every Spurs fan's favorite very large target Shaquille O'Neal. That whoosh you heard was all those Magic "fans" throwing their Orlando jerseys in the back of the closet and running out to buy #34 Laker gear. Shaq was another example of the absence of loyalty when he deserted a good team and the good fans of Orlando so he could start that acting career we keep hearing about. That too, is the subject of an upcoming episode of "Where are they now?"
Speaking of Orlando, remember in 2000 how we Spurs fans constantly raised the issue of loyalty when it came to Tim Duncan staying? Yet a lot of those same Spurs fans were clamoring for Jason Kidd and Jermaine O'Neal to do what Tim didn't. Don't feel bad, nobody's perfect not even Spurs fans.
Before you moan the death of that most noble of characteristics, loyalty is alive and well among a lot of todays sports stars. The only problem is that the loyalty is to one's wallet. Did Kidd and O'Neal stay put for the love of their teammates or because those teams could pay them a lot more money? The other O'Neal, can you tell me he was not motivated by money as well in his move to Los Angeles? Let's face the truth, the majority of today's young athletes, regardless of sport, are more concerned with their own personal glory than that of the team. The sad part is, only in the team concept can they achieve the ultimate goal in sports, that of the championship. What is equally sad is that in their actions, the glory hungry athletes are alienating the one element that is necessary to generate the money that there men crave -- the fans. Players demand more money, owners have to find ways to raise the money to keep players and gain sponsors. Therefore they raise concession and ticket prices and it takes a family of four to take out a second mortgage to have a night at the ball game.
However, these parasitic giants cannot break the will of a true fan. A true fan knows that the game is bigger than those who play it. A true fan can also take solace in the fact that not all sports figures are cash craving weasels. We can start with our own Tim Duncan, a man who actually can match his on the court performance with an MVP effort off of it. Tim is the last superstar in the NBA who still thinks team first and me second. Grant Hill was there for a time as well but he has not been the same since he, well since he left Detroit for Orlando. Deny loyalty at thine own risk.
