My husband and I are sports fans.
College and professional, basketball, football and baseballwe tend to like it all.
So we hoped that our son would grow up to enjoy watching sports as much as we do.
Im from Cleveland, which means I grew up a tortured sports fan.
Who will he root for?
Id ask my husband when our son was very little.
Parents have a lot of influence over which teams a kid claims as their future lifelong obsession.
You dont just hand them a stack of logos and let them pick one from the pile.
Either way, there are some strategies you could take a stab at stack the deck in your favor.
Im kidding; we would (probably) never suggest you uproot your life for a sports team.
But living in your teams area is helpful for a couple of reasons.
Its not just a part of your familys identity; its also part of your towns identity.
it’s possible for you to always get the games on TV.
We moved back east to my husbands hometown when our son was a toddler.
Were now approximately 60 miles north of Philadelphia and in prime Phillies, Eagles and Sixers territory.
Do you know how often my Browns are on TV here during football season?
Teach them the fight song
Kids, they like music.
He identified the W as Go Cubs!
He asks Siri every morning if the Cubs won now.
Get them some gear
This starts young.
Most importantly, you must get them a T-shirt to wear for big games.
You were on that field!)
Its so basic but so important when you think about it.
Theyre curious and they want to understand.
Teach them about fouls and grand slams and Hail Mary plays.
Its one more way for them to bond with you and, as a result, your team.
Or the friend who roots for Oakland in baseball but Boston in basketball.
A short time after, I thought to myself, Why not cheer for teams that rhyme?
The 76ers are only an inch ahead of the Cavs.
Okay, Ive still got a chance.
Time to plan a trip to Cleveland.
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