The Camaraderie Exemption for Sports Fans

In response to my cousin DJ’s Facebook status from earlier today, I’ve been inspired to weigh-in with my theories on rooting on a team that’s not your own (or sports bigamy as Bill Simmons calls it). Here’s DJ’s question:

Question for my friends who are Penguins faithful:
Is it wrong for me to wear the jersey of another team? They are not a direct rival....although they are in the same conference.

A little background: my cousin was born and raised in Pennsylvania, spending the better part of his first 18-years of life in the Pittsburgh suburbs. So the Penguins to which he refers are the of the hockey variety, the 3-time Stanley Cup-winning NHL champion Pittsburgh Penguins. (This clarity provided for my Youngstown peeps who might be thinking of the NCAA FCS version or any Clark College or Dominican University readers I may have.)

DJ—er, maybe I should start calling him Don since he hasn’t been DJ since we were, like 11-years-old…ahhh screw it, he always be DJ to me (sorry, Cuz)—now lives in Indianapolis with his lovely wife and two wonderful children. As a sports fan whose fave team is 289-miles to the Northeast, I can feel his pain.

It’s fun to root for the local team. Anyone who’s spent a full weekend day at a sports bar, straining his neck to watch his team on a muted, 32-inch standard def TV, while fans of the local team cheer on every TD in unison, turning their heads in any direction to find the game on a pristine 72-inch screen knows what I’m talking about. So I have devised the Camaraderie Exemption for sports fandom. Since I’m only a wannabe Penguin fan, who just can’t get into hockey (we’re supposed to dislike the Flyers and Caps, right?), I’ll have to use examples from the NFL.

So here are the 5 simple tenets of being granted the Camaraderie Exemption:

1. You live in another city more than 250-miles from the city of your team.
2. The city you live has another team right there in town (in the ‘burbs at least), e.g. Milwaukee doesn't get you a pass for the Packers, Tucson doesn’t get you an exemption for the Cardinals (and why anyone would to use their exemption on the Arizona Cardinals is a mystery to me).
3. The local team is not in the same conference of your team. I repeat, conference, not division.
4. The local team does not have some sort of historic rivalry with your team. So if we were talking NBA, a native Bostonian who moved to LA couldn’t adopt the Lakers, but that should go without saying.
5. Every 4 years you must temporarily renounce the bigamy, when Steelers play the respective NFC division in the schedule rotation. It should also go without saying that this rule applies to Super Bowl match-ups against an exempted team.

I really struggled with #3 and thought about making intra-division border crossing the only no-no. But the more I thought about it, intra-conference inter-division rivalries are too flexible. Teams play those games much more frequently than inter-conferences games, so when both teams get good at the same time for a stretch, big regular season showdowns for playoff position, and worse, recurring playoff match-ups will naturally occur. A Steeler fan in Massachusetts would be fine in the early ‘90s cheering on the Pats. But things would’ve gotten difficult in the mid-to-late ‘90s, and downright brutal for the entirety of the ‘00s.

I guess an argument against me here is cheering for a team that perpetually stinks. But first off, even terrible franchises have good runs every once in a while (for NFC fans, see Rams ‘99-‘01). And even if a team was perpetually awful, why waste the Camaraderie Exemption being miserable by supporting the Buffalo Bills?

So in the interest in providing excruciating detail that no one but me cares about, here’s my rundown of the Camaraderie Exemption for the Steelers:

• The rest of the AFC – all 15 teams, out.
• NFC East – Cowboys and Eagles are obviously out. Close call, but I sense the Redskins are clear. They’re just barely outside my completely arbitrary 250-mile rule, and plus I just don’t feel any sense of ‘Burgh/DC tension (outside of hockey). Same for the Giants, they’re clear too. Granted, I haven’t lived in Pittsburgh since 1984, so if any lifelong yinzers wanna weigh-in on any DC or NYC vitriol, be my guest.
• The entire NFC North (Lions/Bears/Packers/Vikings) is clear. Like my DC/NYC comment, if there’s any leftover feelings from Super Bowl IX that would rule out the Vikes, please fill me in (we won handedly, right, so who cares?). Also, if you feel the need to relocate to Detroit, you may have bigger things to worry about besides NFL rooting interests.
• The entire NFC South (Atlanta/Charlotte/Tampa Bay/New Orleans) is clear as well. Although those two brutal match-ups last decade—blowing a 17-pt 4th quarter lead to end up tying in ‘02 and the Santonio Holmes rookie turnoverfest causing a undeserved loss in that put us well on our way to a 2-6 start in ‘06—still weighed heavily on me, I’m giving the Falcons a pass. Important note, the NFC South is NOT clear for the ‘10 season, as the Steelers face off against that division this year in the rotation.
• Ahhh, the NFC West. I may be contradicting myself here because the flexibility of intra-conference rivalries that negates exemptions in that category comes into play heavily here. First off, Rams are fine (again, similar to the Vikings in SB IX, if you harbor residual Super Bowl XIV resentment, and again, the good guys won, why?). This may be controversial, but I say the Cardinals are fine too. Super Bowl XVIII was great. It’s over. Let’s move on. The 49ers and Seahawks are out though. The Niners because they’re one of the few threats to the record number of Lombardi trophies. In fact, they had the lead for 11-years from ‘95-‘06. The Seahawks are out due to their fans incessant whining from Super Bowl XL. Yes, there were a bunch of questionable and ticky-tack calls. Most went Pittsburgh’s way. You still lost by 11. Get over it.

So to summarize the Camaraderie Exemption for Steeler fans. Exemptions will be granted for residents of the following cities:

1. Washington, DC (temporary ban in 2012)
2. New York, NY (temporary ban in 2012)
3. Detroit, MI (temporary ban in 2013)
4. Chicago, IL (temporary ban in 2013)
5. Green Bay, WI (temporary ban in 2013)
6. Twin Cities, MN (temporary ban in 2013)
7. Charlotte, NC (temporary ban in 2010)
8. Atlanta, GA (temporary ban in 2010)
9. Tampa Bay Area, FL (temporary ban in 2010)
10. New Orleans, LA (temporary ban in 2010)
11. St. Louis, MO (temporary ban in 2011)
12. Phoenix, AZ (temporary ban in 2011)

So those are the overriding principals of Camaraderie Exemption in terms of determining bigamy-fandom is acceptable. Feel free to do this analysis for your fave team in any sport.

But there is also the Camaraderie Exemption sub-rule 12E-L22 that applies to team paraphernalia in such circumstances: get a hat, a tee-shirt if you must, but cool it on the jersey.

Edwin's Favorite Football Team

Considering the World Cup starts tomorrow, I realize this is the wrong type of "football" for this time of year, but I thought this was too funny not to share...

Spring has just begun & we're already planning for fall

OK, Greater Cincinnati Steeler fans, the 2010 NFL schedules are out.

Here's the breakdown*...

Games you will not have to leave your house to see:

1. 10/31 - Sunday night @ New Orleans
2. 11/8 - Monday night @ Cincinnati
3. 11/14 - Sunday night vs New England
4. 12/5 - Sunday night @ Baltimore
5. 12/12 - Sunday 1 p.m. vs Cincinnati
6. 12/23 - Thursday night vs Carolina

Games that don't conflict with Bengal games that you might have to leave your house to see:

1. 9/12 - Opening Day 1 p.m. vs Atlanta (on FOX, Bengals on CBS)
2. 10/17 - Sunday 1 p.m. vs Cleveland (Bengals bye week)
3. 11/28 - Sunday night @ Buffalo (Bengals on Thanksgiving)
4. 12/19 - Sunday 4:15 p.m. vs NY Jets (Bengals on @ 1 p.m.)

Sunday 1 p.m. games that conflict with Bengal games that you will have to leave your house to see (unless Steelers or Bengals are flexed to 4 p.m. or Sunday night on NBC):

1. 9/19 - @ Tennessee
2. 9/26 - @ Tampa Bay (yes, Bengals on FOX the same day)
3. 10/3 - vs Baltimore
4. 10/24 - @ Miami
5. 11/21 - vs Oakland
6. 1/2/11 - @ Cleveland

* Note: I realize that if you have the DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket, this entire post is moot.

What a Game!!!

Grandpa Randy, Tiffany, Donny, and the Ridel Family (Keith, Stephanie, and Vanessa) joined us today for Jersey Mike's, KFC grilled chicken, and snacks during the Bengals/Steelers Game. What a game...just the way I like it - down to the last minute...I thought my dad was going to pass out...he gets so nervous (and rightfully so as a Bengals fan). Enjoy some of the pics from our day:

Life Lessons for Edwin

OK, I’ve said it before, I’m taking the enlightened approach to Edwin’s selection of favorite NFL teams. So if Mindy wants to outfit the little guy in orange and black for Bengals games, so be it.

Although having to explain what happened last Sunday to a 15-month old…

NFL Team of the Decade: '00s Version

As any fan of the modern NFL can attest, the league is a perpetual stack ranking machine. Who's the greatest QB ever? Best clutch kicker? Greatest defense? Those examples usually lead to debates, but there is one ranking that achieves consensus: team of the decade.

This general acceptance is probably because the right answer boils down to championships won. Here's the generally approved list from the modern era:

• 1960s - Green Bay Packers
• 1970s - Pittsburgh Steelers
• 1980s - San Francisco 49ers
• 1990s - Dallas Cowboys

About one year ago, just as the 2nd-to-last season of the decade was kicking off, it seemed the team of the decade for the 2000s was a forgone conclusion. The New England Patriots had been to 4 Super Bowls during the decade, winning 3 of them. No other team had won multiple Super Bowl in the '00s, and of those teams, only one had been to multiple (the New York Giants).



However, the 2008 season ended with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning their 2nd Super Bowl of the decade, closing the gap ever so slightly on the Patriots' stranglehold on team of the decade honors. This makes for a pretty interesting thought experiment: if the Steelers can repeat as champs (thus equalling New England's total of 3 for the '00s), who's the team of the decade?

Let's back up and review how the 2 teams have fared over the 1st 9 seasons of the decade to see how these clubs stack up:

• Super Bowls - 3 wins in 4 appearances for New England vs. 2-for-2 for Pittsburgh
• Playoffs - both teams with 6 appearances; however, 14 wins for New England vs. 10 for Pittsburgh
• Regular season - 102 wins for New England vs. 94 for Pittsburgh

So it's obvious that the Patriots still get the nod for now. And it's also obvious that even with another win, the Steelers can't reach the Super Bowl appearance total of 4. Here's my breakdown of the only hope Pittsburgh:

1. Win Super Bowl 44 - this is 1st and foremost. Without this win, all other analysis is unnecessary (Mindy, if you read this far, yeah I know, this whole post is unnecessary, but let's keep those comments to ourselves, shall we?).
2. Win 8 more games than the Patriots during the '09 regular season - this will be extremely difficult, as the Patriots are the Las Vegas favorites to win it all this year. But by winning 8 more games than the Patriots (and assuming they compile more than 2 wins), the Steelers will equal their regular season win total and go one up in the playoff appearance total.
3. Enter the playoffs without a 1st round bye - this would be an added bonus really. It'd make the playoff run much more difficult (involving at least one road game), but playing 4 games rather than 3 would give the Steelers an equal number of playoff wins to the Patriots.

So if the Steelers can accomplish #1 above, there's a discussion at least, as the Super Bowl wins would be equal at 3. If they get somewhat near #2 & #3, the numbers shake out as a virtual tie: regular season & playoff wins would be pretty much even, the Steelers would have the slight edge in playoff appearances, but the Patriots would have the slight edge in Super Bowl appearances.

Here's the problem with the above scenario: under the virtual tie, we'd have to check out the head-to-head results. These 2 teams played in the regular season 5 times with New England winning 3 of them. But then there's the knockout blow...these 2 teams met in the playoffs twice. The Patriots won both times. Both in the AFC championship game. Both in Pittsburgh.

So even under my long-shot scenario, the Patriots get the nod as team of the decade due to those crucial playoff head-to-head wins. OK, let's forget trying to get the Steelers to equalize the number of regular season and playoff wins + get a leg up in playoff appearances.

What the Steelers need is this: have New England earn home field advantage in the playoffs. Sure, the Patriots would have the slight edge in total wins and Super Bowl appearances locked up at that point. But if the Steelers can win the AFC championship game in New England, then go on to win Super Bowl 44, they'd end the decade by exacting revenge on the hated Patriots and matching them in titles.

The less important numbers would slightly favor New England, but I'd say we'd have co-teams of the decade at that point.

P.S.: There's plenty of sources I could link to from this post, but it's Saturday morning, and I'm lazy. To verify the above numbers, Wikipedia is a great reference. Search "Pittsburgh Steelers seasons" and "New England Patriors seasons".

Going Pro

Couldn’t have said it better myself. On Pro Football Talk, Mike Florio reacts to Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford (who could be playing in the NFL right now) getting injured tonight:

The game is dangerous, and you aren't getting paid to play it. (Except at Southern Cal. OK, we're joking. We think.) If you can get paid to play it at the next level, go.

People attend college to develop marketable skills. The sheet of paper with the fancy writing on it is secondary to acquiring the ability to put money in the bank.

Steelers/Ravens

Blogger Chris Chase comments on Baltimore LB Terrell Suggs professing hatred for the Steelers via T-shirt:

It's only natural that Suggs, his teammates and Ravens fans would hate Pittsburgh though. The Steelers are a model franchise, have had more historical and recent success (including three wins over the Ravens last year) and, most importantly, don't have to live in Baltimore.