Dave on Being on the Team: Why I Am A Packer

Maybe it’s my rivals love for grammar, or maybe it’s the idea itself, but one thing is certain, if I ever use the pronoun “we” to refer to a sports team, (10 out of 10 times being the Green Bay Packers) I am harshly criticized, judged, and reminded that I am in no way part of the team. While this statement may seem true to some, I think any sports fan can agree that the fan is in many ways part of the team.

Before I justify my point I would like to make clear that I know I am in no way an owner, coach or appear anywhere on the roster for any team. I realize that even if every player were to get injured, retire, strike or sick that I will never be called to play.

Also it is important that I note that this does not apply to all things. I do not listen to my favorite band and say, “We put out a great album” or write a letter to Stephen King and say “We have good character development in chapter three.” A sports team is more closely comparable to a supporter of a political party. Even if they do not vote, many consider themselves a part of political party for just sharing the same views and opinions.

Try telling this guy he's not on the Seahawks.

With that being said, the fan plays an important position on any kind of sports team. Below are some of the responsibility that qualify you for such a position:

• Till Death Do You Part: To be part of a team, you are part of a team for life. In your position, you are never cut or traded. If you have a bad season, your coaches make horrible decisions, all of your players all of the sudden play like your grandma, well then you can either criticize them openly while still being a fellow supporter or you can cry every week till your team gets better, but you can never change your team.

• Know Thy Enemy: In many ways the fan is often a defensive position. If you find yourself constantly defending your team to friends or strangers then you are doing your job. It is important to identify your ally (fellow supporters) and your enemy (everyone else), and while you can be friends with everyone, you cannot be friends with everyone during game time.

• Game Day Responsibilities: Your responsibility on game day is to treat every game of the season like it is life or death. You can do this from anywhere, the bleachers, the bar, or in front of your television. Though your screaming, clapping, complaining, cheering, swearing, or act of violently throwing things may never be seen or heard, they are still important to the world of sporting.

You may still be saying to yourself “none of these things makes you part of the team.” If you are, then consider this Mr. or Ms. Know-It-All, when you are a fan of a sports team you’re a single thread of a social fabric made up of hundreds or thousands, or possibly even millions of others. Though your role may seem insignificant, if every fan were to stop caring then there would be no team to care for. It is for this reason more than any other that you can consider yourself part of a team. Lets face it; no team can exist without a fan base… except maybe the Jets (who are pretty damn close).





12th Man by Matt McGee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.