What the #$&%!!??: Don’t Tell Me Who To Root For!

Rants by Michael Greenwood
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As a fantasy team owner in both baseball and football nothing annoys me more than when people criticize me for cheering, say…Francisco Cordero, the closer for Milwaukee, since his doing well affects the Cubs. The same can be said for my rooting for the Yankees’ Bobby Abreu to hit a three-run shot against the White Sox or San Diego’s Phillip Rivers to toss a TD against the Bears. “You should be pulling for your city’s team” or “You’re not a real Cubs fan” are phrases I hear repeatedly. Well, you know what? When it comes to rooting for a fantasy team player whereas will actually put money in my pocket if I win my league, yeah, that’s who I’m cheering for.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m a fan of most Chicago sports teams. But do I choose their championship at the cost of my own? Not a chance. I join fantasy leagues to win and, sad to say, I am my own fan above all. It’s nice to see a Chicago team make the playoffs or win a championship, but really, I’m not on the team, I don’t personally know anybody on the team, I had no participation in organizing the team, and 10 out of 10 players wouldn’t hang out with me beyond a hurried autograph – if that. Plus, the way free agency works these days, you can’t even get to know, or feel any kind of attachment to a player before they move on to another city. At the end of the day we’re talking about a collection of various strangers who get paid a ton of money to wear a jersey with the name of our city on it as opposed to myself – fantasy team owner – who I know really well and know had a big part in creating a league winner.

I’ve had friends in leagues who cheer for their home team above their fantasy teams. That being the case, these people should not be in fantasy leagues. If the Cubs make it to the playoffs I’ll get a nice “Whoopee Hurraaaay!” and a few thankful words from the players, manager and GM, but that’s it. The next day I’ll go to work and say, “How about them Cubbies?” I’d probably do that for a few days in a row. But if I win my league, it’s money in my bank account that I can actually spend on something I find pleasing – an investment that has paid off not to mention the prestige that comes with defeating my fantasy peers – a personal achievement over the achievement of people I don’t even know.

Here’s the bottom line – If it comes down to cheering for my pitcher to strike out Derrek Lee with the bases loaded to win my league or for a base hit to advance the Cubs to the playoffs, guess what? “Grab some bench, Lee!”