"So....how does one become a fan of teams in three very distinct parts of the country?" I've been asked this question in one form or another dozens of times. Some times people are just curious, often times they are accusing me of being a bandwagon jumper or just can't come up with anything witty to say when I disagree with them about one thing or another.

So I decided to explain it all here, in one blog I can direct people to rather than defend my allegiances every individual time someone asks.

White Sox - I grew up on the South Side of Chicago less than 20 minutes away from Commisky Park. I attended my first of many hundreds of games in that great old stadium in 1975. I've long since left the city of Chicago, but I'll never leave the White Sox. Even though Wrigley field is only 8 miles away from U.S. Cellular field, the two areas couldn't be more different, though the south side park isn't near as dangerous as people will try to tell you and hasn't been for a couple of decades.

Celtics - Growing up my father wasn't a basketball fan. This is back before kids were spoiled with their own televisions in their bedrooms and there was no cable TV, yet. My 'rich' uncle had a satellite dish...you know, one of those monsters that took up more room in the back yard than a swimming pool, not the 18" roof mounted frisbees we have today. His house was the only place I ever saw basketball on television and he was a Celtics fan. It stuck. 

Anyone with the ability to think logically should realize if I was a bandwagon fan, it would make much more sense for me to support my hometown Bulls who not only had the greatest player to ever play the game, but have also won far more championships in my lifetime than the Celtics have. 

Cowboys - This is the one I catch the most flak over which is silly. I guess there are just so many Cowboys haters out there anyone who associates themself as a fan of America's team automatically gets labeled a bandwagon fan.

It's simple enough. Again, mid 70's, ALL of my family are Bears fans. They don't all agree on baseball and basketball, but every last one of them is a Bears fan. They think Mike Ditka should be on Mount Rushmore and Walter Payton is a diety. I was so sick of hearing about the Bears, I couldn't stand them. One Sunday I saw the Cowboys playing on television (might have been against the Bears, I don't recall exactly) I instantly liked the uniform and when a shot of the cheerleaders came on the tube I fell in love...with all of them. That was it. From that moment on I supported the Dallas Cowboys much to the dismay of my family. Never wavered, good seasons or bad. When they were going 3-13 in Landry's last season I was sporting my custom made jersey with Tony D's number on the front and Herschal Walkers on the back, touting the best running back tandem in football. When they went 1-15 the following year, I repeatedly cussed out those Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson characters, but still never missed a game.

Well, there ya go. THAT is how I became a fan of each of the teams in my moniker. Not necessarily the most logical way to become a fan of teams, but what IS logical about being a fanatic to begin with? The important thing is once I decided who my favorites were, I've never wavered.  I have followed and rooted for each of those teams for longer than the majority of FN users have been alive. Don't like it? Tough.