Wishful thinking

Usually in the front pages of the book, amongst the miscellaneous trinkets, are pictures of itty bitty Toronto Maple Leafs socks and Montreal Canadiens onesies.

These are manufactured and sold to hockey-mad parents looking to begin training on their kids to mindlessly support their favourite team.

That’s fine when both parents are loyal to the same franchise, but what happens when parents agree on parenting styles, but differ in preference of playing styles.

Is it possible to grow up a true sports fan when you have been brainwashed into supporting a specific team?

My four-year-old brother managed to escape the dominate hockey teams in the house, but he had help from the divide already present in the Canadiens-Bruins power struggle and the large television presence of Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

I was way past four before I broke out of the Toronto Maple Leaf trance I had been put into as a child and stayed there until the Doug Gilmour-Wendel Clark days were over and, well, all hope was lost.

We all follow popular consensus in sports. Sports are only fun if you want someone to win - and no one likes cheering by themselves.

When you finally break free of years of unquestioned servitude, there are a few things to consider when picking a new team to root for.

It is common for a lost sports soul to latch on to the current champion. Everyone loves a winner, but this had to be done at your own risk.

If you are a true conservative about the game, make sure that championship team does not feature a character like Chad Ochocinco (formerly known as Chad Johnson) or Sean Avery – they can get annoying real fast - and having to replace official team gear is not cheap.

Sports are only fun if you want someone to win - and no one likes cheering by themselves. -

Take a look around the league for players you like – perhaps a Peyton Manning or a Steve Nash can help make the decision easier.

Don’t jump on board with a team that is about to: go bankrupt, change an owner, relocate, or have a player about to be indicted by a federal grand jury for perjury in relation to steroids testimony. Every time that team is covered, whether it is about a game or trade, part of that story will follow a jump to the next page talking about the current struggles.

Most importantly, once you leave a franchise behind, you must be prepared in the event they win a championship.

Should this happen in first five years, you should kick yourself for not seeing the signs of resurgence.

If it happens in the first three years, you should get your friend to kick you because you will inherently be too gentle on yourself. If it happens the following year, you shouldn’t follow the sport because you clearly have no idea what you are talking about.

Of course, if you are a Leafs fan, this does not apply to you. After 43 years without a championship, everyone celebrating will have, at one point, dropped the Leafs for a period of time and picked them back up out of loyalty (or pity) and may have even done that twice.

Still, when you leave one sports team for another, you must always be careful of what you wish for.