As a Southern California native I am constantly conflicted by our numerous sports teams. Angels or Dodgers? Clippers or Lakers? Ducks or Kings? And coming to Notre Dame where allegiance to the Irish is a must, I have come to be even more conflicted. My conversations have become peppered with the names of far less superior sports teams from around the country. But still, I humbly sport my Angels cap, rejecting the mentality of a fair-weather fan, staying true to my SoCal boys.
I’ll admit, I don’t go out of my way to watch sports, but it’s still fun to rival against friends and pretend that I know what I’m talking about. When Manti Te’o was drafted to the Chargers, it was a dream come true. I could still support SoCal while loving the Irish as well and all would was fine. I was so excited I even went to go watch him practice this summer in San Diego!
Notre Dame football tradition is something amazing. It is quite possibly my favorite part about being Irish. I cannot be the only one. Everybody standing in that stadium, all united by our same love for the team and equal disdain for whatever great rivalry we face that week makes my heart happy. There really is not anything like it. But one game a year, I dislike one team a little less than all the others.
I guess this is where I confess that I don’t really bleed Blue and Gold. It began when we played USC last Thanksgiving and I secretly sported my USC colored socks under my boots. I couldn’t keep it a secret anymore. Sometimes I wear my USC sweatshirt in public just because I enjoy the angry looks from scary groups of boys in LaFun. I probably couldn’t name anybody on the USC football team to save my life, but Reggie Bush stole my heart in ‘05 and all hope was lost from that point on. There I said it. I’m a USC fan.
Please, don’t hunt me down and chastise me for my betrayal. I know what a terrible human being I am. Just call me Judas Iscariot! But, I cannot take credit for this. I was bred into USC allegiance. When I traded in the Cardinal Red for Navy Blue I felt the collective heart of my people break. Who have I become? What do I stand for? A friend of mine from back home asked who I would be cheering for this weekend and my response was, “My heart is telling me USC, but my mind is telling me ND.” I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. This is my current existential crisis.
Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit. Point is, while I’m in the stands this weekend, sporting my Notre Dame gear, I’ll be a fair-weather fan. Always a fan of my SoCal teams, win or lose on either side. I’ll be happy, because SoCal is where my heart will always be. Even when I’m physically in not-so-fair-weathered South Bend, I’ll always be in a SoCal State of Mind.
#BushPush2013. Sorry. Not sorry.