Friday, September 6, 2013

Pats Nation: The Decision

I tend to overthink almost every decision I have to make, including trivial ones like which sports teams I'll follow. Granted, not all "my" teams; I found the Braves at the tender age of 9 and never looked back. Both my parents are diehard New Jersey Devils fans, so I never had much of a choice when it came to hockey. I'm still a proud member of the Devils Army, though, with a framed picture of Marty Brodeur on my bedroom wall to prove it.

Pro football is another story altogether. 5 days ago, I was left wondering yet again where to place my loyalties after a severe disappointment. I've thought long and hard about it and decided that I will be maintaining my citizenship in Pats Nation for the following reasons:

1. Family. I always say I'm Southern merely by accident of birth. My relatives are all from various places in the Northeast: Brooklyn, Massachusetts, upstate New York, and New Jersey. My favorite baseball team (Braves) and favorite college team (Gators) are from the Deep South, so this kind of balances things out.

2. Bill Belichick. I don't know why, but I've always had a thing about crotchety old coaches/managers. This is probably because the majority of my life as a Braves fan was during Bobby Cox's tenure as manger. He was just fun to watch; you never knew when he'd start ranting and raving at the umpires. He had a record-breaking number of ejections. Say what you will about Bobby; the man was passionate about his job and knew how to field a winning team. Although, personally, I think Bill should've taken a page out of Bobby's book and knocked down Brady's ego several pegs a long time ago.

3. Rob Gronkowski. No pun intended, but Gronk is my biggest reason for sticking around. I've always had a weakness for large, bearlike men and Gronk makes me swoon. I've watched and read several interviews with him and there's just something about his personality that I love; he reminds me of about 70% of my guy friends from college. Sure, he's made some questionable decisions this off-season, like riding roller coasters and slam-dancing while in a cast. But hey, at least he's not currently on trial for murder.

Watch the infamous "Yo soy fiesta" interview and tell me the big guy doesn't have a certain charm.

Party on, Gronk!

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