Don't Be a Gatekeeper

I've been gatekeeping my son as far as his fandom goes with sports. If you are not familiar with what I'm talking about, as far as gatekeeping, I find myself giving my son a hard time about which professional sports teams he chooses to root for. He is 12, and has been a pretty big sports fan for about four years now.

My son was always into sports, but recently, after playing competitive sports, he has become even more of a fan. But his favorite teams seem to change yearly. When the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021, he was a fan. Last season he loved the Eagles. This year he glombed onto the Lions. All of these teams have had a glow up in the past four years. As far as the NBA, he became a Bulls fan when he started watching. They were not the champs, but they were a playoff team. He chose DeMar DeRozan as his favorite player and he has followed him ever since. He does like other teams though. He was a Lakers fan pre pandemic. He is now a Pacers fan since my dad and I took him to a game last year. He likes the Thunder and the Nuggets. Again, all teams that have blown up recently, with the Lakers being the exception. And with the MLB, he was born into a good fan situation being born in Saint Louis. We have the Cardinals. And even though they struggled last year, they are always good. But he also likes Shohei Ohtani, so he is now a Dodgers fan. He likes Atlanta. He finds himself watching the Rays and the Blue Jays during the last baseball season. All of these teams are perennially solid.

When I sit with this on my own, I have let it frustrate me lately. I've been a Michigan Wolverines fan my whole life. That was the first team I truly rooted for, and now I'm a super fan. This past season was amazing. As for the MLB, I'm a Cardinals fan. That is the only STL based team I openly root for. I'm a Packers fan due to my father. And I love the Memphis Grizzlies. These are my teams, and with the exception being the Grizzlies, I was a massive Seattle Supersonics fan as a kid, I have always been a fan of these teams. But if I sit down and look at it, the one team I love the most is Michigan football. I'm fully invested in them. They are my true one and only squad. But that is just me. I know others feel the same about their team.

As adults, we all have certain teams that we root for, and will always root for. So for me to tell my son who he should and shouldn't root for, who do I think I am? I am not allowed to pick his favorite team. I want him to find this out on his own. He doesn't have to root for who I like. He doesn't have to root for his hometown teams. I've always found that you are supposed to root for your hometown team dumb. There is no reason that you have to like a team based on location. That is absurd. Like whoever you want to like. Just as in life. As long as you aren't hurting anyone. I have heard a lot of younger actors that I listen to on podcasts getting in their bag as gatekeeping fans and it has irked me quite a bit. Just because they live in LA doesn't mean we all have to be Clippers or Lakers fans. And if they like those teams, great, but don't force your fandom on me, or judge me for liking Michigan just because I was born and raised in the STL.

I need to let my kid root for who he wants. If he now wants to be a Chiefs fan, more power to him. He is a kid and kids usually gravitate towards a team that wins. I'm sure I did this outside of my Michigan fandom. But I guess what I am trying to really say today, don't judge people based on where they are from and who they root for. Who cares? Sports are entertainment and it is not my place to tell people how they should enjoy watching and cheering for particular teams and players. Just let it go and enjoy being a fan of whatever team you adopted. Don't gatekeep anyone else's fandom but your own. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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