Safe spaces

I’m sure by now, your kids have been working hard perfecting their version of The Griddy.
If you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, don’t worry. It’s just another one of those dadgum, newfangled dance trends the youths are all about these days.
It’s a fad. It’ll pass. Don’t worry. It won’t lead to a dark path.
No, this isn’t “Dear Abby.” I’m not here to give you parenting advice. As a matter of fact, I’m projecting this as a parental advice column to address a darker, deeper, seedier problem that’s overwhelming the state of Louisiana.
So, let’s just rip the bandage off, leg hair and all. Because you, my friend, are a self-respecting, hardworking, productive adult. You spend your hard-earned American dollars on our product. And for that, we appreciate you.
But, again, you are an adult. And as adults, sometimes we need to have difficult conversations.
I’m still your friend. Nothing I’m going to say here will affect our personal relationship.
So I’ll just say it. Let’s acknowledge the truth, let it breathe, and call it a day.
Here goes … You are not a Cincinnati Bengals fan.
Doesn’t that feel good? Don’t you feel relieved to have a safe space where you can speak your truth?
I know I feel better getting that off of your chest for you.
Now, before you arrive on the doorstep of The Gazette calling for my head for speaking such heresy, hear me out.
You are a Joe Burrow fan. You are a Ja’Marr Chase fan. You want those guys to do well, and maybe even win a Super Bowl for all the good memories they gave you in 2019.
And I’m right there with you. Joe and Ja’Marr are poetry on a football field. The chemistry and connection they have with each other in the passing game is sublime.
Dare I say, maybe even my favorite thing to watch in all of football. I’m a fan.
It’s OK to root for those guys to win a Super Bowl because your favorite team is out of the hunt. But, please, fandom of this sort doesn’t happen overnight.
I’m a New Orleans Saints fan. Thirty years strong. Nothing runs deeper for me in sports fandom than my devotion to the Black & Gold. Your LSU 2019 was my Saints 2009 season.
For me to be on social media platforms openly rooting for the Saints is a natural thing. There are deep, well-founded roots in my anger, happiness, frustration, sadness or whatever other emotion I may be feeling at a given moment because of the Saints.
They are a 54-year institution in our state. And I’ve rooted for them over half of their lifetime.
Through good and bad, I’ve been there.
LSU is a longer-running institution than the Saints, I get that. However the Cincinnati Bengals, to quote the cinematic classic Mean Girls … they don’t even go here.
I owe them nothing. I don’t owe them my loyalty. They’ve never given me anything. They will never provide a source of income for the state of Louisiana. Nothing.
Therefore, I will not call myself a fan of the Bengals.
Joe and Ja’Marr? Sure. All day.
A Ragin’ Cajun alum myself, root for Elijah Mitchell of the San Francisco 49ers? Absolutely. Seeing your college guys do well is fun. Always has been, always will be.
But, to be perfectly honest, and that’s what I’m here for. Remember? The safe space?
I hope we’re still there. We may not be after this, but here goes …
In my opinion, calling yourself a fan of a team because of certain players is insane at best. Hypocritical at worst.
People give fans a hard time all the time for following players to certain teams and becoming “fans” of teams because of one player. LeBron James perhaps being the most famous example.
We, I believe, should strive for loyalty in fandom.
If you’re loyal to Joey B. and Ja’Marr, then speak your truth. Say you’re a fan of the players and want to see them do well. We will all support you and understand that logic.
However, I personally have a hard time wrapping my head around being a “fan” of a team due to a few players.
It hasn’t been, and won’t be me. It hasn’t been me since I was a kid.
Kids jump on bandwagons. And perhaps I’ve missed the point in that the 2019 LSU season made a lot of people have childlike joy.
I’m open to being wrong in this situation.
However, until we get closure and absolutes in this, it will be difficult for me to come around on “fandom by player.”
And, if it leaks into the Superdome next year when the Bengals travel to New Orleans, it will also make me upset.
Safe spaces, right?