When baseball returned this season I was elated, not just for the excitement about having a distraction from the news reel of the virus and political and societal tensions, but because sports are something I genuinely enjoy. Being a fan of my hometown teams have shaped certain values I hold, and I encourage you to look at how rooting for your teams have shaped you. Having something to root for, a shared/mostly neutral topic to bond with other community members in.  The thing about being a Seattle Sports Fan is consistency even if it is not the outcome you hope for-a baseball team without a World Series appearance, a robbed basketball team disguising a Sonic Boom with Oklahoma Thunder, a football team that will come down to the last minutes almost every game. That is one thing that I have learned from my hometown fandom-shared hope and pride. What has rooting for your home team taught you about your values? How can you use this to guide you and your relationships with others? 

In 1908, Jack Norworth was riding on a Subway in New York when inspiration struck in the form of an ad that read “Baseball Today-Polo Grounds”. Although it would be another 32 years before he attended a baseball game, his scrap of paper lyrics that originated on that subway ride would become the third most frequently sung after Happy Birthday and the Star Spangled Banner-Take me out to the Ballgame. In 1934 the song debuted at a high school baseball game in Los Angeles making its way to a Major League Baseball game later that year. Norworth attended his first baseball game in 1940, finally seeing the popularity of his tune during the 7^th inning stretch. What does it mean for you to “root root root for the home team”?  

It is important to find something to root for, a community to belong to that has a shared interest, schedule, and goal. For you that may be a sports team but may not. The Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks are my home teams, because of where I was born and the Kingdome culture that pumps through my blood. I have also recognized over the years that my heart will root for teams with certain shades of blue that draw me in and then I will stay for the stories. Pantone 294 drawing me in to the team that taught me to love baseball through a friend who got me to watch the games, learn the stories, sing Randy Newman ““I Love LA” after each Dodger win.  Stampede blue paired with a horseshoe logo catching my eye and the coaching of Tony Dungy and athleticism of Payton Manning keeping me around. The anticipation I get when I put on my Inglewood blue coaching jacket and watch athletes cross finish lines, make winning shots, and clear the hurdles for the first time. Rooting for the home team for me is finding again that spot in your heart that feels the “I am home, I am here for it” and holding on to the hope, that pride and that shared experience.