Kicking Off The Season

I have picked a team. Sort of.

The poll results were small, but useful. Three votes for Arsenal, two for Manchester United, one for Everton, one for Liverpool, one for Aston Villa.

When I registered for a fantasy soccer league, it asked for my favorite team, and I selected Newcastle United. They are going through chaos, an unpopular owner unable to sell the team, the new season a week away and no decision made on a manager, some players have left, and poor results in exhibition matches.

But I picked them in my younger days, so I will stay with them now, for better or for worse. For some people, after all, a relationship with a sports team is like a marriage, only it is harder to divorce your favorite sports team.

This comparison is an exaggeration, perhaps, but there is a real significance to your allegiance to a sports team, because we all, deep down, think that it makes a difference in the world that we root for a certain team, a certain organization, that we can will success. For some reason, it just feels right to me to continue to root for Newcastle.

Also, this will give me incentive to follow EVEN MORE soccer, as I will want to see Newcastle win promotion back to the Premiership.

It also makes me feel better, because I was leaning towards rooting for Manchester United, which would be like rooting for AC Milan in Italy, simply because they signed American defender Oguchi Onyewu, disregarding the taint of their affiliation with Silvio Berlusconi.

I will, however, root for Michael Owen to hit a ton of goals, because I picked him for my fantasy team. And I will root for Manchester United to win the Champions League, because they have the best shot, I think.

As for the Premier League, I will root for Liverpool, even though a recent scandal involving Steven Gerrard and a brawl in a pub has tarnished my affection; therefore, Arsenal will be my co-favorites in the Premiership.

Who says you can't have your cake and eat it to?