By T. Scott Boatright
They say variety is the spice of right, and being a New Orleans native, I’m a spicy kind of guy.
But as a true sports fanatic, I’m also admittedly what some of my friends think is crazy because I don’t limit my pro fandom to the NFL’s Saints, NBA’s Pelicans and the MLB’s Houston Astros after first attending some of their games in the Astrodome in the late 1960s.
My “loyal to one team and one team” only friends don’t get it, but that’s OK. I’ve never been one to automatically follow conventional thinking, so my fanaticism allows me to support multiple teams.
That’s especially true for the NFL, but for each team I follow, I have my reasons.
I’m actually older than the Saints, so I’m also a big Packers fan, going back to flashes of memories of sitting in my father’s lap cheering on his favorite team before the Who Dats came to town. He loved players like LSU’s Jimmy Taylor (one of the original Saints via expansion draft), Bart Starr, Willie Davis, Paul Hornung, Jerry Kramer (a great author, offensive guard and kicker) and Tulane’s Max McGee.
But Green Bay is No. 3 on my NFL countdown, because they’re an NFL rival of the Saints. No. 2 are the Pittsburgh Steelers, and yes, that’s primarily because of Terry Bradshaw and the fact that Steelers play in the AFC opposite the Saints.My love for the Steelers goes back to following the Steelers when Bradshaw was still the No. 3 QB behind Terry Hanratty and Joe Gilliam.
The Titans are next because they’re the old Oilers, and both my parents had siblings raising families in Houston, hence my love of the Astros.
Those are my NFL “Top 4,” but there are other teams I follow, too.
I like the Ravens because I was hurt at the way Robert Irsay snuck the Colts out of town to Indy. You see, I’m a Colts fan, too, because of two quarterbacking greats. And I’m not talking about Peyton Manning. My love for the Colts other than those simple, crisp uniforms is because of Johnny Unitas and Bert Jones, a former Ruston Bearcat and LSU great.
And Edgar Allen Poe is one of my favorite writers, so I have to love the Ravens.
The Chiefs are up there because of Buck Buchanan (my dad always loved Grambling players, too) and Hank Stram. The late Joe Delaney and the heroic story surrounding his death only solidified my love for KC.
I still like the Dolphins because of Don Shula and the fact he first coached the Colts to a Super Bowl and largely because of the way he built his Dolphins teams around his players. With Larry Czonka, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris, his Dolphins ran. With Dan Marino, Mark Duper, Mark Clayton, Nat Moore and Tony Nathan, they passed the ball.
As a young baseball player I had a green glove and green aluminum bat and loved going to Tulane athletic events, so the fact that the Eagles wore great green uniforms helped build my love for them.
I also love the Bears because of many players, but it really all boils down to only two — Brian Piccolo and Walter Payton. I remember watching “Brian’s Song” the night it premiered and it’s still one of my favorite movies.
My fandom for the Commodores (Redskins) goes back to original Saints QB Billy Kilmer (who unexpectedly beat out Gary Cuozzo for that role) leading Washington to a Super Bowl against the Dolphins, and later because of the running of John Riggins.
And that was before a good man who later became a good friend — Doug Williams — made history with his Super Bowl win over the Broncos.
I’ve also pulled for the Raiders because of their attitude and players like the “Mad Bomber” — Darryl Lamonica and Kenny “The Snake” Stabler, and Philadelphia because of those great Dick Vermeil-era uniforms.
In the MLB, the Yankees are behind the Astros because of those great late ‘70s teams, followed by a tie between the Braves and Cubs, thanks to cable TV. I went to Braves games as a young teen for two summers when my father worked on a post-graduate degree at Georgia Tech, and my mother and I would drop my sister off with relatives in Jonesboro and Ruston before heading east to spend a few weekends to attend games with my dad.
I also like the Orioles because my father wanted me to be Brooks Robinson and play third base as he did when I was learning the game and bought me multiple training books by Robinson, and the Royals.
NBA-wise I loved the Jazz as a teen before hating them after they left New Orleans. I was a huge Karl Malone fan but never could pull for the team again.
My second favorite pro hoops team was originally my first, going back to the days of Bill Russell, “Hondo” Havlicek and Dave Cowens.
Next come the Bulls, who I especially became a fan of as a young adult because “I always liked Mike,” still the best in my mind along with Pistol Pete Maravich.
And finally the Warriors, because of those 70s teams and watching Rick Barry’s “granny-style” under-handed free throws.
I understand many people don’t get it, but while I’m a Who Dat (and Astro) forever, I have a lot more love than hate in my heart when it comes to watching professional sports.
