These guys were Denver fans for the dayI went to the Denver-Washington game this weekend (expecting a snoozer but was pleasantly surprised) and sat a few rows behind a group of fans wearing Dallas jerseys. OK -- according to Liz's Book of Jersey Etiquette, it's acceptable at a game to wear the jersey of a different team than the ones you're watching if 1) your jersey is for a team in the same league or 2) if your jersey is for a team that plays in the same city as one of the two teams on the field.
I know, it makes perfect sense.
Anyway, that's not why these guys were wearing Cowboys jerseys. That became abundantly clear when they started cheering wildly for the Denver Broncos and high-fiving every Denver fan that passed their way.
They were there SOLELY to root against the Redskins. Now THAT'S a dedication to a rivalry.
Or, is it? Does going to your rival's game against a team you could care less about just to root against your rivals go a little too far? Sure, empires have been built upon rivalries -- Red Sox vs. Yankees, Army vs. Navy, Giants vs. Dodgers, Cal vs. Stanford, Mac vs. PC. But it's one thing to go to "The Big Game" and throw punches in the parking lot -- it's another kind of illness when you pick sides in a fight you weren't invited to.
Just to check, I asked my resident Chip On the Shoulder Red Sox Fan (a.k.a., my husband) what he thought about the posse a few rows down. After all, so much of the Red Sox identity (t-shirts, Yankees Suck chants, etc.) was built upon hating the Yankees, I thought he'd be the most likely to understand.
No dice. He later told me the Cowboys fans' move was like going to a NASCAR race to root for car crashes. (Seriously? People do that?)
So between my extremely scientific survey of forming my own opinion and asking my husband, it appears our friends have crossed the line of scrimmage into Psycho Fan territory. Plus (and this is the reason I'll never set foot in Dodgers Stadium), isn't buying Redskins tickets to root against the team still supporting the 'Skins with your wallet? That's all Dan Snyder cares about after all -- that the seats are filled and people are drinking. Which these guys were.
But what do you think? Please, someone enlighten me if you can explain why this tactic of hatred makes sense. Or you think these guys are nuts -- well let's hear from you too.