Every once in a while the same question will come up. "What are you passionate about, what do you live for?" For many years I would always shrug my shoulders and say "beats me", and the response from the person asking me would usually be, "oh come on, there has to be something!" Well now if some one was to ask me that I know what my answer would be, The New York Football Giants, my New York Football Giants.
Clearly they are not my team, I don't own them or have any high position in the team, but as a season ticket holder I feel that part of myself belongs to the team. I can still remember my first game like it was yesterday, the cheers and boo's from the crowd, the smell of the over-priced but delicious stadium food, the unity among fans. I have been to a few more games since that time, and with each trip to the Meadowlands I grow to love those Giants more. I never played football except for with my friends in the park, but for me the passion is not about the game itself, it is about what the Giants mean to me.
The Giants are not only my passion, they are my fathers too. The tickets are really his, passed down from his father to him. Therefore the Giants are more than a team we root for, they are part of our lives. A team to cheer for, to take our stress out with, to argue over calls made in the game, or trades in the off season. My father and I might not know everything about the sport of football, but we still root for the Giants as if we did. And that is what is great about sports, you can know even one players name, but if you want to cheer no one will stop you, every team needs fans, and fans come in all shapes and sizes. Some know what play the team is running while they are running it, others know every bit of history about the team, some dress up and some just show up in support.
If you ever find yourself at a Giant's home game, take a walk to section 131, row 33, seat 32, and there you will find me screaming and cheering my team on, begging the offense to score, and hollering at the defense to hold on. What is love? Love is standing up in freezing December weather when your team is down with one minute to go and all hope is lost. Love is being a fan.
