Don’t be a mark — Root for YOUR team

Slim Jefferson makes good music. He also has some really good sports takes. On Monday, his take on rooting for your hometown team was, I thought, right-on. Growing-up, I never understood people who lived in California and rooted for the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Braves, or Dallas Cowboys.

This phenomenon has always bugged me, but I’ve never really been able to put it into words. This morning, in a Facebook post, Slim Jeff described the importance of rooting for your hometown team like I’ve never been able to:

Thanx to Michael Jordan (& the historic marketing push behind his airness) basketball fans are confused. People just adopt a favorite player & totally disregard where they’re from. I think there’s something noble about being proud of where you’re from, wherever that may be. For me it’s ‪#‎Lakers‬ or nothing. ‪#‎Dodgers‬ or nothing. ‪#‎Raiders‬ (LA team when I was a kid). & Although I’m not an avid hockey fan…‪#‎Kings‬ or nothing.

Always odd to me when people root for teams & have zero connection to that city. It should always be team > player. LA is in my blood. The smog, traffic, gang culture, weather, etc. It’s a sensory feeling. Sports is more than sports. These teams mean a lot to the people that watch them, especially the people that grow up with less. They bring cities together that are otherwise separated by class & race. What if LeBron came to the Lakers? Are all Laker-hater LeBron fans suddenly going to root for the Lakers? The sad part is yes, yes they will. & that’s that shit I don’t like. I grew up in South Central, I’m far from a street goon, thug, gangster, or any of that, but the one thing street homies teach you is that loyalty is more precious than gold. In LA we say “off tops” which translates as “you already know.” Some people live through the TV. I live in real life on these LA streets. Moral of the story is don’t be a buster ass perp ass mark. If you’ve been a Clipper fan since day 1 I salute you tho…all 4 of you. ‪#‎Lakergang‬

Well-put, Slim. Well-put.