Sports: The meaning to most as a home away from home, the first time you caught a foul ball or even the only time your wife will let you drink in the house. What ever way you identify or describe sports as, at least you have something to cheer or hope for in life.

Defined on google as “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.” Seems simple to understand right? Two people competing for one goal: through struggle and heart break and triumph and  brilliance. Yes? …Wrong.

As a devoted sports fan, and most importantly a DIE HARD Chicago sports fan, I find myself puzzled by neighboring cities and their lack of appreciation towards raw talent. I may be from Chicago, but at least I know when the Packers offense gets on the field with Aaron Rodgers, you are pretty much screwed. That also goes for the Patriots, Payton Manning, the Cardinals, and even the Yankees five years ago. All sports teams have their talent, some people just need to understand when one team is better.

Chicago, known as the Windy City, deep dish pizza, and their amazing skyline. Chicago is also known for their north side baseball team that has not won a World Series since 1908, their football team that continues to miss the play-offs due to “Cutler” throwing the game winning interception, our basketball team that cant seem to win anything without the boost of Michael Jordon: or the health of our players, and our Blackhawks who are the only team currently about .500 and remains the team to beat in the race for the Stanley Cup. All teams known well around the country, all teams that Chicago continues to hope and dream for a winning next season.

In contrast to our even hopeful north side baseball, Chicago is also home to the Chicago White Sox. If you have ever lived in Chicago and or known who Ozzie Guillen is, you would known that saying “White Sox” in a Wrigley Ville bar, is just as bad a students at Hogwarts saying Voldemort. Its stupid, and more often than not, can get you beat up in the alley way behind the bar.

After putting up with the sports heartbreak in Chicago since I was just a kid, I have been able to place sports fans into three categories. 1. Fare weather 2. If my team can’t win, so neither can yours fans and 3. Die Hards

1. Fair Weather Fans: Most known in Chicago as the people who all of a sudden liked the White Sox when they won the World Series in 2005. And let me tell you, all you fans from the south side, you fail to let anyone wearing Cubbie blue forget that. Fair weather fans cheer for the winning team. They may not live anywhere near the city that, or have any connection to the team at all, but fair weather fans just love to wear that teams logo to the corporate barbeque after a championship win.

2. If my team can’t win,  so neither can yours fans: Have to be some of my favorite fans to hate. Although rooting for the under-dog may seem like the way to go when your favorite team is out, cheering against the Blackhawks just because they won the Presidents Trophy in the regular season, does not make them the team to hate. We have earned this position and if you can not appreciate the talent our veteran line up of Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Towes, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, and Corey Crawford, then you obviously are in a cult or you must be a Red Wings Fan. Honestly, who throws a squid out on the rink. If my team can’t win, so neither can yours fans are best described as fans from the rival team and or just don’t like seeing the best get their glass slipper fairy tale ending. These fans can also be described as cold hearted.

3. Die hard fans: Also described as the fans whose teams are so terrible they only broadcast them on the radio or make you pay money online to watch them play. These types of fans never give up, they are strong and always hope that one day the odds may be ever in their favor, or they just drink till it doesn’t hurt anymore. As a die hard fan, you look at the scouting line up and send emails to the general managers in a hope that they can see what you see. Die hards also go multiple regular season games and would never give up their season tickets, even if they are in the nose bleeds, or they are for Wrigley Field.

Even after breaking fans down into different categories, I still come to the conclusion that there are fans out there who root against the best teams or even just like to maliciously cheer for the soul purpose of disappointment for another team. Those fans are called sore losers.

Living in Chicago all my life up until moving to Colorado for college, I have realized that being from Chicago is a privilege. Going to a Rockies Game at Coors field only to see more of the away teams fans in the stand than those wearing a Rockies shirt is sad. Even when it’s the last game of the season at Wrigley and Solider field,if there is a seat, your bet your bottom there will be someone in it. Its the love of the game, not the love of the win. That also goes for game at the Pepsi Center as well. Be proud of where you live, even if your team was second to last in the league… Avalanche Vans.
Living in Chicago, I am proud to sport my Cubbie blue shirt no mater the season. And I am more proud to wear my Blackahakws red when the Red Wings are in town, especially after we make history defeating the Wings on Wednesday night. I am proud of my teams, and couldn’t imagine calling anywhere else my home.

So forget about Bartman reaching over the side and taking the ball out of Moises Alou’s mit, forget about Sammy Sosa hitting numerous homeruns with a corked bat, forget about Barber stepping out of bounder at Mile High, only to give the ball over later and have the broncos win on a field goal, forget about the Blackhawks record during the regular season and realize that it is anyones game at this point. Sports are here for fans to love, cheer and cry over. If everyone continues to back talk Chicago, you are only wasting your breath, because we are on the climb back to the top. You all better get ready for us because if you don’t like us now, you are gonna hate us even more.

Its our year, Lets bring it home.