Fair-Weather Fan

The Cardinals are in the World Series! Go, Cards! I hope Pujols can lead the team to victory in Game 4 tonight, provided the game doesn't get rained out again. The team's decisive wins in Games 1 and 3 give me hope for another blowout tonight.

Okay, I'll confess: I'm a sports poser. I am dimly aware that sports exist, and I've noticed that a lot of people have been wearing red lately. Usually, though, it takes playoff or championship games for me to care even the tiniest bit about a team. In North Carolina, Tom and I started going to hockey games when the Carolina Hurricanes made the playoffs; the next year, it was a pleasure to watch that underdog team do well. In Philadelphia, if the Eagles started doing well, I would watch part of a game and eat some chips and salsa. One year, my brother Jay gave me a sentence to memorize: "Oh, I've been following A. J. Feely since his days at Oregon." It would have been more convincing if I had been able to deliver it with a straight face.

Yesterday a friend emailed that everyone should wear their Cardinals gear to book club, so I stopped by the grocery store and bought myself a shirt. (Ben was begging for one--I think the kids at school have them--but since there were none in his size I got him to settle for a Cardinals balloon.) When my friend from Detroit heard about my new shirt, she sneered that I should go buy a shirt "at the BANDWAGON store."

So I just want to say: Mel, I am proud to shop at the Bandwagon Store. Even though I know next to nothing about the team, my shirt makes me feel more connected to my new city, and I don't mind wasting brain cells on sports a few times a year.

Also, my team is going to stomp your team tonight. Go, Cards!