Sports of All Sorts

     Competition fuels high energy relationships and can inspire chemistry from the most unlikely places. Was Romeo seriously ambivalent to his Montague roots? Did Juliet show up to the bar sans Tybalt jersey? It's clearly a device to polarize our starcrossers as far as the Yankees from the Red Sox purely to lend credibility to this knee jerk love affair. But maybe they were more attracted to the forbidden? Isn't it possible that the passion spent hour after hour to support their respective bird mascots could drive a Pacific Northwesterner to land a diehard Mary from Baltimore? Whichever way your spectator compass leads you the fact remains, Los Angeles is the land of sports diversity and at some point you'll probably have to venture beyond Raider nation to find the one.

   
     Despite incessant warnings and a collective disgust for our longest standing NFL rival my friend somehow found herself in the arms of a Bears fan. Cheeseheaded and fierce she must enjoy the conflict and he the humiliation of consistent losses. Some however, can't bear the taunts of their significant other after a last second miffed field goal or three pointer at the buzzer. Much like dating outside your religion or across political lines, passionate sports fans can find themselves in serious spats, even when one party doesn't understand how important it is for Barcelona to beat Real Madrid.

     My competitive nature finds me screening dates based on team affiliation, if only to avoid staring at an unsightly San Fransisco Giants logo whenever I see her face. Even if you could find a way as a Buckeye to live in harmony amongst a den of Wolverines there's at least one friend of his who will make your life a living hell. In a city of transplants you can always find that random dive that transforms into a Browns bar every Sunday, but odds are you'll need a thick skin to keep your game face on.