MIDWESTERN MELANGE: Some recent action from the COMMENTS that you don't want to miss...

An anonymous reader writes:

How many years does it take a guy to lose loyalty to his hometown teams and jump on a Chicago bandwagon. You make it sound like you have lived in Chicago your whole life. You can take the boy out of Hamiltucky..but you can't take the Hamiltucky out of the boy.

Fri Nov 03, 12:11:59 PM CST

My response:

Dear Anonymous:

Bandwagon? Prepare to learn...

I was born in Chicago in 1966 and lived here until 1974 or so. I lived in Hamiltucky from 1974 until 1982 or thereabouts. I lived in the Detroit area from 1982 until about 1989 or so, albeit with my college years ('80 - to '84) spent near Hamiltucky. I returned to Chicago in 1989 and have lived here since. Hence:

Chicago - ~25 years
Hamiltucky - ~8 years
Detroit - ~7 years

My sports allegiances are something of a mixed bag between Chicago and Detroit:

Baseball - Cubs
Basketball - Pistons
Football - Bears
Hockey - Red Wings

These allegiances were born in the heart rather than the head and are hard to explain. They probably have more to do with my parents and friends and with the rise and fall of the various sports franchises than they do with actual time "served" in any given town.

Please be advised that I was also a rabid Big Red Machine rooter in the middle '70s and actually had the good fortune to see Game 5 of the World Series in 1975. I'm much more of a Reds fan than I am a Tigers fan, and I'm also way more of a Bengals fan than I am a Lions fan, for whatever reason. Also, I cheer for Michigan over Ohio State, since they have better uniforms, a better campus, smarter alums, and a better fight song than the Bucks...

Fri Nov 03, 12:35:13 PM CST