Every Sports Team Ever.
How Else Am I Supposed to Celebrate Post 100?
Well, I never thought I would make it here, but you're reading the 100th post of this little blog I do a terrible job of promoting. Just The Sandwich was something I considered "open beta" when I launched in January of 2024. It was a place to work on my writing and sports (um, what's a word that's more than “content” but not quite “journalism?”), and experiment to see if I could create without the pressures of trying to drum up growth. The jury is still out on that last part, but this here is the 100-post mountaintop. (Technically it's the 101st post, but the first-first one was one of those 'coming soon/stay tuned' sort of ditties.) And while I could do something more topical, I figured I celebrate in an oddball way that's become fitting of the brand.
I'm going to list all the sports teams I follow and support and tell you why I do. Some teams I'm fanatical about. Other teams were the result of an impulsive decision. The fun part is seeing where teams fall. If there's a team in a league I don't have covered and you think I should add to the collection, PLEASE let me know.
Baseball
New York Mets: Being a Mets fan ain’t for the weak, as there have been seasons that were absolutely abysmal. As a young kid of color, I loved the fact that it was more likely that a Mets lineup would feature people that looked like me. In the 90s we had black players like Butch Huskey, and Darryl Strawberry, Pacific Islander players like my boy Benny Agbayani, or Japanese players like Hideo Nomo and more. The Mets squad felt more like a melting pot and the fact they worked together like a team was something “the class of the league” Yankees couldn’t offer.
Chicago White Sox: When I was a kid the National League and the American Leagues were split. And while I’m a Mets fan for life, I would love how the Chicago White Sox would come to town and smack around the Yankees for funsies. Frank Thomas was my dude, even if these days he’s more of a pitchman:
Abu Dhabi/Mid East Falcons: Baseball United is a new league that started out in South Asia and the Middle East that’s looking to make baseball a thing over there. There are currently four teams and I figure I root for the team with the cleanest colors:
Tokyo Yakult Swallows: During the MLB lockout of 2021 I went looking for other leagues to support. I came across Japanese Baseball (NPB) and was interested to see the Japanese take on the sport. People on the NPB subreddit said “The Swallows are the Mets of Japan” and I said ‘Cool.”
Basketball
Brooklyn Nets: I was a Knicks fan when I was a kid but after the 1999 NBA Finals I decided to walk away from basketball for a bit. Fifteen years later a buddy I went to high school with got me Nets tickets on the floor over at Barclay’s Center and the rest is history.
New York Liberty: The defending WNBA champion New York Liberty was an original team when the league launched in 1997. Mix the (original) colors of Orange and Blue with imagery of the Statue of Liberty (Or is it the Statue of Happiness??) and I was instantly hooked.
Football
Houston Texans: I was a Jets Fan until I got to high school where Jets QB Vinny Testaverde got me SO MAD, that I decided to quit and to support a random expansion team. The Houston Texans didn’t have a playbook and didn’t have lore, but I KNEW they couldn’t be as bad as the New York Jets. Good thing they’re semi-good now.
New York Guardians/Seattle Dragons: The XFL has played with my heart plenty of times. The 2001 version was fun but quickly was seen as a flop. The 2020 version, and in my opinion the BEST version, had me hyped from the get-go. Fresh teams, a fresh approach to the game, and speedy pace made every week enjoyable. I became a fan of my hometown New York Guardians. Unfortunately after Week 5 in the 2020 season, the league ceased operations due to the pandemic. When XFL 3.0 relaunched in 2022 (“The Rock” version), New York didn’t have a team, so I sided with the Seattle Dragons. Now the SeaDragons, I refused to acknowledge their downgraded logo and referred to them by their 2020 name and identity. No, seriously, here is the 2020 version:
And here’s that sorry 2023 version.
What are we even doin’, here?
Anyway, the 2024-2025 “UFL” doesn’t even have a Dragon-based team, so I’m taking a hiatus until they get their stuff together.
Hockey
New York Islanders: The most ‘90s answer ever. I was a huge POGs player. And if you knew anything about POGs, you were only as good as your slammer (Or “Kini”). My favorite slammer was a solid piece made of brass that had the New York Islanders logo on it. That’s all I needed to be a fan, because that slammer was UNDEFEATED.
Soccer
LA Galaxy: I used to root for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars but felt it was disingenuous when they changed their name to “Red Bull New York.” Meanwhile, I’ve been living in Los Angeles for over fifteen years and thought maybe I should root for a local team for SOMETHING. I got to see Beckham play, Donovan play, and even former MetroStar Juan Pablo Angel play.
Manchester City: I didn’t want to support the British Premier League because I wanted to support the leagues at home. On my 25th birthday, I decided to celebrate at a British Pub where I met a Manchester couple ‘on holiday.’ They offered to buy me pints all night in exchange for supporting City if I ever decided to follow English “football.” I Started doing so that very next season. So I became a Manchester City fan because of four pints of Newcastle Brown Ale.
Celtic, FC: Glasgow has become one of my favorite cities on the planet and of the two “Old Firm” teams that reside there, I sided with Celtic. Maybe Gallus influenced me on that one.
La Liga Deportivo Alajuelense: I studied abroad in Costa Rica. Besides the fact the city where I stayed already had a local team (Club Sport Herediano), my host family were big fans of “La Liga.” When in Rome, I guess. Speaking of Rome…
Lazio (Italy): People typically hate the grit of Rome, but I loved it when I had the chance to walk the streets. Roma and the She-Wolf iconography didn’t really speak to me as a team, and so I leaned towards Lazio.
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Schalke 04: During the pandemic, I played a crapload of FIFA 2020. German Bundesliga team Schalke 04 was the team that signed my Create-A-Player. Note, this is also why I have a slight affinity for British team Millwall FC., as they were the first club to sign my retired player as a manager.
KC Current: I was in Kansas City on a baseball trip when I was FLOODED with ads and billboards arounds town that said the KC Current had the first soccer-specific stadium for women’s pro soccer in the USA. By the fourth day I had given in, went into a Rally House Sporting Goods store, and bought a KC Current hat.
Caledonian Braves: That one is easy. I’m an owner.
Australia For Some Reason
I'm just glad I made it out to Australia earlier this year or else the following list would be a bit more weird than normal. So the following have their own individual reasons but collectively, I had this vision about them as a tandem. Back when I did standup comedy, there was a daydream about having an Australian Tour. And in the promo materials (social media post, billboard, or whatever) I would be pictured wearing the jersey of the team of the city the tour would roll into next. This is why the next four are so scattered. As for the comedy tour, that went up in smoke when I retired in March but alas, we move.
Sydney Roosters: During the pandemic, most sports stopped playing, save for Korean baseball and Australian Rugby. The first game I saw of Aussie NRL was the Sea Eagles vs Roosters, and the Roosters became my team instantly. They just launched an offshoot team in LA and I can’t wait to support them.
Melbourne City: A soccer team affiliated with Manchester City in England.
Perth Heat: Perth sucks. But hey, I was pretty open on getting an Aussie baseball team to root for.
Port Adelaide: I’ve been told the fans were “feral,” but I like the colors. Plus the team nickname is called the “Power” so that’s pretty cool. I actually have a uniform top I train in and it makes my arms look so muscly.
Motorsport
Formula 1: Can’t lie. Got into F1 via the Netflix show, “Drive to Survive.” People hate me for it but come at me bro.
Zane Maloney: Zane is a driver who competes in Formula E. And while I can admit I’m not a huge Formula E fan (or Formula 2 for that matter), “The Boy From From Barbados” has become a bit of a national hero.
Hey, I’ll buy some merch.
WWE
What can I say about pro wrestling that I haven’t already. A lifelong fan, I’ve been watching the wrasslin’ for over 30 years. I’ve been lucky enough to critique the shows, attend the biggest events, and travel for the art form.
Okay, I think that’s it. Did I miss anything?
