With Kurt away, walking the earth like Jules from Pulp Fiction, it feels like a day for personal stories at BYB.
I'll start...
I've been a huge Tigers fan my whole life, going to games since I was 6 years old, never wavering in my fandom (even in the dark days of the mid-70's or the darker days of the Randy Smith era). But my dad, who was taking me to all those games all through the 70's, and supported me in ALL my athletic endeavors, wasn't a big sports fan. While I was spending my Saturday afternoons watching George and Al call the Tigers game on channel 4, he was busy doing dad stuff, such as making sure we had the nicest yard in the neighborhood.
But as my dad grew older, he tired of the Michigan winters (as I'm starting to as well), and wanted to move south when we kids (six of us, I'm the oldest) were grown and on our own. Which he did, landing in Atlanta in the early 90's...at the same time the Braves took off as a National League power.
He became, God forbid, a huge Braves fan. He never missed a game, loved the broadcast team of Skip Carey and Don Sutton, Greg Maddux was his favorite player. To this day, he still talks of Sid Bream with great fondness...
I would travel down to see him, and head out to Fulton County Stadium to catch "his" team. I still found his fandom surprising, it's not as if the Tigers were a bad franchise while my dad was spending his first 50 years in Michigan. Be that as it may, while he was working his ass off supporting us, the Tigers never caught his fancy...but the Braves did.
Now my 70 year old dad and step-mom are happily retired in central Florida. When I was visiting a couple of weeks ago, I'd spend my evenings hanging out with him watching...the Tampa Rays. He's now latched onto the Rays as his favorite team, never misses a game, singing the praises of Joe Maddon, Evan Longoria, Matt Joyce and David Price.
I love my dad dearly, but I hate his choice in baseball teams! In fact, I just sent an email ragging him on Justin Verlander's victory last night.
So this is my question to the community. Do you have divided baseball loyalties in your family? Are you the oddball Tigers fan? Or is there someone in your family who has hitched their wagon to another team, turning their back on the Tigers?
I'm curious to hear your own stories in the comments!