On Frozen Blog

ESPN’s Terry Frei recently took on the topic of visiting fans. The Caps’ faithful are extremely familiar with this issue, especially when fans from Buffalo, New York, Pittsburgh, or Philadelphia are in the house. Every time I attend a game against one of those teams, I wonder about the masses of opposing fans who retain their loyalty despite living here — is it a sign of D.C.’s transience or a hometown habit? Frei’s take on it asks the question: at what point do the opposing fans merit scorn?

Yeah, sometimes — sometimes, not always — the relocated fans of the “other” team might deserve it. When they cross the line to obnoxiousness…When they come off as fans who might not even have cared as much about (fill in team name) when they lived in (fill in city) until they moved somewhere else and could flaunt their non-native status.

Harsh? Sure, but Frei might have a point. There’s nothing wrong with rooting for your home team, but there’s no need to be obnoxious about it.

Those “visiting team” fans deserve it when they’re obnoxious transplants whose retained childhood or family-roots sports loyalties are part of a more aggravating bigger-picture attitude. That attitude can be summed up as a complete lack of sensitivity or concern about how galling it all can be to natives who in their course of everyday life are reminded at every turn that 87 percent of their metro area can seem to be made up of transplants.

He lost me here. To relate this statement to Washington, while it’s irritating to hear “Let’s Go Rangers” in the Phone Booth, I’m not offended that D.C. is made up of people from other areas (after all, I’m a transplant too). That’s what gives the city a little personality. Plus, I doubt that most natives are so sensitive that they can’t handle the idea that people from other places move to their city.

I will concede there’s nothing wrong with — and it even can add spice to a game — having good-natured fans of the “opposing” team in the seats, and hearing the teasing go back and forth.

This can be one of the best parts of a game. During a Washington-Toronto game several years ago, some deaf Leaf fans and I had a great time taunting each other in sign language. Unfortunately, those types of harmless fan experiences are in the minority when the aforementioned Pittsburgh/Buffalo/New York/Philadelphia fans are in the arena; the good nature goes out the door as they’re walking in. I’m reminded specifically of a classless incident from the final game last season, when I saw two Sabres fans proudly wiping their feet on the Ovechkin giveaway banner. (I was tempted to “accidentally” spill my beer all over them, but then I’d be no better than they were — and I would never waste a beer.) In many ways, fans in cities that don’t see opposing fans take over the arena on a semi-regular basis are fortunate.

This might be the most significant point of all: They’re the most aggravating when their attitudes come with the kicker beliefs that their friends who dare to switch their loyalties to local teams, or have rooted for the local team or teams all along, are saps.

Admittedly, that’s a fair statement. Why someone can’t root for both teams (at least when their hometown team isn’t playing the local team)? Why is there an attitude that the two must be mutually exclusive? Is that really considered selling out?

Yet Frei’s position is a little confusing. Does he mean that every time someone moves to a different NHL city they should root for the local team? That’s just plain silly. Perhaps the distinction comes from the obnoxious opposing fan’s attitude: the smug superiority that nothing compares to the home team, the local team is inadequate, and thus deserving of disrespect. Again, there’s nothing wrong with cheering for the visiting team in someone else’s house, but why be a jerk about it?