HATS! HATS! HATS!

This is Nick writing from the Valley of the Sun in the western United States. I have been able to see some incredible sites such as the Grand Canyon and the Rainbow Bridge in southern Utah. I have been able to see dinosaur tracks, coyotes, buffalo and a whole world of snakes and lizards. It is definitely a wild world out here. Unfortunately amidst all of the breathtaking scenery the Internet connection is never up to snuff so I apologize for my absence for this past week and thanks to Michael for carrying the load.
I have been spending my days under the sun that sits perched in the clear blue sky void of any clouds or precipitation. The sites that I have seen are fresh out of a John Wayne western. But out of all the breathtaking images that we have come across there was something that I noticed, the hats. Yes, the hats. As I have travelled across America over the course of my life I have been able to tell well other people are from primarily based on the hats that they wear. Not only that but you can tell what type of fan they are. All over America there are passionate fans, poser fans and devoted and front-runners. This is what I have found.
First of all the most passionate fans are the fans that not only wear their team’s hats but also wear a t-shirt, they cover their babies in it and the license plate, that’s big. The teams that travel the best are the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Steelers. I guess the Sox Nation covers America but not as well as the Terrible Towel blankets the nation. The Steelers have a big tradition of winning and I guess they are fans of roaming the country and seeing the sites too.
Next are the poser fans. Poser fans love teams just because they have cool uniforms or because they are popular. For example the Pittsburgh Penguins are a hot one nowadays for NHL fans. I remember I have never seen so many Carolina Panther fans than I did the year that they went to the Super Bowl. I wouldn’t necessarily call these types of fans front-runners because they aren’t really fans. For some reason front-runners actually believe that they like the good teams.
Front-runners are the ones that are easiest to identify. Because they have gear that is brand new with no wear and tear whatsoever. For example if you have been 10 miles outside of the Tampa-St. Pete area last year and you saw Tampa Rays fans, you have then identified a front-runner. Now if they had Tampa Bay Devil Rays gear then you have a real fan because they stunk until they dropped the Devil. Also I have seen a lot of Arizona Cardinal fans out west. But most of them have the “angry-cardinal” logo which indicates that they are front-runners. People have no problem backing a winner but the real devoted fans stick out during the miserable days.
If you ever see a Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals or Detroit Lions fans than those are the ones that you have stand up and clap for. The Dallas Cowboys once dubbed themselves America’s team. But I don’t see their fans around nearly as much as let’s say Packer fans or White Sox fans. But as it pains me to say there is a clear and definite America’s team. The New York Yankees have a wider fan base than any other team. While the Red Sox have the Sox Nation and Dallas may be America’s team, but the Yankees have the Yankee universe. If a foreigner wants to blend in and look American they grab McDonald’s, a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt and put on a Yankee cap. Their fans may not be die hard everywhere but they are everywhere.


Like Forest Gump said, “You can tell a lot about people by their shoes, I’ve worn lots of shoes” well you can tell a lot about people by the hats that they wear. Make sure you tune in Wednesday for the second part of Nick’s summer vacation wrap up.

If you want to talk about being a fan, leave some comments.