Fandom.

I attended my first OU football game this last semester. It was fascinating. I have grown up in the center of Oklahoma and have felt the pains of OU football obsession my entire life. I remember making my first trip to Norman on a Saturday during a game. My destination was not the game, but it did not matter; I was pulled into the madness without my consent. Norman is not a large town, and so when there is a game, the whole town is consumed by it. I was not wearing Crimson and Cream on this unfortunate first meeting, and I paid for it by the disgusted stares of the more knowledgeable fans. I can say that after this initial introduction to OU football, I wanted nothing to do with it.

Yet, I think that it is pointless to attend such a university and not attend at least one football game for the cultural value it provides. So, when I was given the opportunity to attend the OU vs. OSU game, I went. And, I loved it. There is a pattern to being a fan. You dress a certain way and throughout a game, you make certain chants and gestures. You know when to cheer and when to boo, and when you are cheering for such a good team with such a large group of people, it's uniquely fulfilling.

I was reminded of this feeling when I attended a Hornets game last night. This is even slightly more difficult, because the Hornets are not nearly as dominant a team as OU. (Or, at least, they did not play as dominantly against the Kings and OU played against OSU.) I had no attachment to this team, but yet by the end of the game, I am undeniably bound to their success or failure. If you go to a game and do not cheer, it is not half as fun. You cheer for you team as they enter the court, and you make the first connection. Then your enemy comes out, and suddenly the battle is yours. Every shot they make is an insult. And you are deeply elated every point that your team makes. You take confidence in the fact that you know when to cheer at the right time with the rest of the crowd to make the most noise.

The NBA is a clever beast. They have been forced to play some of the games at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, rather than the Ford Center in OKC. Norman, however, is not as passionate a fan base as OKC. So, someone dresses up a fake mascot for the other team and brings him out after the first quarter to say, "I had been told that OKC had the worst fans ever." Now it's personal. That bastard just said we can't cheer. He even had the audacity to mistake us as Oklahoma State University. Everyone starts getting louder, yelling at him to get off "our" court. Needless to say, we were loud the rest of the game and quite grateful when "our" mascot ran him out.

::raises an eyebrow:: The many faces of marketing.

But I like it. It makes my experience more enjoyable the more I am attached to the competition. Will I go back? Absolutely.

Go OU.