Pride Outside The Norm

By

Sophomore Harrison Quick

Harrison Quick walked into school proudly displaying his Toronto Blue Jays shirt with a big smile after the Oct. 21 7-1 victory over the Royals.

“Toronto SUCKS!”

“GO Royals!”

“Nice shirt, NOT.”

Quick was bombarded by sarcastic comments, dirty looks and insults directed at him and his favorite baseball team. His smile had vanished by the time he reached first hour.

Quick is the ultimate non-Kansas sport fan. While he was growing up in KC, the Chiefs and Royals were laughing stocks of their leagues. Because his grandfather supported the Green Bay Packers, he decided to as well. Quick also has a extreme love for Canada because of the culture, wildlife and people, which prompted his support for the Toronto Blue Jays.

“I have always just liked [the Packers and Blue Jays], and the Chiefs and Royals were just not good at the time [I grew up], and I wanted to choose different teams,” Quick said.

Quick believes that he has good motives and has supported these teams for a long time, yet he still gets labeled with the term “bandwagon fan,” a fan who only supports the teams who have recently found success. Quick says people call him these names at least once a week during sports seasons.

“I kind of take [being called a bandwagon fan] in stride because I know I am not going to be able to argue with these people,” Quick said. “I’m not in the position to be arguing and I know on the inside that I like these teams.”

Although Quick has faced scrutiny for loving his teams, he doesn’t intend to stop any time soon. Quick said he needs to stay strong with his beloved Blue Jays, as they were recently knocked out of the ALCS. Now, the flack from Royals fans is stronger than ever.

He’s also still vocally and proudly supporting Green Bay as they try to continue their unbeaten record.

Sophomore Isaac Harnden

Isaac Harnden is a half-Kansas, half-Denver sports fan. Even though he supports most KC sports teams, his betrayal of the Chiefs for the Denver Broncos permits constant comments from friends and classmates during football season.

The birth of Harnden’s fandom comes from living in Boise, Idaho from age two to seven, and his father living in Colorado.

“Everyone [in Boise] was a Broncos fan, including my family, so I started to support them too,” Harnden said.

Harnden is unique in that he still supports the Royals and the Chiefs (when they are not playing the Broncos). Harnden also supports the Sacramento Kings NBA team, because they used to be a Kansas City sports team. But still, like Quick, he gets comments hurled at him because of his Broncos support.

“I get a lot of people saying I am a fake fan, but the way I see it if you’ve been cheering for the Royals as well, who haven’t been good in a long time, that doesn’t classify you as a bandwagon fan,” Harnden said.

Harnden still holds his head high, and has not given in to the persistent KC fans, as his Broncos try to continue their unbeaten record.  He also continues to proudly support the Royals in their World Series quest.

Social Studies Teacher Robert Bickers

Mr. Bickers is a die-hard Texas sports fan. His mother lived in Houston when she was growing up, and Bickers grew up in a suburb of Houston. His heritage is what supports his devotion.

“My favorite team, nostalgia wise, is the Astros because they were the first team I remember being a fan of,” Bickers said.

Unlike the student non-Kansas sport fans, Bickers participates in good-natured trash talk, mostly joking between teachers and students.

“When the Astros were playing the Royals I switched my projector background to the Astros, and I [also] went into Mrs. Fishman’s room and put a big orange Astros star on her whiteboard,” Bickers said.

Bickers is not usually very vocal about his support until it comes to the big games during the play-offs. He goes along with all of the jokes, but ultimately feels that sports are merely entertainment, and that is as far as he goes with them.

“It’s a bit surreal [not being a KC fan] because everyone thinks you’re a supporter of Kansas City teams even if you tell them you’re from Texas,” Bickers said. “But once I explain to them I am first and foremost a Texas fan, they get it.”