LA vs. OKC for a Confused Fan: Picking Sides When Loyalties Collide

Growing up, I was never that much of a basketball fan.

That's probably because it was one of those sports I could never get good at no matter how hard I tried.

Like so many Midwestern, white kids... and more particularly middle-class kids from Oklahoma City, a future in basketball was not on my radar.  So, I did what everyone else was doing; I joined a soccer team and then ended up playing some high school football.

Oklahoma City's professional sports focus was the Oklahoma Sooners football team in those days, and despite what people say about my USC Trojans, I intentionally call the Sooners professional because I know many players have profited off of their Sooner allegiance.

And no, I'm not talking about by getting drafted early.

It was by complete chance that OKC ended up with the Hornets after Katrina, but once the games sold out for the whole season, the NBA became the first major sports league to realize that Oklahoma actually had a market.

It seems like a week later, but these days, the Thunder are in the playoffs taking on the Lakers.

When I moved to LA for school, I quickly discovered I was in a basketball city.  Aside from the college team that calls the Coliseum home (the one that ESPN is obsessed with, which by the way, if you're in school there you never get used to that) the Lakers are the big deal.

The Dodgers and Angels kind of exist on their own island, and LA just isn't a hockey town.

The one thing that everyone in LA cheers for in unison is Lakers basketball; I wasn't about to be the only guy there who didn't.

Especially when the Staples Center was within walking distance.

But as a casual basketball fan, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Oklahoma City Thunder.  They are, in all reality, my only home team.

Five or six years ago, I would have found it laughable if you told me OKC would get an NBA franchise, or for that matter, any real professional franchise.

So I find myself confused as two of the biggest names in the sport, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant, face off in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

I watch intently, even though I still am just a casual fan of the game, trying to decide which I would rather see: a Lakers repeat or a Thunder upset.

Its hard to even define which one is more my team.

One is from my home city, but I'd been to Lakers games before the Supersonics even became the Thunder.

I'm forced to admit I'd like the outcome no matter who wins.  However, I'll also be a little disappointed.

The trick in a new age of fan-hood, an age where sports enthusiasts likely spend a good amount of time in multiple cities that have teams in their favorite league, is figuring out who you're actually supposed to cheer for.

And if fantasy sports have done anything, its make such decisions more complicated.

I know that I've been guilty many times of hedging my sports bets with fantasy rewards.  I'll start a player whose success will likely mean I'll win that week in fantasy, but lose that week with my favorite team.

It is almost undeniable that it is getting harder and harder to be a true fan of only one franchise.

In the NFL, I'm a lifelong Broncos fan, but I cheer for the Saints if the opportunity presents itself.  I love New Orleans as a city and always have a great time there, so why not?

The question then becomes how can fans survive these random, occasional clashes of interest?

I'll admit, the only thing I could imagine that is worse that the Lakers and Thunder facing off is a USC-OU National title game.  My head would likely explode.

I think the trick is simply cheering for the underdog and pretending you're happy with whatever result you get.  Even though any real fan knows, you can't be happy with the result from the game unless you really pick a side.

Perhaps by the end of this series, I'll have a better answer for myself.

But for now if anyone out there knows how to handle these games, I'm all ears.

I could use the help.  I spent more time trying to figure out which team to list this article under than actually writing the article.