A House Divided- by Sports

A house divided....

I live in a house of divided loyalties- college sports loyalties, that is.

I have two sons who live and breathe sports.  Two polite young men who become boorish naves when watching or discussing the rival college team. I know they are not so different from thousands of other fans around the country, but it hits close to home. In fact, a little war rages within my home.

My son's grew up rooting for Team X. ( For my sanity and safety I will keep the colleges nameless.) We have twenty major universities in the state, but the two oldest universities (X and Y) have been competing with each other the longest.

They are not in the same conference, but that doesn't matter. Both sides will tell you that their conference is superior. They will also tell you their school is harder to get into, produces better scholars, has the best programs, the hottest girls, (or guys), and of course, superior athletic teams.

I moved to this state as a teenager and had no working knowledge of either team. I chose Team X after watching them play in the Orange Bowl (and no, they didn't win.)

My choice didn't seem like a big deal, until I started dating. I often dated guys who liked the other team. I went along to games, and even donned a shirt or hat on occasion to get in good with my date. Deep down though, I still liked the other team better.

I married a guy who graduated from College X with my brother. Whew! That made life easier when the kids came along. Man of the house and I did not agree on politics, religion, or coconut, but we did root for the same college team.

It was only natural for my sons to grow up  loving Team X and hating Team Y, and there was no problem, until I married again. I brought a Team Y fan into the house. Suddenly we could not watch sports together without the rivalry rearing its ugly head.  I'm thankful neither boy is around much when Husband settles down to watch Team Y.

All of our teams made it to the Sweet 16, including my oldest son's college, Xavier University. We've watched Team X get eliminated, and then Xavier was knocked out. Now only team Y is still a contender.

I'm trying to stay out of the fray, but it's not easy being neutral.