The Waltonian Guide to…

It’s early in football season and people are out and about cheering on their favorite teams and praying for that Super Bowl trophy. Now for all you dedicated fans out there, you’ve probably been told many times that no matter how much you scream at the TV, throw your imaginary penalty flags, or study team stats and rosters, you’ll never be able to make a difference in the performance of your team. Now you and I both know that isn’t true, and everything you as a dedicated fan do can create the good mojo that your team needs to get to the top! So, without further ado, here are ten ways to cheer your team to the Super Bowl:

1. Participate in a minimum of two fantasy football leagues. It keeps you sharp on stats and impact players. Be sure to stock up on plenty of your favorite team’s players and never, I repeat, NEVER start an opposing team’s player who is going against your team that week.

2. Start team cheers anywhere and everywhere. This includes but is not limited to: restaurants, weddings, parties, shopping malls, the supermarket, and even other teams’ games.

3. Be able to list all 32 NFL teams by division. Sounds easy enough? Actually try it, it’s a lot harder than you think!

4. Host parties on game days. This is required during the playoffs, encouraged during the regular season. Be sure to invite all your fellow fans and cheer and yell over some chips and dip.

5. Wear your jersey everywhere. Yes, even at Church on Sunday.

6. Show up to your local sports bar regularly decked out in full team gear. You’ll know you’re doing it right if the workers there know you by name and refer to your meal as “the usual.”

7. Become known as “that loud guy” during games. Trust me, no one wants to be “that guy.” If anyone ever tells you they want to be “that guy” they’re crazy. But your team has a game to win, and gosh darn it, you’re going to be as loud and obnoxious as you have to be to help them win it!

8. Know and be able to recite your team’s entire roster. When that third-string tailback comes in and even the hardest fans are saying “who’s that?!” with mystified faces, you’ll be sitting there reciting his name, weight, and college GPA. Added bonus: being able to then name your team’s entire practice squad.

9. Have visited your team’s city at least once. True fans visit their team’s city (if they don’t already live there, of course) to get the game experience firsthand. They know the stadium like the back of their hands as well as the best places for pre-game and post-game meals.

10. Never support a rival team. This seems obvious, but even so much as saying a kind word about a rival quarterback’s new shoes can shift the good mojo in their favor. You have to accept that for the next 20 weeks, they are the enemy, and are not to be complimented!