Tucson fans go which way the wind is blowing

The Arizona football team opens its season with a loss. People throw their tickets out. If they had opened with a win, the stadium during the UAB game would have been full no matter what the weather was like, short of that hurricane actually being here.

Allegiances shift among the people in this city faster than Congress' position on campaign finance reform.

Don't believe me? Remember back, long ago, to that depressing period in life that was either known as junior high or middle school. Every year, depending on who won the Super Bowl/World Series/NBA Finals, kids would come in wearing different team colors. They'd be decked out in red and gold one day, blue and silver the next. They went whichever way the wind was blowing.

Back then one could chalk it up to the fruitless effort to fit in to a society with no clear definitions. By college age, one would expect people to pick a team and stick with them through thick and thin.

I'll admit, I don't back the Arizona football team like I should. But then again, my allegiance lies with the black and gold of Pittsburgh. Sure, college and NFL are different, but one can only divide their loyalties among so many teams.

Maybe if Arizona had won more when I first got here last year I'd have been quicker to support them. They didn't, so I never started to care as much as I should have. I adopted the basketball team as mine long before the tournament run, mostly because Pittsburgh doesn't have an NBA team, and I hate the NBA anyway.

My ties to Pittsburgh are due to the fact that both of my parents come from that area, so the loyalty is family-oriented. Other people are usually attracted to teams for various reasons, from their proximity to the team (grow up in the LA area and you're probably a Dodgers fan) to picking things like team colors. Honest, I know people who like teams based on the color of their logos.

Ultimately, the thing that draws people without any of those connections to a team is a winner. Face it, America may like the underdog, but when was the last time this country was the underdog? I think it was 1776. We cheer for the monolith, the powerhouse, the team that crushes others with impunity.

People who've lived in Tucson, though, have no excuse. I cheered for my hometown team, the New Mexico Lobos. If I'd gone with the "I'd only cheered for them if they won" bit, I would never have cheered for them. Let's face it, they are the Lobos. The last time they won in football was, er, last year, after I'd left. Figures.

The students here are just as bad. Cries of "Fire Tomey!" rang out all over the campus following the Oregon loss. They were sounded last year, too. Instead of supporting the team and trying to help them get back on their feet, the fans here turned their backs on UA and started looking ahead to basketball season.

If you're going to be a fan, a real fan, you've got to endure the good with the bad. The Pirates and Steelers had reached their pinnacles when I was born. They fell apart during the 80's, then rebounded at decade's end. Now they are back in the pack, but it doesn't mean I'm going to go become a Braves and Packers fan. It doesn't mean I'm going to stop caring and cheering and wearing the black and gold with pride.

Walk around Tucson. See how many UA shirts are being worn now. Then check again once basketball season starts.

Fairweather, thy personification is the fans of Tucson.

Chris Jackson covers cross country and the Icecats for the Wildcat. He'd really enjoy life if the Dallas Cowboys , Atlanta Braves and Arizona State Sun Devils ceased to exist.