Trying to Be the Better Fan
About a year ago, I found myself being introduced to a member of the Sounders' arch-rival Portland Timbers (the rivalry has its own Wikipedia page if you need to be brought up to speed). The introduction was a chance meeting. I ran into an acquaintance who is affiliated with the Sounders and he just happened to be hanging out with this member of the Timbers. The friend introduced him, jokingly, as "the enemy." Instead of taking the bait, though, I answered back more simply: "no one's on the field right now." Granted, I'd like to think I have enough class that I wouldn't make some snide remark to a fellow human being simply because of the logo on his professional uniform. That said, in today's world of anonymous or quasi-anonymous commentary on various online channels, I cannot say that everyone has the same restraint. A brief look through Twitter at any moment will show buckets of vitriol and that's not even getting into the cesspool t