Interleague's sibling rivalry
My mother grew up in Maple Heights Ohio, and is a lifelong Indians fan. My father was born outside of Dayton, and when I was younger, had a major affiliation with the Reds.
My memories of summer in my childhood are filled with the sounds of static on a car radio, as my dad tried to get Reds games in from WLW in Cincinnati.
I say I've never experienced a real world championship from one of my professional sports teams, but that's not entirely true.
The Reds won the World Series in 1990. I didn't become a huge Reds fan until 1992, and have been one ever since. I was able to love the Reds and Indians almost equally, without consequence.
Then came 1997, and Interleague Play.
This series is always hard for me, but I always chose the Indians, because I'm from Cleveland. That changed in 2004. I'm not sure why, but I think the Reds were winning at the time of the series, and I reason they had a better shot at the postseason (Hah). That and the Reds didn't have Casey Blake on their roster.
So I pulled for Cincinnati, which rewarded me by getting swept.
Since then, I have not really cheered for either team when they match up, instead letting the series play out.
What's funny is my dad isn't much of a Reds fan anymore, having switched to a full Indians fan in the mid-1990s. My aunt, who still lives in Dayton, remains a Reds fan, so we talk about them and pull for them together.
So the good news this weekend was the Indians won 2 of 3. The bad news is the Reds lost 2 of 3.
The series has made me almost indifferent about my favorite sport.
For that, I hate Interleague Play. Actually, I have a 1,000 other reasons.