Life of a Fairfield sports fan

Sports fans are among the most passionate people in the country, living and dying with their teams, suffering through losses and celebrating victories.

On a campus like Fairfield, where most students come from the same general area, rivalries are common. Yankees-Red Sox, Jets-Patriots, Giants-Jets and many other games ignite the interest of different fans, who often gather in dorm rooms or lounges to watch together.

Competing against other fans is what makes rooting for a team fun.

At Fairfield games, it’s always great to hear Hutch and his Red Sea taunt the opposing players and fans with a safety school chant, because good old-fashioned bashing is what makes sports what it is.

Football season and the MLB playoffs cause a frenzy on campus, as fans of all teams gather to witness the start of a new pigskin season and eight lucky groups of fans get to watch their teams play in the MLB playoffs with a chance at World Series glory.

Walk into a lounge on campus on Sunday night and you are likely to hear Yankees fans taunting Red Sox fans about how they will lose, Red Sox fans laughing about Joe Torre leaving the Yankees, and the rare Indians fan cheering on his Tribe.

The friendly, and sometimes not so friendly, competition that comes with rooting for a particular team is what makes it so much more than just watching the game.

But on Sunday night, many fans of both the Red Sox and Indians almost had heart attacks as TVs across campus suddenly turned to snow.

As I stared at the TV in the commons in Loyola, wondering what had just happened, other students flocked in from throughout the building to see if it was only their TV that suddenly did not work.

It turned out that only TVs in the Quad area had gone out and were only out about a half hour, but for the Sox and Indians fans who were staring at the TV and not seeing the game, it seemed like a lot longer.

Fans pulled out phones and radios or ran off to other dorms to keep up with the game.

It was a nightmare come true, no TV to watch game seven of the ALCS, with the Sox up 3-1 and runners on first and third base for Cleveland.

As I “watched” MLB Game-Tracker, I realized how amazing it is that we can watch these games with crystal clear image.

I can’t imagine growing up in an era without TV or going to school with no way to watch the playoffs.

But it is something a lot of fans still deal with. Going away from home, even if it is just an hour and 15 minutes down the Merritt Parkway, could mean not being able to watch your favorite team.

There is no NESN in Fairfield, so sorry Sox fans, no regular season games unless you are willing to spend $120 to buy MLB.TV to watch the games online.

But even then, half the games are blacked out because of problems with Fairfield being on the border of Red Sox and Yankees country. Half the time the Internet at Fairfield is so slow or down that it is impossible to watch the streaming video.

Die-hard NFL fans of teams other than the Pats, Jets or Giants say an extra prayer each week that their team will be on CBS or Fox or the rare Monday Night or Sunday Night game.

Just maybe they will be able watch one or two of the 16 regular season games.

So for sports fans who don’t love New York teams, you are out of luck. Either watch a bunch of text on an online Game-Tracker or just wait for SportsCenter at 11, which is never the same.

Of course you could be like former sports editor Dan Akeson and buy a satellite, perch it on the roof of Dolan, and catch all the games you want. But for the majority of us, we will have to suffer through lagging video or a little line on a computer screen representing the ball.

Oh, the life of a Fairfield sports fan.