sports fans usually rally behind the champions — it’s fernando alonzo rather than kimi raikonnen; manchester united, arsenal and liverpool rather than some bottom-table clubs. i, too, was guilty of glory-hunting. if the lakers were not in the 1984 NBA finals against the boston celtics, i wouldn’t have bought those earvin johnson’s biographies almost eight years later, in 1992 pe-Barcelona Olympics. and after more than two decades, it still pains me everytime the lakers have a bad season. 
in some cases, i just got lucky, it wasn’t apparent after the 1990 US Open that pete sampras would collect 13 more major titles, minus the French of course, but you win some, you lose some. though it took sampras almost three years to follow his first US open, his serve and volley could have easily wilted in the heat of the agassi commercial appeal. tiger woods, in serendipity, has done well, after i got glued on his attempt for a third straight US amateur title in mid-1996. 
sometimes loyalties are based on one’s own hometown teams or cheering for your country with full force and impunity during football’s world cup. for the neutrals who are just beginning to embrace sports, most people go for the michael jordans and in recent developments, his heir apparents. a classmate became a jordan fan after the 1993 NBA final. i’ve read that others prefer the dishevelled look; the long-haired andre agassi, goran ivanisevic, johnny damon et al. one broadsheet editorial bludgeoned sampras’ serve to death after beating agassi in the ‘95 US open, the writer could have been an agassi fan.
everybody has a type. the classic sample based on country affiliation is tim henman or andy murray during wimbledon. oh, if only federer is british. all would be well in the uk mainland. but the ryder cup always give the brits a rush whenever the yanks play like individuals, losing badly before the third day even commences. would this year be any different? 
as sampras is already cocooned in marital bliss with his miss teen usa 1990 and their kids, i only have tiger to root for. it’s not going to be easy as he is still grieving from the death of his father. conquering the likes of vijay singh and the people’s champion phil mickelson would be an emotional grind.
and those who didn’t like sampras then are now in the federer camp, making sure that the hairiest man in tennis would be eclipsed in his lofty position. by reaching the french open finals and winning tons of clay court titles, federer has already overshadowed pistol pete. (photos from encarta, golfday magazine and the bbc website)
