Minutes Restriction: Why did this Happen?

When did it become OK for openly root for teams in sports you cover?

PROBABLY-ON-MY-COUCH, Wash. – This is one of my favorite (and often most heartbreaking) seasons each year. No, I’m not talking about Seattle’s fickle weather.

This is all about NBA playoff season.

There’s a new trend, though, that I just don’t understand: why are people who get paid to pontificate openly cheering for teams? This isn’t just an NBA issue, but it hits hardest for me here because I want to hear analysis. I don’t care who you’re rooting for – because it’s almost never the team I want to win.

I’m a huge Indiana Pacers fan. Random, I know, but the moment below sparked a Reggie Miller fandom that led to a love for the team.

I don’t cover the NBA, so I can share that I’m a fan. But as I type this, there’s an anchor on ESPN discussing the draft who just said, “my Bears.”

That’s not relevant information. I don’t need to know that Stephen A. Smith is a Knicks fan or that Michael Wilbon is a Cubs fan.

As sports fans, we all carry bias – but can you imagine the reaction if, as a high school sports reporter, I openly talked about my favorite teams? I upset plenty of people just by trying to check my bias.

The media landscape has changed, and I get that. But this fandom oversharing is something that should go away.

During this Pacers playoff run, I’ll keep my opinions to myself – and I wish others would do the same.

Have a story idea? Click the link below to send me a message.