Teams I support
Baseball
I grew up in the Boston area, so it should come as no surprise to you that I'm a die-hard Red Sox fan.
I've been rooting for the Hanshin Tigers of NPB since first visiting Japan in 2011 and for the Doosan Bears of KBO since seeing them in 2014. For a while in 2020, during the first height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the only decent professional baseball being played in the world was in Taiwan. That's when I started following the CTBC Brothers of the CPBL. Closer to home, I happily support the Oakland Ballers of the Pioneer League and the Toros in the LMB. (In general my loyalties in Mexican sports are to Tijuana, the other half of the San Diego-Tijuana conurbation that I called home for so long.)
I disagree with MLB's policy which prevents active MLB players from representing their countries at the Olympics and the WBSC Premier12—but not at the MLB-affiliated World Baseball Classic—so I tend to support teams other than Team USA at the international level.
I had the pleasure of meeting John Fitzgerald many years ago. He directed The Emerald Diamond, a documentary about the Irish National Baseball Team. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for anyone who is committed to playing baseball in such a rainy country. Labhraítear baseball anseo.
It's hard to beat the determination of the high schoolers who play in the 夏の甲子園 each year.
Basketball
I support the Golden State Valkyries in the WNBA and the Boston Celtics in the MenBA.
Hockey
I root for the Bruins in the NHL and for the Boston Fleet in the PWHL.
The Beanpot is a big deal back home—arguably more so than the Frozen Four. I root for BC—my dad is an alumnus, my mom is an alumna of Newton College (a school that got absorbed by BC), and I'm an alumna of BC High.
Ultimate
I helped to start and played for BC High's Ultimate team, the Beagles, back in the mid-90s.
I root for the Falcons here in the Bay.
Varieties of football
Football / Soccer
Like any good American lesbian, I'm a fan of the USWNT. In Europe, I root for the Girls in Green.
At the club level, I root for several teams in the NWSL. Chronologically, I’ve supported Orlando the longest, but now that both San Diego and the Bay Area have teams, my loyalties are split somewhat. And I’m looking forward to Boston Legacy joining the league soon. I root for TJ's Xolos in the Liga MX Femenil, for Celtic in the SWPL, and for 東京ヴェルディベレーザ in the WEリーグ.
As in regular football, I root for the US & Ireland in men's football. At the club level I support the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer, San Francisco City FC in USL League Two, Xolos in Liga MX, and Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
Gaelic Football
At the All-Ireland level, I root for Kerry. At the club level, I support the Castleisland Desmonds, and in the US I root for Na Fianna in San Diego.
Australian Rules Football
Virginia requires me to be a Geelong Cats fan. They field three Irishmen—two of them Kerrymen—so this is fine by me. I also support their women's side.
Rugby
I root for Ireland in the Six Nations & both Ireland and the US in the Rugby World Cup.
American Football
All of my loyalties in American Football—a sport I could not care less about—fall naturally out of where I'm from and where I went to school: I am obliged to root for the Patriots in the NFL, for BC at the college bowl level, and my schools, Rose-Hulman & BC High. I make a point of rooting for BC High in our annual Thanksgiving Day game against CM—a school several of my cousins went to. I do this purely to rub it in if we win, and to pretend it didn’t happen if we lose.