Do You Support a Team or a Player?

My favorite Sharks hockey player Devin Setoguchi was traded to the Minnesota Wild. I didn’t imagine that he would be traded because he was awesome, especially during the 2010-2011 playoff games. This happened one day after the Sharks announced a three-year contract extension for Setoguchi!  I can’t understand what the contract meant.

Facts are facts. I’m still a fan of the Sharks, so I’m wondering what I should wear when I go to the Sharks games next season because I own a Setoguchi Sharks jersey. Should I buy a new one or wear the Setoguchi Jersey?

Question 1: What is my favorite team?

Of course, the San Jose Sharks.

Question 2: Who is my favorite player?

Of course, Devin Setoguchi.

Question 3: Do I like the Minnesota Wild?

Not so much, but I don’t hate them.

If the answer to the above question #3 were yes, it would be pretty easy to answer. I would become a fan of the Minnesota Wild. If I had another favorite Sharks player, the answer would be easy. I would buy a new Sharks jersey that had name and number on it.

Setoguchi is a special hockey player to me. He is Canadian Japanese. I cheer for him because we have a common heritage. For now, there are no Sharks players who are Japanese or part Japanese. From the perspective of my identity as a Japanese person, Setoguchi is the only player who I really want to support.

My wife said she would buy a Minnesota Wild Setoguchi jersey and go to Sharks home games wearing it. She is more likely to support a player than a team.

In one colleague’s case, his favorite player was traded from the Sharks several years ago. He wears the Sharks jersey with the ex-Sharks player’s name when he goes to the games. He said that he liked both the Sharks and the player and would not buy a new the Sharks jersey.

I don’t have my answer yet. Honestly, compared to last season, I have lost my enthusiasm for the Sharks. I have mixed feelings about the Sharks. Of course I love the city of San Jose, but I’m not a real San Jose local. I guess my desire to cheer for a player who is connected to Japan is stronger than my love for the San Jose Sharks. I think I will be able to figure out my answer while I’m watching the Sharks play the Wild next season.

By the way, products with Setoguchi’s name were being sold at half-price at the Sharks store. My wife and I bought more than 20 T-shirts. My new year’s resolution was to avoid buying things on impulse…