Finding Dodger fans in the Midwest

The thing I love about Dodger baseball is that no matter where you go, you'll almost always find someone who loves the boys in blue as much as you do. As I was sitting in the Madison Mallards press box in Wisconsin, a man maybe 50 years old asked me where I was from. I told him I grew up in L.A., and he looked at me, smiled, and told me his favorite NBA team plays in the Staples Center. I asked him if it was the Clippers — he laughed.

After shortly discussing whether or not the Lakers would beat the Nuggets (we agreed, they will), he told me about how he first became a Dodger fan back in 1971, a full 18 years before I could even see the color blue.

He said it was the unity of the infield - Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Wes Parker, Maury Wills and Bill Russell - that made him become a fan of the Dodgers. He tried to make it out to some games, but being from Madison, WI, he found it rather difficult. When he finally was able to make a trip to Los Angeles in 1990, he bought a ticket for opening day at Dodger Stadium. Unfortunately, the players had their first strike of the 90s that year, meaning that he couldn't attend the game. He did however, get to see the stadium with his own eyes - he loved it.

It's times like these that, even when the Dodgers' best player gets caught for taking steroids, remind me why I love baseball so much. For real baseball fans, it's not about the players, it's about a team and a tradition.

Hopefully this Wisconsinite will be able to see a Dodger game some time soon. Hopefully when he does, that tradition of winning and unity will be back in true Dodger blue form.