War

By Dan Fost

I’m wearing my orange jersey, and the cap with the orange bill. My son has the same jersey and the same cap, along with his glove, scorebook, pencil, and sports section. A throng of similarly dressed people surrounds us in the stadium. We are among our tribe.

Our tribe is the San Francisco Giants. When you’re a sports fan, you are absolutely part of a tribe. Whether you identify as a Giant, a Warrior, a Lion or a Brave, whether you wear orange, blue, or black, you are among your kind. You high-five strangers. You bask in the glory of your team after victories. You suffer when they lose. You have slogans that carry you further into your sense of togetherness: “We are Giants.” “This is Our Time.” “Better Together.”

Primitive humans relied on their tribe for food, shelter, and protection from danger. In more recent centuries, tribes cut across racial, ethnic or religious lines. That’s still out there, even at the ballgame, when we sing the national anthem.

But mostly, we’re lucky to live in this time and place. We’re not fighting other tribes for our lives, but merely for our entertainment. We’re satisfying a primal need, and no one gets hurt. 

Except the guys in Dodger blue.

What tribes do you belong to and what, if anything, do they bring to your life?

Do you change uniforms often?

Dan Fost is a veteran journalist who has written about everything from technology to politics. He is the author of two books about the San Francisco Giants, Giants Baseball Experience and Giants, Past and Present.