Each year I spend 52 weeks obsessed with a something I cannot control. When they win, I am ecstatic. When they lose, I hear about it.

I am passionate about my favorite sports teams – the Chicago White Sox and my absolute favorite, the Ohio State football team.

I read everything there is to know about these teams, scour several message boards to discuss every nuance of every aspect of every player, watch every single game and talk smack to all of my friends who cheer for rival teams when my favorites come away with a big victory.

Despite knowing the team’s entire depth chart and every one of their strengths and weaknesses, there is one thing I will never do as a fan of these teams.

I will never refer to my favorite team with the words “we” or “us.”

“Man, we really sucked today.”

“I can’t believe we couldn’t hit.”

Or “Play us again and see what happens” will never be uttered from my mouth.

Sure, I am a fan of the team – but I am not an actual paid member of the White Sox payroll and to my knowledge, I am not on Ohio State’s Football roster. In fact, I probably will never be.

It drives me crazy when someone who has not been through any of the experiences of the players labels themselves as someone who is a part of the team just to sound cool to one of their friends or important to someone who roots for a rival team.

It is OK to bask in the delight of a victory, but remember – you are just a fan and nothing more.

I am a fan, and I accept that. When I talk glowingly of one of my favorite teams, I mention the team’s accomplishments, not my own. I have not done anything to affect the outcome of anything on the field. All I did was sit on my couch, eat chips and drink a Coke.

Feel free to use the words “we” and “us” when describing a fan base because that is something you are a part of.

If I was batting cleanup for the White Sox when they won the 2005 World Series, that would be a different story, but instead I am just like any other person, except I happened to be wearing the correct colors on that day.

You personally are not the best team in the Big Ten, and you did not sweep the Cubs in the season series, so stop sounding like an idiot and remember to give credit where credit is due.

And that’s not to yourself.

Dan Cusack can be reached at 581-7944 or at dscusack@eiu.edu.