As everybody and their brother knows by now, LeBron James was recently spotted at the Indians-Yankees playoff game sporting a New York hat.

When interviewed by Craig Sager, LeBron also mentioned that growing up as a kid he was a New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bulls fan. So while just about everyone has brought up the argument of whether LeBron should have worn his Yankee cap or not, I want to talk about another topic: frontrunner fans.

What is a frontrunner fan? It’s a fan who simply selects their rooting interest based on the recent success of the team. That is the only way to explain a fan that roots for the Yankees, Bulls, and Cowboys, who were probably the three best franchises in their respective leagues during the 1990s.

Now, this is only my opinion, and however you choose your favorite teams is up to you. However, what fun is it if you are constantly switching your rooting interest from team to team? That takes away the whole point of being a fan. If you just start rooting for a winning team there is never any excitement because you can always just choose a new team.

To be a true fan you must pick your favorite teams for a certain reason, hopefully because it’s your hometown teams, then root for them through thick and thin. If you root for teams other than your hometown teams, that is all right as long as you have a good reason for it. For example, if your father rooted for that team as a kid, it is OK to continue that tradition.

The worst thing a person could do is jump form team to team but continue to brag about them. Last year, as a die-hard Ohio State fan, I had a friend talk smack to me regarding West Virginia, Michigan, and Florida. This all occurred in one season and the person claimed to be a fan of all three programs during different times of the year. It doesn’t get worse than that. I don’t even understand how you could feel proud to back a team you had never rooted before they won the national championship.

So while everybody has their reason for choosing their favorite teams, all that matters is you stick with that team. Don’t flip-flop in the middle of the season. Don’t brag about a team you never rooted for before they won a championship. Take pride in your team and follow them through thick and thin and it will be much more rewarding when they do win a title.

Being a die-hard sports fan is a unique thing. Casual fans just don’t get it. They don’t understand how you could be so emotionally invested in a bunch of guys or girls who don’t even know you. The sad thing is they are probably right, but for some reason I feel like I have been punched in the stomach after a tough loss. That is what a fan is all about, feeling like you are part of the team. You take pride in being the sixth man or the twelfth man.

I recently even had the idea pointed out to me that maybe your own personal life reflects the teams you root for. I believe this is true to a certain degree. Maybe LeBron roots for the Yankees because he is use to being successful. I know myself I am a very optimistic person and sports fan in particular. As a Cleveland fan, this is almost a necessity to not hang yourself. To me, no pick can go wrong during the NFL draft for the Browns. As we all know, this is not true.

In the end, however, how you choose your favorite teams is probably irrelevant, but just stick with that team. Don’t jump from winning team to winning team. Don’t pretend like you aren’t a fan if your team is struggling. If you stand by your team it will make it that much more fulfilling when they win a championship. Trust me, as a Browns fan, when they win the Super Bowl, I won’t even know what to do with myself.