Most people have a team. In Australia it’s likely to be your state’s AFL team, or either Ford or Holden if you’re a bogan, or maybe an English Premier League team if you’ve got an international flair. I don’t have a team.

Or rather, I didn’t have a team, until last week.

When I was in Vancouver a few years ago I saw the Canucks play the Edmonton Oilers (in ice hockey). I had a great time, and made some instant-friends in the process. I picked up a Canucks cap at the game and still wear it with fond memories, however I haven’t watched a game of ice hockey since I left Canada. Incidentally, I was watching NHL on TV nearly every night we were in North America. I think the lack of exposure made it easy to forget.

I decided I wanted a new team, but didn’t want the usual Eagles or Dockers. A quick search showed that the US Major League Baseball season was about to start, so that’s the sport I chose. As a kid I used to wear my grey Cleveland Indians beanie and the Indians are not a super-common team (which was another requirement) so they were a fine choice for this adventure. You can expect to see the beanie in the cooler months.

I decked my Xbox Live avatar out in a Cleveland Indians cap, and bought one in real life (which arrived today, prompting this post and the above photo).

We lost the opening game to the White Sox yesterday, but tomorrow’s a new day, and the season has only just begun! Starting next week, One HD will be showing up to five games live, which might mean a few 6AM wake-ups for me if the Indians are playing.

What’s your team, and what drives you to support them?