Sports fans among us will need no explanation for the term Posterized.
For the A to Z Challenge today, P is for Posterized. Ever stood your ground on a basketball court in the face of a fast break, only to have some cat slam dunk over your rattled skull? Well, then you’ve been Posterized. The term emerged in the 1980s, in the age of sports posters in boys’ bedrooms.
An NBA player, a Craig Ehlo or Larry Krystkowiak type, saw himself on a poster in a big-city airport – directly under Michael Jordan, grimaced faced and helpless. Posterized. For all eternity.
The term infiltrated other sports.
Running backs Posterize cornerbacks with a punishing carry. Pitchers Posterize hitters with a nasty slider. Soccer forwards Posterize defenders with a sick double scissor. Posterizing becomes sweeter when it’s your team against your rival.
The folks at Fanatics, an online store for licensed sports apparel, sent me this graphic. They’re the mecca for MLB hats and more.
It’s the Fan-o-Meter. No, they didn’t send me a load of Rockies and Nuggets gear (Size 52 jersey, if you’re wondering). They just shared the graphic and asked if I’d share it with you. From 1 to 11, they’ve identified levels of sports fandom. Which ones apply to you?
For me …
1 FASHIONABLE SPORTS FAN | If by fashionable you mean faded out Rockies lid that looks like a giraffe digested it … count me in.
2 SOCIAL SPORTS FAN | Not me. I’d rather sit alone in the dark to watch a Broncos game so I can curse like a real live coach.
3 ADRENELINE FAN | My best bet for a ticket to the game? A press pass. No cheering in the pressbox!
4 GENERATIONAL FAN | It took me 16 years to follow the family tradition in football.
5 UNDERDOG FAN | It’s in my blood. Only because my teams are perpetual underdogs. So am I.
6 NO SPOILERS FAN | Shoot, the last Nuggets game I watched on TV? Alex English didn’t even have a mustache yet.
7 HIDDEN EARPHONE FAN | Rockies day game? Bet your ass I’ll have the gamecast on at work.
8 CALL IN SICK FAN | Never for the big game. My teams rarely play big games. We wore black on Black Monday, also known as the day after a Denver Broncos Super Bowl loss.
9 FAN OVERBOARD | My girls’ real names might or might not be connected to 1) a basketball arena; 2) a legendary coach and 3) a baseball stadium.
10 THE ULTIMATE FAN | I will believe in my team until three days after they’re eliminated.
11 TURN IT UP TO 11 | Too poor for season tickets, too old to wear a jersey, but absurdly loyal.
So which fan are you?
Just a dad ... 
I guess for me it depends on the sport we are talking about as there are some sports I don’t even follow or watch and others I can’t get enough of, but definitely interesting how the sports fan levels are broken down here.
you’re a yankees fan, aren’t you Janine?
Nope Mets 😉
Thank you Jesus and Tug McGraw.
LOL I love that you engines them both on this one!
Tug has some pull in Heaven, I’m sure. (See what I did there?)
Yes I did and no one could have done that better! 😉
10.5
you’re a red wings fan, aren’t you beth?
Yes, I sure am –
i can look past that.
I learned something today, did not know this one!
Just as long as you don’t get posterized anytime soon!
First off, apologies for going overboard here, but your daughters’ names hints – even tough I know their real ones – caused me to this:
Elise is either called Oracle or Barclays. Please don’t let it be Pepsi 😉
Marie might be called Josefa (Mourhino) or Alex. Probably not Ottmaria (Hitzfeld)
Grace must be Angel! No? I know it’s not Yankee. Speranza?
Oh, my own fan score is not on your list. I am ‘the confused one’. We went to see a U18 hockey world championship game last night, Switzerland vs Canada. I was dressed in Chicago Blackhawks gear (best I could do!), cheered for Switzerland and chatted with Canadians while in line for intermission snacks… I did have a good time, even though we lost 1:4, and Malgin was not at his best.
Do you know mate I’ve never followed a sports team? Sad I know but I enjoyed watching the Green Bay Packers play a game when I was in Vietnam, on the US armed forces TV. Some years ago when they were playing in the finals (and won) I rang my sister who was living in South Carolina at the time and said, “Put every dollar you have on the Packers to win.” She didn’t.
Judging by the Rockies’ 14-3 loss last night (their fourth straight), you’re better off without a team, mate.
Those Packers teams were something else. Your sis should have bet the farm.
I couldn’t handle the disappointment Mate. She should of, I predicted just about everything else for her life around that time. When she split with her husband I told her not to divorce him, leave it be. She divorced and he died a year later, his family wrangled her right out of the will. The list goes on.
Did you also know Joe Namath and the Jets would beat the Colts in Super Bowl III?
No Mate I didn’t, sadly.
I am sending this to my hubby…but it’s RANGER HOCKEY SEASON and he’s about a 15.5 right now! LET’S GO RANGERS (and his Mets are their usually shitty selves right now either…so he’s a pretty happy camper and a loyal loyal fan.)
Thanks for the share! Hockey season is over for us Avalanche fans, but I did notice the Rangers and Islanders could face off in the next round. How cool is that? And the Mets are doing great right now, too!
He’s a happy camper right now Eli!
I am too – for you! Congratulations on the VOTY, Kir. Well deserved!
Oh thanks Eli. Such a big surprise but on a piece I truly love so I’m thrilled. Surprised but thrilled! THANK YOU.