I’m conflicted.

Tonight, the Skins are playing the Ravens. And I’m very conflicted as to who I should be pulling for. I mean, I don’t actually care who wins. The closest I’ve come to watching a football game in the last five years was about ten minutes of last year’s Raven’s loss to the Patriots (they were actually doing really, really well … right up to the point where they weren’t). I don’t think I’ve watched a Superbowl – even for the commercials – since, uh, high school?

Let me explain the roots of my dilemma: I grew up right outside of Washington, DC, in Adelphi. The only football game I’ve ever attended was a Redskins game. Flash forward to several years of life in Columbia, and I found myself living outside of Baltimore. Although I’ve never become a football fan, geography caused me to root for the Baltimore Ravens. Call me a fair weather fan if you want, football has just never struck me as particularly interesting (although I absolutely support the drinking of alcohol and consumption of wings).

However, as I work today at the Bookstore, and as the Bookstore’s staff is populated by a number of raving lunatics (i.e., ‘Skins fans) who know my conflicted leanings, I expect to be asked quite a bit today, “Skins or Ravens? Skins or Ravens?”

There’s a lot of strange coincidences between the two: both teams play in Maryland. Both teams are the only NFL teams to have marching bands. Both of their team names start with an R.

I want to root for the Ravens: from what little I understand, they’re neck-and-neck with the Patriots for a wild-card slot for the playoffs this year, but the Patriots — while, understand, I love New England and will usually root for the Patriots at any other time — being, y’know, the New York Yankees of national football, aren’t just giving me any reason to want them to get that wild card slot. Their coach is an asshole, and I tend to prefer the underdog. Besides, I remember how excited I was, even delivering pizzas at the time (with the game on the radio), when the Ravens won the Superbowl in 2000.

I want to root for the Redskins. I grew up thinking of them as the team I was geographically bound by. The only football game I’ve ever attended was, as I mentioned, a Redskins game. Besides, I don’t want to be one of these assholes in DC who considers this a career stop and doesn’t bother making any ties with the city.

And for that reason … Ravens: kick ass. Redskins: maybe next year.