My Night of Fandom

I've never been a 'team' person. What I mean is, I've never really rooted for anything or anyone. When I was in high school, I usually snuck a notebook into assemblies and cultivated active disdain for sports players and cheerleaders. I'm not a fan of any sports team and don't understand why others are. But for one night, on Tuesday, November 4th, I finally felt swept up, rooting for someone, something bigger than me.

Beginning at 6 pm, I spent the evening on the verge of tears. Matt thought I was being silly since he had been absolutely convinced for three weeks that Obama was going to win, but I don't trust people, especially Americans en masse. So, all night long I almost cried when I thought McCain could win, and when it became obvious that it was Obama's victory, I got teary thinking how proud I was of my country, how happy I was that my president was smarter than me, and how lucky I was to be an American. I felt patriotic! For the first time ever! I wanted to hug strangers but since I was at home I just manically updated my Facebook status.

The next day, it was my mom who actually made me cry. We were talking about how she as a life-long hard-core Democrat usually voted against her economic interests, and how my dad's staff as conservative Republicans usually voted again their economic interests. "Well, I don't just vote for me," she told me, "I vote for you and your sister and your kids." I got choked up thinking how great out country would be if everyone voted with their kids and grandkids in mind.

And now, nearly a week later, my fandom has wained a little, but I'm still excited that I got to participate in making history. That my sister's baby will be born in the same year that Obama takes office. And that just maybe I can actually believe in someone.