From the editor's desk: Go team — however far away

Clovis is a diverse community — our favorite professional sports teams range from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the New York Yankees to the Los Angeles Lakers.

A downtown stroll on Tuesday morning revealed allegiances — displayed on vehicles and T-shirts — to the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and Houston Rockets.

With no professional football, baseball or basketball team within 350 miles, pro sports loyalty around here has nothing to do with location, location or location.

It’s more about family tradition and favorite players, said Dee Madrid, who makes a living tracking favorite teams as the owner of Clovis’ Sports Connection.

Madrid said she was a Dallas Cowboys fan growing up in Texico, but she fell in love watching Joe Montana at Notre Dame and kept watching when the San Francisco 49ers drafted him. She’s still a Niners fan and even has a dog named Montana.

A lot of area Cowboys fans changed allegiances when legendary coach Tom Landry was fired in 1989, she said, and many adopted Cowboys’ nemeses for favorites, including the Steelers and Denver Broncos.

Favorite football teams vary greatly, but Madrid said the area’s favorite baseball teams have a clear pecking order — New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers.

A lot of fans dislike the Yankees almost as much as they like other teams, she said. The Atlanta Braves also have a following because of their wide television exposure that lasted more than three decades before ending in 2007.

The Chicago Bulls used to be the favorite basketball team of eastern New Mexico, but Michael Jordan’s fame is dwindling. The Los Angeles Lakers are No. 1 today, she said, followed by the Miami Heat and a tossup between the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

OKC, 370 miles away, is the closest pro sports franchise to Clovis.

Personnel stationed at Cannon Air Force Base have a lot to do with the region’s sports diversity, Madrid believes.

From the Editor’s Desk was compiled by Clovis News Journal Editor David Stevens. Contact him at:

[email protected]