On Sunday, I was watching the end of a football game when Benjamin came over and sat with me.  He seemed a little bit interested in the game, but more interested in being near me (so sweet), until he noticed one teams helmets and logo at midfield.

“Daddy, do you know what team I am rooting for?”

“No, what team?”

“The team with the pirate flag on their helmets. Why do they have pirate flags on their helmets? Are they the Pirates?”

“Close.  They are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”

“Tampa Bay Buccaneers?  I thing I’ll just say Bucs.  Did you know that bucs is short for buccaneers? So I can call them the ‘Bucs’.”

“Good job, Ben, that is exactly what they call that team.”

I hadn’t heard anything else from him about it since then.  I was very happy that he sat and watched football with me and asked about it (beyond just his interest in pirates).  As I’ve mentioned before, I am in a battle for his very soul to keep him from becoming an Eagles fan.  He wants to make both mommy and daddy happy, so he’s been switching between the Giants and Eagles, depending on who is asking him, for his favorite team.

This afternoon, however, out of no where, Ben asked, “Daddy, do you know who my favorite football team is?”

“No, Benjamin, who?” I had forgotten about the Bucs and was thinking he would answer “Giants”.

“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” he said proudly.

I am completely charmed by this and couldn’t be more proud.  I kind of hope that he doesn’t change his mind…We could use a little more of a mix around here.  It would make for a nice story as he gets older.