Why I Root for Stacy Lewis →

By Patty Ellis

For Patty, rooting for Stacy Lewis is far less-complicated than rooting for her favorite NFL team. Here’s why.

Rooting for an individual athlete is different than rooting for a team.

Teams are entities, not human beings with morals and other personal attributes. I’m a New York Mets fan regardless who manages them, plays for them, or owns them.

But when it comes to rooting for an individual athlete—especially an LPGA player, given how much LPGA golf I watch—I don’t waste my energy rooting for just anyone. All the current LPGA players have great swings, are fun to watch, and are likeable. But rooting FOR someone? Really wanting someone’s putt to drop? That’s different.

I was pondering this notion of “fandom” while I was sitting at the 10th tee of the ANA Inspiration, watching LPGA players make the turn and waiting for someone I liked enough to follow for 9 holes. Lots of players passed but no one who made me want to put down my coffee and get off my tuchas. That’s when I started wondering about being a fan.Why do we root for some players and not others?

There I was, deep in thought, when Stacy Lewis made the turn.

I LOVE STACY!

I put down my coffee, got off my tuchas and began to follow one of my favorite players. But I kept pondering what it means to be a fan, so I tried to isolate why I root for Stacy Lewis.

Here’s what I figured out.

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