Well, the Super Bowl is on tomorrow and I’m looking forward to watching it.

I live in the greater Seattle area, so most people would expect me to root for the Seahawks.

Those people don’t know me very well.

I think most people root for teams for poor reasons. It’s usually because they follow the lead of those around them and support the home (or, nearest to home) team. Often, one’s team is chosen by an accident of early interest, and then confirmation bias reinforces support for that team and dislike for their rivals. I’m probably a Steelers fan for that kind of reason.

As for rooting for the home team… I think my dislike of crowds (mobs) uniting in their support for anything leads me to instinctively be inclined to root against the home town team. But, I’m also not a great fan of the Patriots (although I do have a lot of respect for their efforts and success), so I have no great reason to support them to beat the Seahawks.

And, living in Seattle, I’m sure that the people I see on Monday will be much happier if the Seahawks win than if the Patriots win, and I’d prefer to be around happy people than sad people (unless they’re happy for a very bad reason).

But, upon introspection, I think I’m hoping that the Patriots win. Part of it is the non-conformism, and part of it is that I think I have more respect for them than I do for the Seahawks (although this could easily be caused by accidents of what I happen to know about each team). What I’m really hoping for is a much better game than the one we had last year.

UPDATE (2/1/15): I got my wish. It was a great game.