Frank Deford, American sportswriter

“My first protocol on rooting in sports is that you should stick with the teams that you grew up with. I know we’re a transient society, but that’s just it: Continuing to cheer for your original hometown teams is one way of displaying the old-fashioned value of allegiance. If you grew up in Cleveland, say, and moved somewhere Sun Belt-ish, I know how hard it is, but the measure of whether you are a good person is that you must remain loyal…That’s what’s left of roots in America. You must root where your roots were laid down.” (From “It’s Good to Root, Root, Root for the Home Team,” Oct. 9, 2012, on National Public Radio)

Dec. 16, 1938-May 28, 2017