Bass: Can a Cincinnati Bearcats fan root for Xavier in the NCAAs?

Pretty cool to see Xavier back in the Sweet Sixteen.

Unless, perhaps, you are a University of Cincinnati fan.

“I will root for the apocalypse,” @MouraToWrexham tweeted, “before I root for Xavier.”

“You will see me dangling from the Brent Spence Bridge,” @citronut tweeted, “before I root for Xavier.”

“I'd rather set fire to my own teeth,” @ATNWAT tweeted.

You get the idea.

Then again, is it possible to be a Bearcats fan and still cheer for the Musketeers in the NCAA Tournament? All for one, and one for all the city teams?

More than that, is it OK?

“They can if they want,” @TrueWarner tweeted, “but just know that will look traitorous to UC fans/alum.”

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So it IS OK?

“No,” @jwilkirson73 tweeted. “Theres no rooting for a rival under any circumstances.”

You might be surprised.

* * * * * *

I asked that question this week on Twitter, with some quote-tweet/retweet assists from Enquirer basketball writers Scott Springer and Adam Baum.

Then came the gatekeepers.

I was told I am “a clown” posing a “stupid” question that was “not even OK to ask.”

So I’ve got that going for me.

“This is an extremely goofy question/tweet (trying to be polite) would UNC root for Duke?” @msschneid tweeted, “would Louisville root for Kentucky? how about Ohio State football rooting for Michigan football? Or Auburn fans cheering on Alabama in the championship? come on lol.”

Then again ...

“There is one exception in there,” @JeffWallner replied, “some Ohio State fans, including myself, do root for Michigan in bowls, but under the guise of rooting for the Big Ten.”

Ah, so there are exceptions. This is intriguing.

Let’s try another point-counterpoint.

“Do you think Louisville fans were rooting for UK, or UNC fans were rooting for Duke,” @Zdawg8569 tweeted. “Don’t ask dumb questions.”

Then again ...

“Do those schools represent the same city?” @TheCincyCat replied.

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Which brings us back to Xavier and UC.

Research says a highly identified (allegiant) fan can be more prone to act aggressively against a rival team and its fans. With less than three miles separating these two schools, no wonder Crosstown Shootouts can become more antagonistic and the debate more personal. If you believe a UC fan should never cheer for the neighborhood archenemy, and vice versa, it is understandable.

But if you believe it is OK to support your neighbor, that is understandable, too – especially when neither team had made the NCAAs in the 2020s, a first since the 1980s.

“I always root for the local teams,” @vn2saints tweeted. “Anything that gets folks in town excited is good.”

“It's all Cincinnati, I'm rooting for Xavier,” @331TwistedWedge tweeted. “I like the kids and Sean Miller. I root for people, not necessarily a uniform at times.”

“I have always been a UC bball fan more than any other school and always will be,” @DuebberScott tweeted. “But i root for X to do well, too.”

“X fan here,” @KarateIsntReal tweeted. “I hate UC for one game a year — that’s it. Otherwise, they have my city across their chest and I’m Cincy till I die.”

“I'm a Bearcat, but always want a hometown team to win,” @kolpingpeep113 tweeted, “if it's not UC, then XU take it all!!

Is this blasphemy?

“There are ‘those people’ who cheer for all the local teams,” @lnclm tweeted. “I really wish ‘those people’ would take UC off their list to cheer for. With us or against us, there is no in-between.”

Or do you just define your fandom your way?

* * * * * *

There are no real rules when it comes to being a fan. Even the gatekeepers don’t always agree. The parameters are your own. Be you allegiant to one school or to the city – or anywhere in between – is entirely up to you.

Sure, you typically root for your team and against your archrival, especially if you highly identify with your team. But somehow, there are always exceptions.

“Rooting for blue teams is against the rules, right?” @ou_country tweeted.

“How would you feel if someone had different rules?” I replied. “What if, for instance, a UC fan had kids who attended Xavier ... or worked for Xavier?”

“Ohhh, I'm fine with whatever other folks rule is,” @ou_country wrote. “I just won't be rooting for those two teams. It's way too deeply ingrained in me. 😉”

@Conklin_34 jumped into the conversation, intrigued by the question. He said he still would not root for Xavier but acknowledged a healthy family rivalry. Sure, if his kid played for a Xavier team, he would root for that team, but could not imagine another exception. What if it were the basketball team, in the Crosstown Shootout or March?

“Yeah if my kid played on the team, I’d root for my kid/their team,” @Conklin_34 tweeted. “Once they’re off the team, back to the standard friendly rivalry, rooting against my kid’s alma mater.”

We can do this all day.

“I’ll root for UC when they aren’t playing Xu,” @Trained2Survive tweeted. “Hell I’m a UC grad and XU fan. Got heckled in my astronomy class 10 years ago for it. All I said was scoreboard and they shut up real quick.”

“I root (for) UC because my pops went there,” @N__Braun20, “but I will pull for Xavier when Cincy is out of it.”

You don’t have to hate Xavier or UC. You don’t even need to acknowledge the other, if you so choose.

“Maybe its just my advancing age, suburban locale and station in life, but outside of the Shootout I don't think of Xavier much at all,” @theCliftonAve tweeted. “I'm neither rooting for or against them, just as I am for the other 15 teams left in the tournament.”

Or you can hate each other. No judgment here. Hating a rival and debating which school has the better program might be fun for you. Not surprisingly, this Twitter session morphed into a lot of that for the two sides.

“UC fans are more than welcome to live vicariously through us, it’s exciting to get past the round of 32,” @XavierTakes tweeted. “Hasn’t been done by them since. ... 11 years ago.”

“You can never cheer for x,” @quyenvu720 tweeted, “and i don't expect them to cheer for us if the situation was flipped. it's very much a bitter sibling rivalry. there's no civility here. we want x to lose regardless of the situation.”

Nothing gets solved, of course, and it can be entertaining if nobody gets abused or bullied. Meanwhile, it was neat to interact with fans who discovered exceptions to their rules.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mike Bass column on Cincinnati, Xavier basketball fans cheering for one another