Introducing the Rölers! ('rOI-Lers)

In this day of fair-weather fans, dime-a-dozen sports leagues, and re-branding of teams to follow changing affiliations and demographics, it is hard to decide how to steer one's sporting allegiances.

It is one thing to grow up in a city and live with the ups and downs of the prized sporting team - in that case, the choice seems abundantly clear. At least, that is my story with the Edmonton Oilers.

But what about deciding upon a team in a new found sport or, in my case, arriving in a new country. How does one choose on which side of the line to pull?

There are the typical answers:

• geographic location - choosing the team in your city
• the look - choosing based on the best looking colours, design, logo, etc.
• a player - changing allegiances by following the career of a specific player
• team philosophy - identifying with the attitudes or style of a particular club
• indoctrination - by way of a relative or friend, being indoctrinated to a team's ideals or culture
• the winner bandwagon - a team at the top of the table, consistently wins and often has a big piggy bank.
• the underdog - choosing the least likely, cheapest-run team and relishing in their smallest of victories
• affiliation - based on partnership or affiliation system (farm league)
• anybody but... - having one team that is the antagonist and should be cheered against in all and any circumstances

Over at the football blog Keepie-uppie, there was a recent post that aptly put a degree of reality to allegiances he had passed down to him through his family. It was less about living and dying with the success and failures, but more about realising his own limits of fan-dom. After all, this is only sport. We vicariously live in these moments of battle as modern day gladiators enter and exit the playing field for copious amounts of money and glory.

Is it really that important? No, not really.

But it is still outrageously fun to cheer, sing, heckle and follow these teams in their rise and falls.

When it comes to hockey in Sweden, for seven years, I have chosen to remain impartial about "my team". Although, I can identify nine possible ways to choose a team, it was a tenth option that fit best:

• making up my own team

I HEREBY INTRODUCE THE RÖLERS!

New to the hockey Elite Series this year is Rögle BK of Ängelholm.

I have never seen Rögle play live, nor do I have any significant connection to their playing style, ideals or players.

Although, what seems to fit best in this case is how well their logo synchronizes with that of my beloved Oilers.

I say, what better way to choose a team than to graphically mash and merge (and lousy at that) two logos into one? This year, I will cheer for Rögle and the Oilers and the same time. The Rölers do not exist in any one league other than my own head, although being able to cheer for one and both gives all the more fun to focus in both the Elite Series and the NHL.

This will be the plan, at least until the weather turns ugly or I can photoshop versions of OilGårdens or OilSands.