Besides the Yankees, the other teams that I can never root for in any sport are teams I think of as mere “Expansion Teams.” I put Expansion Teams in quotes because I am well aware that my definition of what makes a team an “Expansion Team” is peculiarly personal and completely and wholly subjective.

Let me show you what this means.

I consider any team an “Expansion Team” that was NOT in existence when I started paying attention to the sport.

So let’s take a look at how that plays out for me in the two sports I watch the most, the NFL and MLB.

I cannot and will never be able to root for the following johnny-come-lately NFL teams:

• Seattle Seahawks
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Houston Texans
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Tennessee Titans
• Carolina Panthers

I cannot and will never be able to root for the following johnny-come-lately MLB teams:

• Tampa Bay Rays
• Toronto Blue Jays
• Seattle Mariners
• Washington Nationals
• Miami Marlins
• Arizona Diamondbacks
• Colorado Rockies

Finally, to bring it home for other sports, I cannot and will never be able to root for the following johnny-come-lately, local Minnesota teams:

• Minnesota Timberwolves
• Minnesota Wild

A guy needs to have principles in this crazy world. And this is one of mine.