My girlfriend is as diehard a Chicago sports fan as I have ever met.

I never planned on dating someone like her, a fan of all things Chicago. But she never expected to date someone who supports all things Milwaukee. In fact, prior to coming to Marquette, her family specifically told her, “Don’t date a cheesehead.”

So naturally we started dating, and as of tomorrow, April 26th, we will have survived a year together.

There definitely are pros and cons to dating a sports lover. It’s great to be able to go to a sporting event on a date and have her be enthusiastic about it. Also, I can have an intelligent conversation about sports with her.

Then comes what I like to call our little “competitive rivalries.” The only teams we both cheer for are Arsenal Football Club in England, still a learning experience for her, and at certain times of the year the Blackhawks – I’m one of those bandwagon fans. Otherwise, our rooting interests lie elsewhere.

This has caused plenty of trouble in the past. About three months before we started dating, the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl. I, of course, was elated. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for her.

The next day I was doing some on-air work with Marquette Television, and she was too. Knowing she was a Bears fan, I definitely bragged about it and probably crossed the line between acceptable and obnoxious. She will gladly admit this almost made her not date me. But, luckily, my boyish charm prevailed in the end.

I am of the opinion the Cubs will never, ever win a World Series, and no matter how well they may do, the Bears still suck. Luckily for me, the Brewers and the Packers have been far superior to their Chicago rivals since the commencement of our relationship.

The Bucks are really my only disappointment at the moment, especially with the Bulls’ consistent success over the past few years. But all things considered, I am pretty happy with the position of my teams at the moment.

While I am able to go to games and enjoy them with her, there still are a few problems. We’ve gone to two Brewers-Cubs games together, both of which the Brewers won. The second was earlier this month at Wrigley Field.

As I mentioned, I can be a bit obnoxious when my teams are doing well. Luckily for me, she is not that way. I don’t know if she knows that her not saying anything would be painful in itself, but she is not a very boastful person. But on that night when the Brewers came out victorious, I had to contain some of my excitement so she would talk to me on the drive back to Milwaukee.

I prefer to focus on the positives of the relationship, such as how nice it is to have a girl that is genuinely interested in sports, especially because my teams should continue to have the upper hand for the next few years.

The Bears can make all the moves they want to try to compete with the Packers, but with Aaron Rodgers, I don’t see any shift in power there. On the diamond the Cubs are building from the ground up, to put it nicely. I am definitely content with giving her the Bulls, for now.

In all seriousness, though, I would much rather have a heated sports debate where she and I get mad at each other than have to teach her every little thing about every sporting event we watch on television. Our loyalties may not be the same, but I’ll take her every day of the week over that girl that doesn’t get my obsession with sports.