As fanatics we commit to our favorite teams no matter what. Win or lose we always stand by our team’s side. Sometimes though, when your team is going through a rough season it can be hard to show your face at a game. Whenever you’re embarrassed to be a fan there is a simple solution. The brown bag!

I love seeing fans in stadiums or on TV with brown bags over their heads. You always see the two eye holes cut out and a spot for the mouth. I don’t like to laugh in other fans misery (well maybe sometimes I do), but I just can’t help it when I see someone walking around with a jersey and a brown bag on their head.

There are a couple of teams in the NFL right now that I wouldn’t be surprised if their fans were showing up with bags. The Redskins, Browns, Rams, Chiefs and Titans come to mind. It has to be hard to continue to root for your team when they have only 1 win or worse.

Have you ever worn a brown bag on your head to a game? Tell me your story.

With the annual Florida vs. Georgia game coming up this weekend, I started thinking about big rivalry games and the experience that surrounds them. Is this game one of those “must see” games, even if you’re not a fan of either team? Maybe I’m bias since I live in Jacksonville and am a Florida fan, but I think it is. Let’s take a look at 9 other must see games before you die.

I picked these games based on the rivalry between the two teams, tradition and atmosphere. They are not ranked in any order and I’m sticking to only games in the United States because I just don’t know enough about World Soccer and other international games. These are games that every fanatic should want to see before they die, even if they aren’t fans of either team.

1. Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs – college football
Known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” this annual, neutral-site game turns the city of Jacksonville into a craze during game week. It’s hard to top SEC football. The RVs start rolling in 5 days before the game even starts and with them comes tailgating like you’ve never seen before. Georgia leads the all-time series, but Florida has dominated the past 20 years.

2. UNC Tar Heels vs. Duke Blue Devils – college basketball
This is the only college basketball game I would put on the list. These two schools are only like 10 miles a part and they hate each other with a passion. College hoops is a way of life in North Carolina and that’s evident during game week when fans deck themselves out in gear from head to toe. It doesn’t matter the arena where you watch this game.

3. Michigan Wolverines vs. Ohio State Buckeyes – college football
A great Big 10 rivalry game. I’d recommend seeing this one in The Big House. Dress yourself up in Wolverine blue and scream with 120,000+ other Michigan fans.

4. New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox – professional baseball
The best rivalry in baseball without question. There’s a long history between these two AL East rivals. Now that the original Yankee Stadium is gone, if this is a game you must see before you die then do it at Fenway.

5. Army Black Knights vs. Navy Midshipmen – college football
These two teams may never be ranked in the Top 25, but that doesn’t matter. This game has more history than any other game in college football.

6. Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins – professional football

7. Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers – professional football

8. Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche – professional hockey

9. St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs – professional baseball

10. Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns – college football

Are there any games I’ve missed that you think are must sees?

How many times have you given yourself a fantasy football loss, even when you still have players going (or your opponent does) on Monday Night Football? How many times have you said, “It would take a miracle for me to win?” I’m guilty and odds are you are too. Last night going into the Monday Night game, my fantasy football team was winning by 2 points – my opponent had Brian Westbrook. Surely Westbrook would be good for 3 points, right?

Before the game started I already counted myself out. There was no way I could win.Westbrook is one of the best running backs in the NFL. Sure he has a history of injuries, but what are the odds he gets hurt at the start of the game? I didn’t plan on watching last night’s Eagles vs. Redskins game. I didn’t want to see Westbrook shred the Redskins and put a dagger in my fantasy football week.

Around 9:00 PM I get a text message from my opponent: “You’ve got to be kidding me!” he says. Not knowing what’s going on, I quickly check my iPhone for updates on the game. I couldn’t believe that Westbrook got injured at the beginning of the game, after scoring 1 fantasy football point. He got a concussion and didn’t return to action. I had won my fantasy football matchup by one point.

You never want to celebrate a player’s injury – that’s just wrong and is bad karma. But this just goes to show you that it’s not over till it’s over, especially on prime-time Sunday/Monday night games. Anything can happen.

The Minnesota Vikings may have lost yesterday to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it’s not the game winning touchdown that everyone is talking about. With two minutes left in the 4th quarter and the Vikings down by 3, Brett Favre dumped a short pass off to Adrian Peterson over the middle of the field. Peterson catches the ball in stride and meets Steelers CB William Gay head on. The result was one of the best trucks I’ve ever seen.

Peterson lowers his helmet and knocks Gay on his back then continues to run right over him… practically stepping on Gay’s forehead. Peterson turned a 5-yard catch into a 30 yard gain.

Due to the NFL restrictions on reusing their footage in any way I’m simply going to give you a link where you can view the clip on YouTube.

CLICK HERE for the best highlight of the year.

The Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees will meet in the World Series on Wednesday the 28th. The Phillies clinched the NLCS against the LA Dodgers, and the Yankees clinched the ALCS in a series win against the Angels. This marks only the 2nd time in the last 8 years that a wild card team hasn’t advanced to the World Series.

Game 1 of the World Series will feature two of baseball’s best pitchers, Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia – the ALCS MVP. Both teams have explosive offenses, but I think the Phillies have the better pitching staff. The Phillies have also had more time to rest since they wrapped up the NLCS last week. Because the AL won the All-Star game back in July, the Yankees will have home field advantage.

Check out this Yankees ALCS Champs video we made featuring some great products:

Phillies and Yankees fans, we have a great selection of LCS and World Series tees, hats, sweatshirts, cups, flags and more at Football Fanatics. Here’s a sample of what you will find.

The title of this blog is “We Are Fanatics,” but really nowhere on it do we define what/who a “Fanatic” is. A fanatic is someone who lives, breathes, and dies their favorite team. It’s someone who follows their team’s every move; someone who paints their face with team colors and knows every fight song. A fanatic will throw stats in your face and recall plays from games that happened before they were born.

A “Fanatic” can further be defined by the pictures below.

A Fanatic paints his body for a basketball game

A Fanatic drives a decked out car

A Fanatic dresses up their dog in team gear

A Fanatic doesn’t go to the game in jeans and a t-shirt

Are you a fanatic? Submit pictures to the We Are Fanatics photo contest for a chance to win $100!

It took Michael Crabtree five weeks into the regular season to sign his rookie contract. After months of negotiating, the San Francisco 49ers and Crabtree reached a common deal that keeps him on the team for 6 years and gives him the money he wanted. Now it’s time to see what he can do on the field. Reports out of San Francisco are saying there is a good chance Crabtree will start on Sunday against the Houston Texans.

The 49ers are currently 3-2 and coming off a bye week. The Texans are 3-3. Even though the game is in Houston, teams coming off bye weeks are always at an advantage. The players can rest up and the coaches get 2 weeks of preparation for their next opponent.

Michael Crabtree isn’t the only player giving the 49ers something to be excited about this weekend. Frank Gore, the team’s leading rusher, will be back after missing pretty much 3 games with an ankle injury. With these two stars on the field together for the first time in 2009, you have to think the 49ers are going to be amped for Sunday’s game. I’m not sure what to expect from Crabtree, but if he’s not limited I see 6 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. The Texans defense isn’t that good against the pass.

What are your predictions for Michael Crabtree in his first NFL game? Do you think he’ll shine? Will the fans embrace him? Post a comment and let me know.