Fanaticism

   There is nothing wrong with being a fan.  Rooting for something to achieve is what normal people do.  Parents root for their kids ALL THE TIME (or should)!  It's true people can get carried away and become rude or arrogant or even violent in support of a cause, but there are negative sides to anything (one can eat too much, drink too much, work too much, play too much, etc.).
   I love football.  I love when the Green Bay Packers win.  I am sad when they lose but I get over it pretty quickly, and can even be relatively objective.  I love my alma mater, the University of Southern California Trojans and especially their football team (they used to have a baseball legacy, too, but have fallen apart in the last decade or so) - I was frustrated and angered as a fan when bad decisions by coaches and players (and those judging them) knocked them from their lofty perch in the last few years.
   I love to cheer for my friends.  I want them to succeed.  In my time in Haiti I have been hard, focused, determined, overworked, frustrated and wearied, but I did it all to try to bring out the potential of the kids i'm working with so that they can not just achieve, but perhaps surpass, their potential.  I try to see greatness in others and with great fanaticism I long to see victory.
   There is nothing wrong with being a fan.