Maybe it’s because I’m spoiled.

Growing up a sports fan in Boston, I have seen 12 world championships across the four major sports. I’ve spent my Sundays in the fall watching the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady. The Red Sox reversed the curse and have won four titles since ‘04. The Bruins lifted the Stanley Cup in ‘11, and the Celtics have raised two banners to the rafters of TD Garden.

I’ve probably lived the greatest existence you can ask for as a sports fan, so maybe I just don’t get it. But there has been one problem among sports fans that I just don’t understand. When I see someone that’s a fan of multiple teams across multiple cities, it just doesn’t make sense to me — it actually pisses me off.

It’s just not how it should work, you don’t get to pick your favorite sports teams based on how cool their jerseys look or if they have an awesome player at the time. If that was the case, the whole world should be New England Patriots fans, but they’re not.

Sports fandom means so much more than just cheering for a team on game day or buying your favorite athlete’s jersey. It’s a connection with the city you’re from — an identity. Growing up in Boston, I had an attachment to the city because of the teams that played in it. My life is filled with memories of going to Red Sox games and getting a Fenway Frank or a Celtics game to see the historic parquet floor. It’s all part of being a fan of the city I’m from.

You form a connection with the city and the people within it. When you go to a game, you don’t know 99% of the people around you. But when I go to a game in Boston it’s like I know everyone near me, high-fiving after a big play, or hugging some random person after the Sox hit a walk-off home run in a playoff game. I’m a part of something bigger than me.

So it just doesn’t make sense to me when I see someone from Manchester, New Hampshire is a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, Florida Panthers, New York Knicks and San Francisco Giants. Get it together buddy, just because Carmelo Anthony popped up on SportsCenter one night when you were seven doesn’t mean you should ruin your sports fandom by being a fan of the Knicks from New Hampshire.

By being a fan of a random collection of teams you lose the meaning of what being a sports fan is all about. Those memories of cheering on your team with thousands of fans don’t exist. The best you can get is seeing them when they come to the closest city as an away fan and it is just not the same.

I’m sorry, you just don’t get to pick your sports teams, it’s just not how it works. I’m sorry you are from North Carolina and have only seen a handful of good teams. That’s just a tough draw, and if one day the Carolina Panthers win a Super Bowl, just think how special it would be because you toughed it out watching a bad football team your whole life.

And so what if your team is bad? It’s just part of being a sports fan, and when it does turn around it becomes that much more special. Just look at this year’s New York Mets. The team hasn’t won a title since 1986 and ever since has been largely mediocre, if not straight-up bad. But this year they are going on this magical run. Being a fan when they are bad makes being a fan when they are good all the more sweeter.

The only exception I’ll understand is if one of your parents is from a different state and made you become a fan of their teams. You still have some form of connection with the city, and cheering on the same sports teams as your parents will always lead to some special memories.

So put away the LeBron James jersey, Timmy from Maine, and pick up a Celtics jersey. I don’t care that LeBron has a sick YouTube highlight reel — let me introduce you to Al Horford.

Being a sports fan is bigger than highlights and cool uniforms. It’s about the connection to the city, the grind of seeing a team rebuild and the triumphant feeling when they finally win a championship — even if it takes 30 years. It’s all worth it, trust me.