During my 36 years, three of "my" teams have won it all. In 1985, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series. That's a legit title, one that even the most skeptical fan would applaud. The other two are decidedly minor affairs: the 1995 Arena Football title (Tampa Bay Storm) and the 2002 Women's United Soccer Association title (Carolina Courage). That the WUSA is no longer around speaks (most unfortunately) to the slightness of this title.

Okay, the Durham Bulls won the International League a couple years back. That's a title, too, but I don't count minor league affairs in my "resume." So that's it. Three teams, and only one of them in one of the "real" leagues.

That will likely change in a couple weeks, as the Carolina Hurricanes enter the Stanley Cup finals (which start tomorrow) as prohibitive favorites.

Seven months ago (!!) at the start of the season, this would have been unthinkable. All of the smart people who really "know" hockey picked Carolina to finish last in the entire National Hockey League. Dead last. They were a team that finished next-to-last during the most recent season (2004-2005 being lost to the lockout) and few observers though they'd picked up any decent players in the run up to this season.

Turns out they did. And despite having one of the lowest payrolls in the NHL, the Canes quickly began winning. They won nine in a row in November, and then they won nine more in a row a month later. They once won four games in a row after trailing by two or more goals entering the final period. They won with a rookie goalie. They won with a lightly-regarded veteran goalie. They won a lot, finishing one point behind Ottawa for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

And they've done the same thing in the playoffs. Now they face Edmonton, the last team to make the playoffs. Sounds like a mismatch, and it should be. Then again, Edmonton dispatched Detroit (who had the best record in the entire NHL) in the first round. So there are no guarantees.

So I'll be watching that, hoping to add another "real" title to "my" roster. I like my chances.

Then there's the World Cup. The U.S. starts play a week from tomorrow (June 12) in what is widely regarded to be the toughest group in the entire tournament. Last time out, the Americans advanced to the quarterfinals, their best showing ever. This time, they could fail to advance to the second round and still have played better than in 2002. Soccer is a screwy game sometimes.

Back in October, I think I might have been able to get 750-1 or higher odds on the Canes winning the Stanley Cup. And while I've seen odds on the U.S. kissing the golden Cup on July 9 at merely 30-1 or so, I think it's fair to say that an American victory in Berlin would be by far the more stunning performance, even from the perspective of last fall.

I don't root for the U.S. men's basketball team at the Olympics--I don't watch Olympic basketball, period. I'm not one of those freaky "U-S-A!" types who paints his face red, white and blue and wears a matching fake afro when I do get to U.S. soccer matches. But I do root for the Americans in soccer, and some of my pleasure comes from our being the underdogs. And so, while I'd love to see the U.S. win, the better we do, the less of an underdog we'll be in the future. The press will cease to use words like "scrappy" and "dogged" and "determined" and begin using words like "arrogant" and "dismissive" and, worst of all, "powerful."

It's no fun rooting for the big dogs. All you do is worry that you're gonna lose. There's no joy in the hard-fought draw or even the respectable showing in Mexico City's Azteca Stadium. I've never understood rooting for the front-runners. There's just no room for second-best.

But then, isn't that the slogan for America itself? After all, second-best isn't even kissing your sister. It's kissing dirt. One of the most ubiquitous sports sayings (attributed to no one, which is probably best) is "No one remembers who finished second." Vince Lombardi is often quoted as saying "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." And even if he really said "Winning isn't everything; trying to win is," everyone knows and passes along the fake quote whenever a truly shopworn cliche is needed.

Still...hell. I guess I'd sacrifice my love of underdogs if the U.S. would win. I don't think they will, mind you (I'd put their chances of merely getting to the second round at no better than 50-50). But it would be pretty cool if the boys managed to put it together.

As for the Canes, well, they're pretty well set to be a good team for a long time. There will never be another season like this one, where for a couple months (or so) they were able to sneak up on teams who didn't believe they were, in fact, one of the best around. From now on, it's all about swagger and protecting what they have. And if they happen to have the Stanley Cup in a couple of weeks, well, that would be something worth protecting. I might even get down to Raleigh for the victory parade.

'Cause, y'know, the most important thing about "my" team winning is me celebrating. It's all about me.

Jon Worley is like every other fool who believes that his rooting (while watching games on television) actually influences the course of a game. The effect increases when he, himself, is utterly pixelated.