they can hook a kid on a team during the ages of 8-12, chances are high that they'll have him for life. Which is kind of interesting, because if true, it means that kids get hooked on a team way before they're old enough to really know much about what exactly the teams are playing for or what the stakes are in a particular game. What ends up making them fans for life are the memories they make, way before they get old enough to get cynical about all of it. I'll have to see if I can find some citations.