Photo screen grabs of Merrianne Do, a viral Los Angeles Chargers fan who also happens to be a Minnesota Vikings fan.
NFLBy Ben Axelrod on

There’s a problem with unexpectedly going viral — just as Merrianne Do did for her intense reactions throughout the Los Angeles Chargers’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. For whatever reason, the Internet is quick to dig into even the most obscure celebrity’s backstory in hopes of finding a “gotcha” moment.

And that’s exactly what happened to Do, who made the media rounds on Tuesday, including stops on The Pat McAfee Show and the NFL Network. Only social media didn’t find that she had been convicted of a crime or was a paid actor (as some had theorized), but rather that she also happened to be a Minnesota Vikings fan.

As one might imagine, many on social media were quick to criticize Do. After all, how could she possibly be so passionate about the Chargers and also like another team in another conference in a totally different part of the country?

Shortly after news of Do’s dual NFL fandom made the rounds, “Boston” Connor Campbell, a producer on The Pat McAfee Show, took to X (formerly Twitter) to offer an alibi. Do wasn’t actually a Minnesota fan, Campbell shared. She was just a passionate mom supporting her son’s youth football team, who happened to be named the Vikings.

The problem with Boston Connor’s post isn’t that it was disproven — Do later told TMZ that she grew up in Minnesota and remains a Vikings fan, in addition to being a Chargers fan who now lives in California. It’s that it wasn’t even necessary in the first place. While Do had plenty of detractors on social media, she also had even more supporters (including yours truly), who were quick to point out that it’s totally fine for someone to have multiple favorite teams.

Do’s explanation certainly seems plausible (and verified). But like Boston Connor’s post, it was also unnecessary.

It would have been fine if she was a Chargers fan who also liked the Vikings for their colors, or vice versa. It would have been fine (although maybe a little odd) if she just happened to be a huge Sean Salisbury fan. It would have been fine if she was a Chargers fan who went all out while attending a Vikings game during a trip to Minneapolis.

Any explanation would have been equally great and gratuitous.

At the end of the day, it’s just sports, and there’s no rule preventing someone from liking two — or more — teams. I’m a Cleveland sports fan and have a closet full of sports gear from teams all over the country for a variety of reasons. (But not the Steelers, Ravens or Bengals. We have to draw the line somewhere).

The rush to dunk on Do seems to be rooted in the idea that her reactions during the Chargers’ game couldn’t have possibly been authentic if she has a second favorite team. But if she was as passionate as she was on Monday night, wouldn’t it stand to reason that she would also be equally as enthusiastic about the team she grew up rooting for? She was born into Vikings fandom and life circumstances took her to Southern California, where she embraced one of the local teams. Shouldn’t that be celebrated and not criticized?

Plus, as many on social media were quick to point out, if Do were to arbitrarily choose two teams to root for, why in the world would she pick the Chargers and the Vikings?

But if she had just picked those two teams to root for at random, that would have been okay too.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod