Baseball and the world of Corporate Branding

Branding is an interesting concept to me. I have no problem agreeing that it is going on, that there are giant companies that are branding ideas and selling those instead of products. 
However, I think there is another side of branding people leave out when talking about it and that is identification.
We identify ourselves with products, or people, or ideas and that is how we distinguish ourselves. Klein mentions this in her interview but I think she tosses is aside without realizing its importance in our lives. 
I am a huge sports fan. I always have been so inevitably my thinking reverts to the sports world. I think I enjoy it so much because people always downplay sports as low-brow but they fail to realize how many ideas and concepts play out in sports.
I think the concept of branding plays a huge part in sports and I immediately think of the Red Sox nation. 
The Red Sox nation is the group of people who are die hard fans of the the Boston Red Sox baseball team. They are part of a "nation" of fans. You can even get a card verifying your a member of this nation, no joke!
There is probably not a more better example of branding in the sports world than this. No longer do the Red Sox advertise playing good baseball but instead they market citizenship into this magical nation. They taken the ideas and traditions that have followed the Red Sox and turned it into a commodity and I'm fine with that. 
The same can be said of the Chicago Cubs. The "lovable losers" as they are known has lead their fans to set themselves apart from the rest of baseball. In the minds of the fans they are true cubs fans because they keep awaiting the magical year they win it all. Of course, I don't that will happen. This year was their best shot and the blew it. But back to the topic at hand. 
I know this isn't the most extreme example of branding and probably not one Naomi Kleim would use but I think it illustrates how pervasive branding is. 
In my opinion it is not possible to live without branding any more. 
We are constantly being told that we are unique. By why are we unique? How do other people know that we are unique individuals? We show them by attaching ourselves to sports teams, tv shows, bands and anything else that shows who we are.
Klein, in an attempt to take on branding, may be falling herself victim to it.
Klein writes books on how the world is branding ideas. But she is still using this idea to sell her books. She may not venture out in soda pop or running shoes but she is still using the idea to market in some small way. Branding is branding whether you participate on a small or big scale. 
I disagree with Klein in that I believe branding is useful. We use branding to show how we are unique. We use branding to find others that share our interests. Branding isn't a corporate invention, it is an expression of personal identity.