Regarding people's favorite teams

[The 24th Letter]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

I think taking a narrow view on it without knowing the person is shallow and pedantic..

"Mmmm....yes, shallow and pedantic" -Peter Griffin

[throwmonkey]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

My main teams (A's, Sharks, Raiders, Warriors, Washington Huskies) have a regional basis from where I grew up and then the Huskies since I went to school there.

The other teams I root for are the Dodgers since my dad's been a fan of them from Brooklyn days, the Seahawks since I was living in Seattle during their Super Bowl run, and the Blazers because of Brandon Roy.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

Oh, as for soccer, I researched where my last name originated, and it was close to Birmingham, England.

Thus, Villa fan.

[TheGamingChef]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

NCAA: Iowa State Cyclones, the vast majority of my friends are Iowa Hawkeyes fans and I am a contrarian by nature. The 2002 season with Seneca Wallace was my breakout year into the open with my fanhood here.

MLB: St. Louis Cardinals, I never really got into baseball until 1998. I went to a Cubs game and all that happened was Sammy hit a triple. I went to a Cardinals game and McGwire hit a walk-off HR in the 10th off of Billy Wagner. I've been hooked ever since.

NFL: Minnesota Vikings, my dad was always a huge fan and I loved their style of play when I was younger. The Randall Cunningham days that grew into the Daunte Culpepper & Randy Moss days. Now that my football knowledge has sufficiently matured I love the Adrian Peterson days.

All the other sports I don't really care about but I still find myself rooting for certain teams. I loved Jordan so I still cheer for the Bulls. I respect what the Red Wings have done and they're classic so I cheer for Detroit in the NHL.

Being in an area with zero professional teams makes it difficult to have a "one size fits all" sports fan persona. No two people around here have identical favorite teams. (OK, that's a lie. The Hawkeyes/Cubs/Bears or Packers fans are all over the place)

[NYJets]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

As long as you stick with the team, your fine.

Someone mentioned college teams, and I think it's ok to like a school that you didn't go to, and to like different teams for football and basketball. Most people choose their teams when they are kids, and at that point it's basically no different than picking pro teams. You aren't saying you love that university, you are saying you love that team. I was a uconn fan growing up and ended up going to uconn so it doesn't matter, but if say, I decided to go to Syracuse instead for some reason, there's no way I'd switch over to being a Syracuse fan

[jmood88]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

NCAA: Iowa State Cyclones, the vast majority of my friends are Iowa Hawkeyes fans and I am a contrarian by nature. The 2002 season with Seneca Wallace was my breakout year into the open with my fanhood here.

I randomly saw an ISU game one year and I became a big fan of Seneca Wallace.

[callmetaternuts]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

I dont think it matters what your favorite teams are, unless you are actively hopping year to year to catch the hot teams. But if you grew up with a good team, or have other affiliations (like the unis, grew up near them, parents went there, etc) i dont see why it matters.

You dont have to like or support local teams. Im a Bucs fan, and although i live in Tampa, if i ever move anywhere else, ill ALWAYS be a Bucs fan. Thats my team. Lots of people here that support the Packers, the Vikings etc and i respect that. Thats their team, regardless of where they live.

[MC Fatigue]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

Is it just me or do you lose any and all respect for someone who's favorite teams in each sport are in different cities? Like some one liking the Yankees in baseball then the Lakers in basketball. I mean, really?! That's just a plain old bandwagon fan right there.

Honestly, I think that's completely idiotic.

I don't cheer for a city because I live there, or because I like the city.

I cheer for teams that I like - teams that I enjoy watching, and have players that I enjoy watching.

Because of this, I've had a lot of favorite teams. In the NHL, for example, I was never a Toronto fan, even though I lived in Toronto - what does that have to do with the team?

I was a Colorado fan when they got Patrick Roy, because he was my favorite player. On top of that, watching the team they had put together was outstanding - Sakic, Foote, Deadmarsh, Drury, Hejduk - etc.

Then some of them moved on, retired, got traded - and my favorite player Deadmarsh moved on to LA.

Colorado wasn't as fun to watch anymore, and they'd lost some of my favorite players. Now why would I keep cheering for them? Just because they were once the team I loved, doesn't mean they would always be.

I moved on to LA because of Deadmarsh and Allison, eventually they even got Carter. They had some of my favorite players on there, and I liked watching them. That team blew up - Deadmarsh and Allison both got screwed over; and Carter didn't last long.

Now I enjoy watching Pittsburgh. Crosby and Malkin are simply amazing to watch; and I see them being my favorite team for a while.

I think it's absolutely idiotic that you would lose respect for someone who doesn't just stick with one thing. I mean, really - a lot of people I know can't even explain why they love the team they've loved for so long. The players have moved on, and the team isn't anything like the team they used to love.

One thing I would like to know is why don't you want the team in your city/state to do well, why don't you root for them? Why don't you like them? I'm honestly asking because I just don't get it. Again, is it just that I'm a New Yorker and want the team in my city/state to win all the time? Why don't you want that?

My response to this is: why would you want that? For what other reason that just because they happen to be in your home state?

If I lived in LA - why would I watch to cheer for a team that holds a few players and a coach I absolutely cannot stand?

Or with MLB - why would I have cheered for the Giants if I lived in San Fransisco, while they continued to allow the most self-absorbed, controversial, irritating players in the league to play for them?

I cheer for a team because of its players and based on how much I enjoy watching them; I really don't see any point on cheering for a team just because you happen to live in the city or state in which they reside.


edit: and as a note - this isn't meant as a stab at anyone; it's simply from the point of view of someone who doesn't cheer for teams from the same place.

The difference on my side, that I should add, is that I certainly don't lose or gain respect for people because of what teams they like. That I find completely idiotic.

But I will say that I don't see the point in cheering for a team simply because you live in the same area as them; but if people do that, then I'm totally fine with that. I see no reason why respect should even come into the picture.

[Vince]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

If you're a fan of Lakers, Cowboys, Yankees you better actually follow them as a die-hard fan. My friend is a Lakers, Cowboys and Man U fan, but to be quite honest he doesn't really know half the players on the Lakers roster. He just lays claim to them.

That's bandwagon.

[TheGamingChef]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

I randomly saw an ISU game one year and I became a big fan of Seneca Wallace.

The Saturday Night Game on TBS that year against Texas Tech (when they had the big, bad Kliff Kingsbury) was the best game that year, and it's probably the one you saw.

Any memory of this play?

[fishepa]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

There are so many Alabama fans that I know that never even went to school there. I don't really get it.

If you're such a fan of the school why not go there?

[MassNole]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

The Saturday Night Game on TBS that year against Texas Tech (when they had the big, bad Kliff Kingsbury) was the best game that year, and it's probably the one you saw.

Any memory of this play?

The FSU-ISU game was on Fox Sports Net as well.

[Husker_OS]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

As far as college teams, I'm an Alabama fan since I'm currently a senior at UA.



But pro teams, there are no pro teams in Alabama. So I decided upon Tampa Bay when they drafted my favorite non-Alabama player, Warrick Dunn. And since then I've become obsessed with the Bucs.

And when it came to baseball, I chose the Indians because of Albert Belle(back in '93 when he had a huge year and all I cared about was HRs and RBI lol) and Manny Ramirez. And even though they left the team, I stuck with my Tribe.

[TheGamingChef]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

The FSU-ISU game was on Fox Sports Net as well.

Don't remind me

[BobbyColtrane]

Re: Regarding people's favorite teams

i'm from san antonio and i'm first and foremost a spurs fan. i don't really respect ppl that cheer for a team that's outside their local area. going to the games, reading the local papers, having friends and family that like the team is a huge part of being a fan IMO.

that being said san antonio is a big cowboys town and my whole family are cowboy fans so i grew up on them. i live in dallas now so i'm not going to desert them now even though i can't stand TO, Pac, Tank, or Jerry.

i used to cheer for univ of texas but i didn't go to college there so i don't really care what happens to them. i never understood ppl that cheer for schools they didn't go to.

just my opinion but in my mind you have to 1) have gone to the school 2) live in an area of the team either currently or previously 3) have some sort of family tie-in like your old man or something.

otherwise just go for the regional team if you don't have a team in your area.