When fanhood and residence don't align...

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  • Hooe
    Hall Of Fame
    • Aug 2002
    • 21555

    #31
    Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

    Born in northern Virginia and grew up an hour south of DC, so of course I'm a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan.

    Don't really have an NBA team, I just tend to follow the good stories. MLB / NHL don't interest me as much in general. Regardless, I laugh at the Wizards and Capitals and their futility anyway. The Nationals and Orioles are alright, though.

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    • superjames1992
      Hall Of Fame
      • Jun 2007
      • 31382

      #32
      Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

      My dad's side of the family was from West Virginia, so I naturally became a WVU fan despite living in NC (though I did live in WV for a few years in my middle school years). My alma mater (UNC Greensboro) is in Division I, but doesn't have a football team and are in the Southern Conference for other sports, and now I no longer live in NC and they are almost never on TV.

      I don't watch much baseball anymore, but I grew up a Red Sox fan (I think it boiled down to my dad buying me a Red Sox hat on one of his trips when I was young, haha), but started to gravitate more towards the Tampa Bay Rays in the mid-2000s since I used to go to a fair number of their games during the summers I visited my grandparents in Florida. I'd say I am more of a Rays fan now than a Red Sox fan, but I don't watch much baseball anymore, anyways, for better or for worse.

      I've always liked the Carolina Panthers, and they were my "local" team.

      My fandom of the San Antonio Spurs is an interesting case. Growing up, I didn't really watch much NBA until I was 10 or so, and by then NC had no NBA team and I lived in West Virginia for a few years from 11-14 years old, anyways. My friend who got me into watching NBA basketball was a Spurs fan, so that's how that came about. It feels a little dirty liking what is probably the most successful NBA franchise over that timespan, but I've stuck with them and always will (though my favorite player, Ginobili, will soon retire ). In a sense, this was maybe bandwagoning as this was in the early 2000s, but I don't think you can fault a 10-year old for bandwagoning?

      As far as NASCAR racing, I was always a Jeff Gordon fan from as far back as I can remember...no idea why except that I was really young when he started racing and winning so I stuck with him, haha. But now he's retired and I guess I'm rooting for Daniel Suarez just for something different. I watch other forms of racing, but don't really have defined favorites. I guess I kind of root for Juan Pablo Montoya in Indy, but not strongly so.

      I don't really watch hockey, but I guess I'd root for the Carolina Hurricanes if I did.

      I have started to watch more soccer in the last few years, and my favorite team is Real Madrid, which is kind of bandwagoning, but I have been to Santiago Bernabeu and have been to Madrid a few times.
      Importantly, they also have decent TV coverage in the United States, which is somewhat of a necessity.
      Last edited by superjames1992; 05-21-2017, 04:13 PM.
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      • Madman55
        Dibs!
        • Apr 2008
        • 1255

        #33
        Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

        Living in a Canadian city with no major sports teams until recently, I sort of had to send my allegiance elsewhere. I don't follow the NFL or MLB much anymore, but when I did the Patriots and Braves were my teams, but admittedly the Blue Jays doing well the last couple years kind of made me interested in baseball again.

        I was only 3 when the original Jets left Winnipeg, so I don't have any memories of them really, and when the Thrashers relocated here I had already established the Sabres as my team and still haven't changed back.

        The only local team I'm a fan of is our CFL team, and I enjoy watching our minor league baseball team.


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        • pietasterp
          All Star
          • Feb 2004
          • 6248

          #34
          Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

          You're free to root for whoever you want, but my only rule for maintaining respect, whatever that's worth (hint: zero), is you have to stick with that team/those teams through thick-and-thin.

          I will say, though, unique to college sports teams allegiances in general, while you are free to root for whoever you want, if you didn't go to the school or have any connection with the school you root for, you probably don't really have the right to participate in the 'school stereotype' insults that are usually relatively specific to certain rivalries.

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          • SuperSeahawks
            MVP
            • Jul 2009
            • 1335

            #35
            Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

            I've lived in NY all my life, but have never rooted for any of the NY sports teams....
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            • pietasterp
              All Star
              • Feb 2004
              • 6248

              #36
              Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

              Originally posted by SuperSeahawks
              I've lived in NY all my life, but have never rooted for any of the NY sports teams....
              That's interesting. I could understand if you weren't into sports at all, but living in NY your whole life and being interested in sports, and not being a NY fan (with all the available options)? Definitely haven't heard of that before.

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              • LowerWolf
                Hall Of Fame
                • Jun 2006
                • 12281

                #37
                Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

                Though on the surface my fandom makes no geographic sense, there's actually a connection.

                Vols - the alma mater.

                49ers - I lived in Northern California for five years as a kid.

                Braves/Hawks - One set of grandparents were from Atlanta.

                Penguins - The other set is from Pittsburgh.

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                • seasprite
                  Phenom
                  • Jul 2008
                  • 8984

                  #38
                  Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

                  Vols: Alma Mater

                  Eagles: Reggie White

                  Flyers: stationed in Philly and coming from the South with no hockey, it was basically the only thing I knew about the sport

                  Braves: just what I grew up with

                  76ers: I love punishment


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                  • slickdtc
                    Grayscale
                    • Aug 2004
                    • 17125

                    #39
                    When fanhood and residence don't align...

                    Flyers: the local team. Born in to this. My dad and uncle played ice hockey growing up and passed their fandom of the Flyers on to me. They've been following them since their inception in '67. Hopefully I can pass it on to my son when he's older.

                    Bills: Tecmo Super Bowl. My older brothers were better then me and used the Giants and Bears, so I needed to keep up with the loaded Bills roster.

                    I remember watching the Eagles getting spanked by the Cowboys in the mid-90's and how frustrated he was (he eventually gave up on football). Don't know why I never connected with Philly in football. Maybe that negative association steered me away.

                    Reds: I was a late bloomer as far as my interest in baseball goes. I used video games to get in to the sport, starting with WSB 2k2 I believe. Took to Seattle first, but then tried the Phillies. They didn't stick either. I don't know why I decided on the Reds when I got MVP Baseball 2003, I think because they were right around middle of the pack as far as the games ratings went. But it clicked and I've been following them ever since.

                    Boston College: Doug Flutie is one of my favorite players in any sport. Don't follow BC and college sports too closely.

                    Charlotte Hornets: NBA Jam. Followed them to New Orleans and then back, though it's technically a different franchise. Don't follow the Hornets too closely but if someone asks, I claim them as my favorite team.

                    If I had to claim a soccer team, it would be Tottenham. For some reason, I used Sporting KC in MLS on FIFA.
                    NHL - Philadelphia Flyers
                    NFL - Buffalo Bills
                    MLB - Cincinnati Reds


                    Originally posted by Money99
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                    • KSUowls
                      All Star
                      • Jul 2009
                      • 5896

                      #40
                      Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

                      Bit of a bump, but I was actually thinking of this topic the other day.

                      Imo it gets silly real quick when people start arguing what a true fan is.

                      Personally I do cheer for the home town teams because for me it's just more fun cheering for a team from my own city. It also makes going to games easier because no matter who they are up against that night I will always be cheering for the hometown team. I don't think it's a necessary requirement though.

                      Some might say I'm a bandwagon fan because I like UGA even though no one in my family has a physical tie to UGA. That's fine. I'm not going to apologize for being a fan of a team because I'm a first generation college grad or that it was financially prudent for me to go to the school 15 minutes away from my parents house, rather than go to UGA where I would need to live on campus and have additional debt/expense. I became a UGA fan when I was a young kid in the 90's because my dad has always been a lifelong fan. Whatever your reasons, you like who you like.

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                      • cusefan74
                        MVP
                        • Jul 2010
                        • 2408

                        #41
                        Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

                        I am from just outside Syracuse and I cheer for the Orange, but when it comes to professional sports I'm all over.

                        NFL- Denver Broncos, I saw them on TV a couple times when I was about 7 or 8 and here we are almost 40 years later and I'm still a fan. Yes I stayed a true fan through some really bad Super Bowl loses, and have been lucky enough to see 3 Super Bowl wins.

                        Baseball- The New York Mets even though they can't seem to get it right very much, but I have always cheered for them and I always will.

                        NBA- I guess it's the Knicks, although I hate the NBA.

                        NHL- Not a huge fan of hockey but I will watch the finals. I like the Philadelphia Flyers here.

                        So you like however you like, that's just how it is. I come from an area where everyone cheers for the Bills,Giants,and Yankees. I hate the Bills and I have never been a Giants fan, and the Yankees are ok.

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                        • LowerWolf
                          Hall Of Fame
                          • Jun 2006
                          • 12281

                          #42
                          Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

                          You’ve got a common theme of orange, which works well for a Syracuse fan.

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                          • steelerfan
                            MVP
                            • Jun 2003
                            • 4351

                            #43
                            Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

                            I was born in Ohio but moved to the Houston area when I was 2. I moved back to Ohio for 3 years when I was in junior high then it was back to Houston to start high school and I've been here since (I'm 43).

                            NFL
                            Steelers - I became a fan of the Steelers at the age of 5 during the 79 AFC Championship Game. I was just starting to get into football that year and my sister desperately wanted Houston to win. I was mad at her so I rooted for Pittsburgh.

                            NHL
                            Penguins - Got into hockey when I was 7 or 8. Houston didn't have a team so I rooted for Pittsburgh because of the Steelers.

                            MLB
                            Astros - I was probably 6 when I started watching baseball. Lived in Houston, stuck with them.

                            NBA
                            Rockets - Haven't cared for or watched basketball since 1997 but when I did I was always a Rockets fan. Again, they were my local team when I started watching.

                            NCAA FB
                            Notre Dame - from the age of 7 or so until JoePa was fired (scapegoated, imo) I was a Penn State fan. After he was unceremoniously dumped, I switched to ND (had nothing to do with the Sandusky scandal, simply the treatment of Paterno). ND had been a "second team" for me since about 1985. Kind of funny, given I'm an atheist.

                            Premier League
                            Chelsea FC - too much too explain but when I got into the sport I knew 2 things: I want to support an English club and I will not support Manchester United. After watching and reading as much as I could I decided on Chelsea (my other 'finalist' was Manchester City).
                            Last edited by steelerfan; 01-09-2018, 04:52 PM.

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                            • Herky
                              Working for the weekend
                              • Jun 2004
                              • 4715

                              #44
                              Re: When fanhood and residence don't align...

                              Born and raised in NE Iowa, and currently live in eastern Iowa. Obviously Iowa is my college team, and I also like Northern Iowa because it was close to my hometown and I ran track there in college. The Minnesota Vikings are my NFL team since my Dad and his side of the family is from Minnesota. The Chicago Cubs are my MLB team because I grew up watching them with my grandpa. The Cubs are the only sports team in Illinois that I like. I don't follow the NBA as closely as I used to but ever since 1986 the Boston Celtics have been my team. All my friends were Bulls fans and I loved Larry Bird so I picked them as my team. I still pay attention in the playoffs but I don't watch much anymore. I also want the Minnesota Timberwolves to do well but again, don't follow the NBA a lot.
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