NFL - Steelers: I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and as with many cities that don't have any pro teams, people there end up picking and choosing different teams for different reasons. Both my parents were big football fans, so it was always on in my house growing up. My dad was a huge Cowboys fan, but one day when I was five, my mom and I were watching some postgame highlights, and my mom pointed out the team in the yellow pants on TV. She told me that they were the Steelers, and that they were really good when she was in high school. The Steelers therefore became the first team I could identify, the first team for whom I could match a name with an image, and because of that, they became my favorite. Much to the chagrin of my dad, who obviously wanted me to be a Cowboys fan. NBA - Spurs: When basketball first entered my consciousness, I knew of two teams: the Bulls (in the midst of their second Jordan-led threepeat) and the Lakers. I chose the Lakers as my favorite, but not too long after that (I assume it was in 1999, following the Spurs first title) I became aware of the Spurs. Something about their name and their identity grabbed me, and they've been my favorite ever since. MLB - Blue Jays: There were a few teams I took an interest in as a kid, like the Yankees (duh), the Pirates (I rooted for Pittsburgh's football team and figured I would root for their baseball team too), the Marlins (I got a teal ice cream helmet of theirs and really liked the color). But the two teams I took the greatest interest in were the Expos and Blue Jays. For some reason, as a kid, I was really tickled by the idea of Canadian baseball teams. I liked the Expos the best, in large part because I loved their logo, and if they still played in Montreal then they'd probably be my favorite team today. But they left, and now I root for the Blue Jays. NHL - Coyotes: My first favorite hockey team was the Ducks, because I loved their purple and teal uniforms and enjoyed rooting for them in the 2003 playoffs, but I lost interest when they changed their uniforms. I'm currently attending a college in Arizona, which has led to me becoming a bigger fan of the Arizona teams. This is especially true of the Coyotes, who I had a lot of fun rooting for when they went on their run to the Western Conference Finals in 2012. On top of that, I just really like the idea of the Coyotes. I like the idea of ice hockey being played in a place where it doesn't belong according to nature, and I like the fact that the team has somehow stayed in Phoenix despite overwhelming ownership issues. So now they're my favorite team. NCAA - New Mexico Lobos: As an Albuquerque native, UNM is the one team I actually have a legitimate reason to root for (though I've never attended UNM. As I mentioned, I go to a college in Arizona, a really tiny one that doesn't have any sports teams).
