Is it OK to quit on teams just because they trade certain players?

[GoCubsGo]

The Cubs have traded Rizzo away to the Yankees, and there are potentially trades that could occur by the deadline that would also result in Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras being traded, too.  I was wondering if it's OK to switch my allegiance to the White Sox?  I'm a fan of players, not teams, plus being a Chicago-leaning sports fan, the White Sox makes sense as an alternative. 

Using that logic, is it OK to quit on my Cubbies, or should I stay the course?

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

2 minutes ago, GoCubsGo said:

Ok, So the Cubs have Sold Rizzo away and a deal that would get rid of Kris and Wilson is on the way, I was wondering if it is ok to switch my allegiance to the White Sox Due to me being rather a fan of Players, Not teams(I do have a Chicago Bias though). Is it ok to quit on My Cubbies, Or should I stay loyal?

 

 

Of course. You can change your allegiance whenever you want for whatever reason you want.

[tigers]

1 hour ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

Of course. You can change your allegiance whenever you want for whatever reason you want.

 

Untrue.

I heard it's a law that the government bought in to make sure that Atlanta has supporters.

[kimball]

24 minutes ago, tigers said:

Untrue.

I heard it's a law that the government bought in to make sure that Atlanta has supporters.

 

@tigers is right. It's in the bylaws of sports fanhood. Of course there seems to be some loopholes. 
 

Quote

 

ARTICLE II - CLUB ALLEGIANCES

 

Section 3 : TRANSFERRING OF ALLEGIANCES 

The transferring of club allegiances is explicitly prohibited once one pledges allegiance to a club for more than five seasons whether this pledge is made for a city, club, club coach/admin or player. Once allegiance is pledged and displayed longer than five years, fanhood must stay with that team until one of the following happens.

• Relocation of club to another city outside the current club's market.
• Relocation of the fan either outside the current club's market or into a new market that has a competing club in the same sport league.
• Or, death of the fan.

It is also prohibited that fanhood be transferred to a rival club in the same market and same sport. This includes switching between the Cubs/White Sox, Yankees/Mets, Giants/Jets, Rangers/Islanders/Devils, Knicks/Nets, Giants/A's, Angels/Dodgers, Clippers/Lakers and Ducks/Kings. The only exception is the Rams/Chargers as no one in LA really cares for football.

 

Penalty for switched allegiances can result in a fine of $25,000, up to three years in jail and/or mandatory fanship of all Cleveland sports for 20 years to life.

 

 

[tigers]

25 minutes ago, kimball said:

 

@tigers is right. It's in the bylaws of sports fanhood. Of course there seems to be some loopholes. 
 

 

 

I say three years jail is not enough.

 

The Cleveland rule as it will forever be known seems fair.

[BBTV]

8 hours ago, DG_ThenNowForever said:

 

Of course. You can change your allegiance whenever you want for whatever reason you want.

 

Yeah, sports are supposed to be for fun and entertainment.  If some other team gives you more of that, then by all means change.  The whole "but we have to suffer in order to enjoy the successes" is nonsense.  If the team happens to be local, then that's even better.  I would find it very hard to pick a team in a city that I've never lived in because part of the fun is being around other people who are happy, and going to parades, and talking to people about them, which is much easier in your hometown.  I don't see how it's possible to have any emotional attachment to a non-local team - but maybe that's a good thing since that's often what's responsible for the frustration.

[CS85]

9 hours ago, GoCubsGo said:

Ok, So the Cubs have Sold Rizzo away and a deal that would get rid of Kris and Wilson is on the way, I was wondering if it is ok to switch my allegiance to the White Sox Due to me being rather a fan of Players, Not teams(I do have a Chicago Bias though). Is it ok to quit on My Cubbies, Or should I stay loyal?

 

 

1.  You do whatever you want.  I have never understood the mentality of loving players not the team, but if that's how you do, do you.

 

2.  I don't know what's going on, but the random capitalization of certain words has me so thrown off.  I desperately want to edit your post.

[MJWalker45]

I'm a Cleveland Browns/Cavs/Guardians fan, so I'll still root for my teams, but if there's a player that did great things for the team, then leaves, I'll probably still root for him as long as he's not playing my side. I'll also root for any Buckeyes player under those same rules. 

[Red Comet]

Sometimes it’s the only way to send the message that the status quo isn’t going to cut it anymore. Vid related. 

[Jer15]

Do what you want. You don't need our permission.

As @BBTV said: this is all for fun. If you have more fun rooting for a different team, go for it!

[DEAD!]

Why not quit on them? It's not like you are bound to contract to be a fan of the team.

[gosioux76]

2 hours ago, BBTV said:

 

Yeah, sports are supposed to be for fun and entertainment.  If some other team gives you more of that, then by all means change.  The whole "but we have to suffer in order to enjoy the successes" is nonsense.  If the team happens to be local, then that's even better.  I would find it very hard to pick a team in a city that I've never lived in because part of the fun is being around other people who are happy, and going to parades, and talking to people about them, which is much easier in your hometown.  I don't see how it's possible to have any emotional attachment to a non-local team - but maybe that's a good thing since that's often what's responsible for the frustration.

 

Well said. And I think this goes not just for team allegiance, but sports in general. I love the Twins and when they're a contender, I watch damn near every inning of every game. But this year, when they're terrible, I've found myself losing interest in the game entirely. And I'm OK with that, because why should I invest my time in something that disappoints me repeatedly? 

I did the same with the NBA. I used to love the league, but something about it — likely, the prevalence of so-called "super teams" and the Kevin Durants of the world playing hopscotch in search of trophies —  made it unlikable. But then I started tuning into this year's NBA playoffs, found it compelling, and I'm suddenly back on board again. 

 

The point is this:  We only have so much time on this planet. Don't waste it on things you're not enjoying. You set the rules. 

[tBBP]

Maaannn look...sports fandom ain't a legally binding agreement. Pull for whomever you choose for whatever reason you wish.

 

I know I've changed allegiances several times over the years, just due to having moved around so much. I grew up a Buccaneers and Florida State Seminoles fan (both by blood and by choice), then adopted the Jaguars the day they were born because they too were a North Florida team and in the opposite conference. At the time I was also a big Pirates fan because I always liked their uniforms; that only intensified once I moved to Pittsburgh for college. (But I still kept ky Tampa and Jacksonville allegiance, much to the dismay of my Pittsburgh constituents at the time, haha.)

 

By 2010 I found myself swapping out the Jaguars for the Colts since I was living in Indy at the time and they were just an easy team to like. Four years later I moved to Nashville and chose to become a Titans fan (while at the same time dropping Tampa Bay due to Greg Schiano's knucklehead behind and then those alarm clock johns...yick).

 

These days, I don't consider myself an uber-fan of any one team anymore, and that includes Florida State--but that has more to do with the Lakota peoples I now live and work among up here in South Dakota, along with seeing their resistance to seeing Chief Osceola and thinking it was the Washington Football Team's old logo, so out of respect for them I hung all that apparel up and eventually got rid of it.  Now I do find myself becoming a Twins fan now, having been to two of their games and planning on at least one more before season's end.   We'll see if the Vikings make enough of an impression on me come football season--but I doubt it.

[GoCubsGo]

Thanks Guys, I have decided to switch my alliegance to the White Sox, for 3 reasons.

1. THE KRAKEN IN THE HOUSE

2. My father and his side of the family are White Sox Fans

3. I have become know for dissapointing My Mother, Why not live up to the Sterotype.

 

[McCall]

12 minutes ago, GoCubsGo said:

Thanks Guys, I have decided to switch my alliegance to the White Sox, for 3 reasons.

1. THE KRAKEN IN THE HOUSE

2. My father and his side of the family are White Sox Fans

3. I have become know for dissapointing My Mother, Why not live up to the Sterotype.

 

This was much more suspenseful and exciting than the trade deadline.

[bosrs1]

I mean I'm of two minds. 

 

On one hand, clearly it's your choice who you root for. No one can tell you whom to root for or who you love in your heart. That's all you. 

 

On the other hand, as a fan who has never understood the "follow a player" mentality, even though I know several people who live by it and jump teams accordingly. For me a team is who you root for. The reasons you do so can vary but you generally speaking stick by them through think and thin (for me it's usually thin as I almost prefer rooting for dire losers).

 

For myself my MLB team is a soil/location choice and always has been. I grew up in San Jose and rooted for the A's primarily. I followed the Padres from afar because they were the first NL team I ever heard on the radio when I snuck a listen to a Giants broadcast when I was like 7 (we were a vehemently anti-Giant/SFs household). Ironically years later I'd move to San Diego and started following the Padres as my primary team both because I'd already been doing so, and they were now local and the A's are now my AL team. Essentially they flip flopped (and yet still followed that strict ruling a few posts back).

 

For the NFL, as I said we grew up taught to hate San Francisco and everything about it. And there were no Raiders in the Bay Area at the time I started following the NFL, so I went with the third option, the family team. My whole extended family are in and around Boston, so I started rooting for the Pats back in the early Bledsoe days. And being my extended family is still in Boston, I myself moved away from the Bay Area, and the Chargers did San Diego dirty, that's not changed for me and I still root for the Pats.

 

For the NHL, grew up a Sharks fan as they were my first exposure to hockey as a California kid when they formed and their arena was only a few miles from my house. Still root for them today. But I also root for the AHL's San Diego Gulls. Which leads to interesting situations regarding players whom I can be rooting for one night, and then booing the next when they get called up to Anaheim. 

 

For the NBA, I didn't follow it until college. I kinda rooted for the Sacramento Kings because a girl I was friends with was a die-hard. But never developed that same feeling for them. Never even considered the Warriors as all they were to me was an annoyance the few times a year they had games scheduled the same time as the A's. After I moved south tried Clippers out, but couldn't do it being that they'd done San Diego dirty about the time I was born and the few basketball fans I know in SD have LONG memories. And the Lakers were a no-go because they were always the Kings biggest enemies/annoyance, and everyone else for that matter. My basketball fandom is pretty much all in the college realm with SDSU whom I also follow for college football.

 

For MLS, similar to the Sharks I grew up a Clash/Quakes fan, and still am. Though I also follow the USL's new San Diego Loyal. If they ever jump to MLS I'll have a decision to make. 

 

 

[Rockstar Matt]

Root for whomever you like, for whatever reason you like. I personally could never, but I always root for former great/significant players that used to play for me team. So I understand that yearning. But I'll always stick with me teams, even if they trade away or release my favorite players.

 

(For example: I will still root for KCP, Kuz and the other baby Lakers; have continued to root for Dez, and back in the day, D-Ware, Emmitt Smith when he went to the Cardinals; just to cite a few examples).

[Dynasty]

The reasons for liking a team don't even have to be related to winning either. I grew up a Dolphins fan because I love their visual identity (the colors and their logo from the 2000's). Miami has been below average in the last twenty years, but I still get a kick out of seeing them on team because of how unique they look compared to the rest of the league. They would probably have to do a complete identity change in order for me to lose interest, but that's not something bound to happen. I became a Reds fan because my grandfather won a title with them back in 1990; I love the thought of him having a ring. I also like the atmosphere that surrounds the franchise, the old-timey feel and the ballpark (went to my first game in 2010 and it was hands down the best baseball experience I've ever had... and I've been to classics like Wrigley).

 

If it makes you happy to root for someone because of this or that, I'm not going to cry foul. We all have reasons to following a team.

[Red Wolf]

Honestly, this is just more proof that minor league baseball is the best baseball. I went to an Arkansas Travelers game a week ago and it was awesome. I ate at a local restaurant downtown with some friends, went to a game where I arguably drank too much, and the home team got it's ass kicked by some team called the Wind Surge. And it was the best. I got to enjoy a game of baseball that wasn't five hours long and the fact that the Mariners prospects were destroyed by the Twins prospects did not upset me one bit. I was annoyed with the gimmick pitcher that did some wacky underhanded delivery.

 

It was baseball as God intended: As a small distraction while hanging out with friends.

 

Besides, it's never going to get better than 2016 as a Cubs fan. I've come to accept that.

[chcarlson23]

On 7/30/2021 at 11:39 PM, Red Wolf said:

Honestly, this is just more proof that minor league baseball is the best baseball. I went to an Arkansas Travelers game a week ago and it was awesome. I ate at a local restaurant downtown with some friends, went to a game where I arguably drank too much, and the home team got it's ass kicked by some team called the Wind Surge. And it was the best. I got to enjoy a game of baseball that wasn't five hours long and the fact that the Mariners prospects were destroyed by the Twins prospects did not upset me one bit. I was annoyed with the gimmick pitcher that did some wacky underhanded delivery.

 

It was baseball as God intended: As a small distraction while hanging out with friends.

 

Besides, it's never going to get better than 2016 as a Cubs fan. I've come to accept that.

I agree with this. I love minor league baseball. My hometown team the St. Paul Saints have always been a blast. I loved Midway Stadium as a kid, and I love their new home CHS Field. CHS is a beautiful ballpark. And until this year the games never really mattered. Guys just trotted out onto the field getting paid to play a sport they loved, and it was fun. There’s no stat lines, numbers, hitting percentages to worry about, (I mean not really) it’s just 9 guys trying to beat another set of 9 guys. Just balls, strikes, a couple of hits, and 9 innings of fun. Even as a triple A squad, the feel of a Saints game is just about fun, rather than numbers and percentages. 
 

Sure MLB is a high level of skill, and I’ll feel probably a lot more excited for a World Series championship than a AAA one, but there’s some old-timey charm in minor league ball. Now anyone can feel anything they want about baseball. I love the relaxedness of minor league baseball, but you can be relaxed about the MLB too if you want. We’re probably not the GM of a Major League Baseball team here... 

 

Ironically, I don’t feel the same way about hockey, my favorite sport by far. I love the idea of building a roster, moving pieces around, tweaking lines, seeing goal production, all of that jazz. Minor league hockey hasn’t had the same feel entirely for me. To be far, I’ve never been to a minor-pro hockey game tho. The closest I’ve got is a couple of Gopher games, and I’ve been to a few high school games outside of the Tourney. Those are laid back. The MN State hockey tournament is much more fun with all they hype of a huge tournament happening...

 

/end late night ramble