Why support the teams you do...

[TFoA]

Atlanta Falcons-Spending most of my early life in Mississippi, the Falcons were the nearest team, so naturally we rooted for them.

Atlanta Hawks-Same reason.

[OMMF]

NFL - Chargers, Bills (although now I don't know who), New England too until a few years ago

MLB - Red Sox, Padres

NBA - No one really

NHL - Edmonton, Boston

I'm originally from SD so they are my teams no matter how bad they are or what they do. I do go to Seattle games but only if they are playing my teams. I use the teams here (including Vancouver for the NHL) as ways to see my favorite teams.

Why all the Boston teams you ask? Pats because Bledsoe went there and then, naturally, I became a Bills fan when he went there. Coug pride! Anyway, for the other two, '86 and '88 have some of my first sports memories watching tv with my dad. The Sox and Mets in the Series and the Bruins and Oilers in the Cup. They've always stuck with me so I kept the teams as my own.

[Mac the Knife]

I don't support individual teams. Supporting an NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB team is like supporting IBM, Microsoft, Dell, or any other corporate entity. Professional sports is a business - first and foremost, and by and large they don't give a damn about you as an individual... so why give a damn about them.

Think I'm wrong? Just ask the fans of the original Cleveland Browns, the Houston Oilers, or the Hartford Whalers.

That's not to say I don't enjoy sports. But I comprehend it for what it is - a form of entertainment, and as such I don't attach myself, sentimentally or financially, to any specific team.

[zer0dotcom]

I saw the Blue Jays and Argonauts play when I was young, so I grew into them. Forever shall they be my one true loves

I cheered for the Canadiens beecasue my dad hated them. I never had a true team in the NHL until that time. I cheered for St. Louis and Anahiem for awhile, but Montreal found that spot in my heart.

of course I've always been an Oshawa Generals fan though

EDIT: man, my spelling is atrocious tonight...

[HatCityEnforcer]

I'll list em....

MLB: NY Mets, Minnesota, Detroit

NFL: NY Jets, Detroit

NBA: Detroit

NHL: NY Rangers

AHL: Technically Hartford, but I'm boycotting them (I'll explain below)

UHL: Danbury

College Hoop: UConn, Michigan St., Maryland

College Football: UConn, Michigan St.

College Hockey: Michigan St.

Mets, Jets, Rangers, & UConn are the ol' proximity thing...I live close to NYC and I'm from CT, so I gotta support the home team there. Jets were the first team from NY I picked up, seeing I've liked them since the Richard Todd-Wesley Walker-Freeman McNeil-NY Sack Exchange (Mark Gastineau/Joe Klecko/Abdul Salaam/Marty Lyons) days. Mets came along in the early 80s when some young kids named Strawberry and Gooden were blowing plop up at Shea....Rangers came about when they got Leetch (local boy and all) and was cemented when they got Mess from the Oil. UConn kinda didn't really become an obsession until the first real title run in 1990...UConn football came about very recently (mostly when they upgraded from D1-AA to D1-A)

As for some of the other teams....most of the Motown ones (Lions & Tigers) were courtesy of the fiance. She likes em, so I kinda root for them when they're not playing any of my other teams. She's also a Wings fan and has tried in the past to convert me, without much success (at least she got me from disliking them completely to tolerating them and actually rooting for them when they play the Isles or Devils )

Pistons...I was a fan back in the Bad Boys days, and it was re-kindled when they ripped off the Wizards to get Rip Hamilton. Plus, they kicked the snot out of the Lakers...what's NOT to love about that?

MSU I kinda adoped on the ice ages ago (just to be a bit different..then again, nobody really pays attention to college hockey in CT outside of the area around New Haven where they have Yale and Quinnipiac...don't mind the Semi-Mighty Q)...football came about later on....and hoops kinda recently.

UMD in hoops I adopted for 2 reasons...1 was that they always seemed to play Dook tough (and I DESPISE Dook) and the second was b/c a buddy of mine in college scored UMD/Duke tix at Cole Field House....in the student section. To say I had a blast was a mild understatement

The Twins in baseball...ya might wonder why a good CT boy is rooting for them...simple...their AA farm team is in New Britain and I went to many a game there over the summers and saw most of the present team as they made their way to the bigs. So I feel a semi-emotional attachment to the Twins in that regard.

Then there's the other hockey teams...the Wolfpack and the Trashers. I had latched on to the Pack in 97 (their first year in Hartford) and stuck with them loyally for most of their tenure (including a nice Calder Cup win in 2000 over the Amerks). However, the idiots that run the team thought that this year with a lockout, it'd be a GREAT time to raise ticket prices.

The Trashers play out in Danbury....25 min. from where I live. That's a proximity choice if there ever was one. Went to a game in November (vs. Elmira) and was hooked...been going ever since...and it's made me a fan of the U (long before teams started bringing in NHLers...heck, I saw the Motor City Mechanics BEFORE they got any of the Wings playing for them...to say they were terrible is a gross understatement)...

And CMU, I saw the Generals when they came into the DIA....fun team and I like the coach a lot (any coach that's willing to take pics with the opposing fans after a game can't be all that bad)...hope they can get their act together and get back into the playoff chase (at least get past K-zoo in the standings...I have my reasons for NOT liking that team )

[slapshot]

Hometown pride...

Boston Red Sox

Boston Celtics (yawn)

Boston Bruins

New England Patriots

New England Revolution

Lowell LockMonsters

Lowell Spinners

UMass-Lowell Riverhawks

UMass

Boston College

others:

University of North Carolina (I have relatives in Chapel Hill)

Ottawa Senators...everyone liked Anaheim and San Jose, I wanted to throw some love to the "other" team. I always though the nickname Senators was cool, and I liked Rick Bowness when he coached the Bruins

NJ Devils...Cool name, cool colors, my first hockey team's nickname

Colorado Avalanche...see Devils, except I never played for a team with that name

Toronto Maple Leafs...some love for one of the original 6, and I hate the Red Wings, Canadiens, & Rangers (I don't see enough of the Blackhawks to feel anything about them)

Packers...how can you not like Brett Favre?

Minnesota Twins...I liked the new logo and uniforms back in 1987, been a fan ever since

Atlanta Braves...Tom Glavine was from my hometown, followed the Braves since 1987

[Cyclopsis Joe]

I like just about everybody, unless they tick me off for some reason.

[IronChefShark]

I like just about everybody, unless they tick me off for some reason.

[Cyclopsis Joe]

I know, great irony.

[Braden]

Miami Dolphins - You know, most people ask me why the hell I'm a huge Dolphins fan when I live in the Toronto area, especially when most support their heated rival the Bills. My dad grew up in Miami and became a Phins fan. Growing up, every Sunday my dad would watch Dolphins games. I grew to cheer for them, so much that I'm a bigger fan than my dad is.

Toronto Blue Jays - I grew up during the glory days in the early 90's... followed them ever since.

Brampton Battalion - My high school was where the Battalion players went. I became friends with a few of them.

Toronto Argos - I started following them when Doug Flutie won the Grey Cups with the Argos.

The Leafs, Raptors & Rock all come from hometown pride.

[Moser316]

Usually, I've got my hometown teams and my "scrub" teams. The hometown teams are self-explanatory, but my scrubs are teams that don't do well, but I'll root for them because I like a particular player or want to be ahead of the curve when they get good and not labeled a "bandwagon jumper". My fandom of the Ottawa Senators during the mid-1990's is an example of this. Here are my current teams.

BASEBALL

Milwaukee Brewers (home team, but could also qualify as scrub team )

Washington Nationals (scrub team, but I've got a lot of family in the DC area)

FOOTBALL

Green Bay Packers (home team)

Arizona Cardinals (scrub team)

BASKETBALL

Milwaukee Bucks (home team)

COLLEGE

Wisconsin Badgers (football and hockey)

Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers (basketball)

P.S. Congrats to my alma mater (2001, 2003) for winning their second straight Horizon League basketball title earlier tonight

[schlim]

Baseball: NY Yankees - born in New York, named after Mickey Mantle, wasn't long before I was put into pin stripes.

Hockey: PHI Flyers: lived in Maine, watched the Flyers' farm team the Maine Mariners in the 70's. Have a replica jersey now.

Football: Obsessed with HESS gas stations at a very early age. Rooted for the Jets because they were from NY and they wore green and white, it wasn't until I was about 15 till I realized Leon Hess owned the Jets.

Teams I always liked for odd reasons:

MIN Vikings: Liked the purple and gold uniforms

KC Royals: Worked as the hot dog guy at Kaufman Stadium.

KC Wiz: worked Wiz games as well.

HOU Texans: closest NFL team to me now, picked up a lot of Jets in their expansion draft.

MIN Twins:boyhood idol Mike Pagliarulo won the Series in 91 (and hit that 11th inning HR against the Blue Jeys in the ALCS)

[winters in buffalo]

I am, above all, a homer.

[Grandmaster C]

NHL: Vancouver Canucks - Hometown pride

MLB: Seattle Mariners - They're pretty much the hometown team around these parts, plus I went to a game in 1990 against Milwaukee, so the bond was forged at an early age.

NFL: San Francisco 49ers - When I started following the NFL (and football in general) in 1994, I figured that I needed to have a favourite team and since the Niners were the best team that year, I jumped on their bandwagon.

NBA: Seattle Sonics - Again, they were practically the hometown team before the Grizzlies came to town and they're the home team now that they're gone.

CFL: BC Lions - Hometown pride

[fiasco!]

, but my scrubs are teams that don't do well, but I'll root for them because I like a particular player or want to be ahead of the curve when they get good and not labeled a "bandwagon jumper".

so....you're a self-conscious bandwagoneer?

[OnWis97]

Minnesota Twins...I liked the new logo and uniforms back in 1987, been a fan ever since

Atlanta Braves...Tom Glavine was from my hometown, followed the Braves since 1987

Who were you pulling for in 1991?

Mine is pretty basic:

Twins and Vikes: Born and raised in Minneapolis.

T-Wolves: Started as a Celtics fan because I liked green (and they were good). Soon as the ball went up on the T-Wolves first season (my freshman year in HS), they were my team.

Wild: I have not lived in Minnesota since HS graduation, 1993--just after the North Stars finished up there. I loved the North Stars. I will never feel about the Wild like I did about the North Stars. But that is where my (professional) heart lies, so I do pull for them and felt really good to see Minnesota making the playoffs (and then making a run) a couple of years ago.

University of Wisconsin--That's where I went to college. Camp Randal and the Field House--man I miss cheap student tickets and the Big Ten.

(Secondary) University of Iowa and Minnesota. I went to grad school at Iowa and had student football and hoops tickets. Growing up in Minny, I always keep an eye on the gophers. But only Wisconsin raises my blood pressure when I watch on TV.

As a kid I liked all sorts of teams: Celtics, Spurs, Heat, Bengals (for the unis), Brewers, Cubs, Red Sox, Edmonton Oilers, Red Wings, Penguins, and some others. But as I went through college and into today, that just kind of goes away. I do pull for teams with former Badgers--Like the Mavs with Finley and Devin Harris.

[slapshot]

1991 was tough. I think I was pulling for the Braves, because the Twins won in 1987, and I hadn't seen Atlanta win in my lifetime at that point.

[WJMorris3]

I am a homer, alright, though I've never seen one of my major teams win a title. Be it noted that I live in South Jersey

Baseball - Philadelphia Phillies (MLB), Camden RiverSharks (minor).

Pro Football - Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), Philadelphia Soul (AFL)

Hockey - Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL)

Pro Basketball - Philadelphia 76ers (NBA)

College Football - Notre Dame Fighting Irish (D-IA), Rowan Profs (D-III)

College Basketball - Pennsylvania Quakers, Villanova Wildcats, Drexel Dragons, St. Joseph's Hawks, Temple Owls, LaSalle Explorers (D-I)

A note on Notre Dame - the first college football game I saw on TV was a Notre Dame game against Indiana (I think) back in 1991. It was on NBC, I remember that. I liked the name and started to follow them. I'm happy though. My Penn Quakers haven't lost a conference tournament game in college basketball in nearly a decade.

[MonkeyWrench32]

MLB: Detroit Tigers (and to a much lesser extent the Cubs and the Jays [something about that SkyDome experience last summer did it])

NHL: Detroit Red Wings

NBA: Detroit Pistons (my first love)

NFL: Detroit Lions

NCAA: Michigan Wolverines (hockey, football, basketball)

OHL: Saginaw Spirit

Midwest League: Lansing Lugnuts (New Jays affiliate)

I'm a homer through and through.

[pcgd]

First you need to understand I grew up in Champaign, IL which is halfway between chicago and st. louis. Its weird but I love chicago as a city. But in general, I'm a St. Louis sports fan. Mainly, I'm a huge homer. ANYWAYS....

St. Louis Cardinals

From Birth. Grew up going to games, never have liked another team. I rooted for the Red Sox in the past, but now they are dead to me Still kinda root for the Brewers, but nothing major.

Chicago Bears

Growing up, there was no St. Louis Rams, and I missed the St. Louis Cardinals Football team. So, the closest was the Bears. And that fandom grew in college where it was half pack half bears fans. Even though we lose EVERY FREAKIN' YEAR...its still good.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Grew up 10 mins away from the UofI. I could see the assembly hall from my HS baseball field. Went to Baseball games all the time, Football, Basketball, a few club hockey games. Love the UofI. I'll root for Texas every now and then cause I was born there, but I'm a homer all the way.

Then the others:

Milwaukee Brewers (MLB) Its one of those, I root for them only because I was so close and went to so many games when I lived in Kenosha. I still pay attention to them more than any other team that isn't in St. Louis.

Chicago Fire (MLS) Gotta root for the Chicago team!

Eddesson Bombers (Footy) A kind gent got me hooked on Eddesson.

Chicago Rush (AFL) Another Chicago team...

Chicago Bulls (NBA) not as much, but if I had to pick an NBA team this would be it.

Man U (Primership) Not as much anymore, Although VanNistoroy is one of my favs. I jumped on the bandwagon. Trying to get my own team that isn't a bandwagon one.

USA Soccer, I'm a huge US fan. The last world cup was incredible and I can't wait for 06'!

St. Louis Blues (NHL) Now that I'm a St. Louisian, I'll start rooting for the blues if they ever play again. Used to be an Avs fan for all the wrong reasons. (Cool Logo...god!)

Carthage College (D3) Alma Mater. They do nothing national, so who cares.

Unity Rockets (HS) haha. Why not right? I still pay attention come playoff time and make sure our streak of playoffs is still alive. 10 years and counting! Of course my class broke the better streak, 45 straight regular season victories. Bah!