Why support the teams you do...

[Mings]

Cincy Reds - Since Birth

Cincy Bengals - Had to deal with losing, and now they are getting better (not a bandwagon jumper)

Indy Colts - Only cause they dont show the Bengals on tv here

New York Rangers - Jumped on the bandwagon in 1994, but I still like em even though they suck

[Roger Clemente]

Hmmm....

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim - In spite of the fact that I've been watching hockey, at least from memory, since I was 4, I never actually picked a team to root for. I bounced around my allegiance from team to team including very brief stints with the Oilers, Bruins and Habs bandwagons. So finally in 1993, I decidedly to settle down to one team. So I picked the brand new expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, in spite of the fact that I didn't actually care for the movie. Practically everyone thinks I'm crazy for (continuing to) root for the Ducks. But even as I've grown to love and appreciate simpleness and traditional jerseys, I still believe to this day, that the Ducks jerseys are top five in the NHL.

Pittsburgh Steelers - My father is a lifelong fan, for reasons I'm not quite sure why. So as I began to watch footbal, it was the team to root for, so now I do too.

Toronto Blue Jays - Well, I just can't honestly say my heart beats hardest for the Jays, but I love their logo now. Also the memories of 1992 and 1993 were just too fantastic to not acknowledge. I just wish their ballpark wasn't ugly now, though now I'm looking forward to the new renovations to the Rogers Clemente.

Ottawa Senators - From the damn cool (yet ultimately corny) opening ceremonies, I always thought they were sort of cool in spite of the real suckiness. A few years later, my uncle (who once won the Spengler Cup, or so I've been told numerous times) was a player in their farm system and always scored a boatload of free tickets whenever the PEI Senators were in town to face the local Cape Breton Oilers.

Outside of that, I can't think of any other teams I follow or, of the ones I do, why I follow them.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[LMU]

Angels-lifelong, hometown team

Patriots-really like the team, plus I have a friend stationed with the navy in Rhode Island who turned me on to them

LA Kings-lifelong, hometown team

Lakers-lifelong, hometown team

[Mac6674]

I actually inherited my teams from my dad. The Orioles, Raiders and Maple Leafs. (I realize I'm all over the map, here.) But each team was able to cement the relationship at some point.

The Raiders - the first Super Bowl I remember was Super Bowl XV; I was five years old, and the wild card Raiders upset the Eagles, and that was pretty much it for me.

The Orioles - Won the World Series when I was 9; that Ripken kid was pretty good, so I kept following, even through 0-21, I kept hanging in.

The Leafs - Hockey wasn't big in my house as a kid; my dad was a Leaf fan based on Dave Keon in the '60s; growing up, the Leafs were abysmal, and I used to just make fun of them. Later on, a friend took me to a few Devils games in high school, so I started getting into hockey; I adopted the Leafs when Felix Potvin showed up and had an amazing rookie season; so, I finally embraced my heritage, I guess.

As for college; well, I'm a Penn State alum, so that's easy. By the way, we were robbed of a share of the title in '94. Absolutely robbed.

PS - I hate all my local teams to one degree or another, except the Mets, because they're usually harmless enough.

[ColeJ]

dallas stars - lifelong fan, home team... my family lived in new england when i was born, and while they were there, they apparently became hockey fans... so when we moved around the country (mostly in the south), they tried to follow it on tv... then we moved to texas in like 91, and in 93 we finally had a home team again. started watching because my family watched it... now i'm the biggest fan of the bunch...

tennessee titans - originally a fan of jevon kearse, but became too loyal to change allegiances... also, i remember being in 1st or 2nd grade, when M&M's sold some kind of weird NFL M&M packs, that were only in team colors, with the team logos on the packing... Everyone i knew bought cowboys ones, because the cowboys were so popular in dallas... i knew nothing about football, but bought the oilers m&m's because i liked the colors more red's always been my favorite color, and powder blue ain't bad either...

dallas mavericks - home team... started watching when they signed dennis rodman, because i thought it would be a fun freakshow to enjoy... eventually got hooked on the team, and during the NHL lockout, i've barely missed any games on TV.

blackburn rovers - originally a fan of brad friedel, and don't plan to change allegiances when he's off the team. i'm too loyal i've learned a lot of the rovers history, and now the area around my computer desk is covered in almost as much blackburn stuff as stars stuff.

boston red sox - born in new england, as i said, so while i was never a diehard baseball fan, they were the only team i ever cheered for when i watched on TV, since i was a baby... then decided to start following baseball a little more closely when the MLB playoffs started last year, and lucked out by having the curse finally end... i don't claim to be a diehard, but i feel loyalty to them due to my birthplace, and the fact that i always cheered to myself when i saw the sox won, on sportscenter.

also, to a much lesser extent, i cheer for the alabama crimson tide for college football... but not very avidly. my family is originally from alabama, and they've cheered on the team for generations.

[See Red]

Boston Red Sox -- born in Connecticut, not far from Boston, so naturally, I like 'em.

Colorado Avalanche - Home team. Few things I'd rather watch than an Avalanche playoff game.

Denver Broncos - Home team.

Denver Nuggets - Home team, have liked them even through the bad years. I have memories of them beating the Super Sonics in the playoffs way back when, still.

San Francisco 49ers - The first time I ever watched a Super Bowl with an interest of who wins was 49ers/Chargers, and I wanted the 49ers to win it. Don't remember the reasoning, maybe my family was going for 'em, but whatever, they stuck as my favorite team. Although their current ownership is forcing them to take a backseat to the Broncos. Still love 'em, though, despite their bad team.

UConn - from Connecticut -- gotta like 'em

[hormone]

First of all (and this plays into my explanations) I live near Pittsburgh. On my mom's side, most are from the Tampa/St. Pete area. When I was born, the Bucs were too. As I was younger, they told me to cheer for them "because they need all the help they can get." I was also intrigued by their orange uniforms. I love football and since the gulf side of FL doesn't have a good football team, I like orange, and Miami was good so I became a Canes fan. There was no hockey or baseball down there at the time so I liked the Pirates and Penguins. I liked Larry Bird and there's no basketball anywhere up here or down there (and it's a sin to root anything Cleveland) so I picked the Celtics. So...NFL TB Bucs NBA Celtics MLB Pirates NHL Penguins College Miami, FL and Youngstown State since I'm a graduate.

[lost_limey]

Oxford United (English Soccer) - I'm an Oxford-born guy

Liverpool (EPL) - I wanted to follow a top-flight team now I'm in the US, and Liverpool haven't won much for the past decade.

Capitals (NHL), Redskins (NFL), Wizards (NBA) & Nationals (MLB) They're my local teams in the big 4 leagues

Magic (NBA) I had relatives in FL when the UK first got NBA games and I hated the Heat's red & black.

Riverdogs (UHL) & R-Braves (AAA) - Richmond, represent!

Ferrari (F1) The history of the Marque

Tony Stewart (NASCAR) I like a guy who crashes on purpose.

[Saintsfan]

Southampton (EPL)- The family tewam, all my dads side of the family come from there. Now the family is more displaced but thats my loyalty!

Boston red Sox, New England patriots, Boston Celtics- Dunno exactly why buut I have always pulled for Boston teams. Not just an international band wagonner

Toronto Maple leafs- Well I dunnno exactly here, but long history, from a great town...

[WSU151]

NFL - Patriots. I've been diehard since '93, but followed them when I was real young because of Steve Grogan, who has the same last name as my grandparents. Went to Foxboro in 1994, saw Bledsoe beat the Chargers the week after the Pats beat the Vikings in OT to start a 7 game win streak. The New England region is great, especially in the fall.

I watch the Broncos with my friends every weekend, but I'll cheer for the Pats before I'll ever cheer for the Broncos. I hate Pat Bowlen, to be honest. The guy is just a creepy douchebag. And Shanahan is overrated.

NBA - Heat, and only since last year, really. Perhaps a bit of a bandwagon, but to be honest I was in Miami for a week in December '03, and I have followed them ever since. The run they were on in March was amazing. And this year has been fun since they have Shaq. Plus I really like the Heat's court and uniforms.

I also like the Nuggets because they're the hometown team.

NHL - Avalanche and Senators. Avs are my favorite team without a doubt (5 years of incredibly heated rivalry with the Red Wings will do that - you got to admit it's cooled off a little since '01). I just love the players - Sakic, Forsberg, Drury when he was around, the 'Duk, Roy, Bourque for his 1/2 season, etc.

I started following the Sens in '95-96, when I think they finished with a grand total of 41 points. I liked their logo, and they had just opened up the Palladium, which sounded like an awesome name for an arena. Also like the black jersey with the white stripe underneath the red. First NHL game I went to was Sens-Avs in 1996.

MLB - This is a tough one. I never really have been a huge fan of any team. If I had to chose one team to watch, I'd probably choose the Mariners, just because when I was at WSU, EVERYONE watched the M's. Great fans.

NCAA FB - Washington State, Georgia, and Miami (FL). I went to WSU, dad went to Georgia, and I enjoy watching the Canes.

NCAA BB - Duke. I wanted to be the next Bobby Hurley (pre-accident, obviously). Plus, my mom loves Duke, so it was easy to get excited for Duke games.

[Phil]

NHL: Even before the Jets left, I realized that the Jets would not be around forever, so I bred a secondary team in my heart. I didn't mind the Nordiques when they were a bunch of overachieving young guys (like Sakic, Forsberg, Foote, etc.), so I picked up the Avalanche.

MLB: The Blue Jays. Although Griffey attracted me to the Mariners in the late 90s, I've always been and always will be a Blue Jays fan. I now make the "Blue" of Blue Jays bold to help combat the evil powers who seek to destroy their tradition and loyal fanbase.

Ted Rogers, I'm looking at you.

NFL: Denver. John Freakin' Elway. As an impressionable youth, John Elway led the Broncos to 2 consecutive Super Bowl victories. Around this time, I picked up my first copy of Madden, and my fanhood was cemented. Also, the fact that they unveiled a sweet logo and uniform set just as I was getting interested helped.

I'll be a Kurt Warner fan 'til I die, so I was a Rams fan until Martz started his reign of atrocities. I still have some residual affection for les Mouflons, but generally cheer against them in the hope that it will cost Mikey his job.

CFL: The Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Hometown.

NBA: The Bulls under Michael Jordan were always my first love. Residual affection remains. However, the Raptors are now my boys... Vince Carter, his rise and fall, I lived every moment of it. I installed him in my pantheon of greatness, and felt the jabs from my friends as he fell from grace. At the same time the Raptors did, I severed all ties with him.

As I sit here, I wear my Nike Swingman Bosh jersey. I have moved on, and have enjoyed every moment of the Sam Mitchell era... this man will bring the Raptors to greatness, if the heathen Toronto media doesn't drive him out of town first.

[amare32]

I have complicated hierarchy of affiliations. My loyalty to my primary team is complete, but I have preferences from among other teams.

BASEBALL

1. Arizona Diamondbacks -- My home team, they quite literally play in my back yard. I was a Cubs fan growing up, as I was born in Chicago and Cubs games were always on TV and radio via WGN. Following the birth of the Diamondbacks, I tried to maintain loyalties to each club for a time. But I couldn't give my heart to two clubs -- especially in the same league. The Diamondbacks won my heart w/ their great play and comeback victories throughout the 2001 season. The World Series was the clincher. And it's hard not to develop loyalties to a club that tries to win, that you can follow in the paper on a daily basis, and whose games you can see in person. I ultimately decided to cut all ties w/ the Cubs and embrace the Diamondbacks as my true No. 1 team.

2. Oakland Athletics -- Before we had our own team in Arizona, my pops took me to Oakland to see the A's play. I adopted the Athletics as my AL club, but a distant second to my loyalties to the Cubs and, now, the Diamondbacks.

3. Washington Nationals -- Went to lawskool in DC, so I'm very happy to see baseball in the city. My condolensces to Montreal fans.

FOOTBALL

1. Chicago Bears -- Born in Chicago. No local NFL team in Arizona while I was growing up. They won Superbowl XX when I was 10. It's a lock.

2. Arizona Cardinals -- Might have trumped the Bears, but (i) they were a transplant to the Valley rather than a local product; and (ii) in my estimation, they have never really tried to win. I still like to see them do well, but 17 seasons after they moved here, their window of opportunity to win my heart has closed.

BASKETBALL

1. Phoenix Suns -- The original Arizona professional team. Nobody comes close.

COLLEGE

1. Arizona Wildcats -- Class of 1998, baby! Bear Down!

2. Georgetown Hoyas -- JD '01, but they're a distant second to Arizona.

3. Anybody playing Arizona State -- Hated rivals. My dad had ASU football tickets when I was a kid, but I struck out on my own when it was time for college. Thank God I saw the light.

[Sterling84]

I think you SHOULD get these allegiances from home town proximity or your parents (preferably both) but people move alot so.

NFL - PACKERS - duh. I've got a picture of me outside Lambeau Field at 5 mos old decked in G&G.

NCAA FB - none. My Dad moved to Tennessee after the divorce and "decided" he was a Vols fan. His rampant moving and switching teams in his mid-40s still bothers me and shakes the foundation of my fan allegiance. But the Vols are my default team if forced to pick one.

MLB - Brewers and Red Sox. Watched the '82 series with Pop. First glove was a Yaz model.

NBA - Used to love Bulls (regret that horribly now). I was such a played out Nike AIR victim. But have always loved the Bucks.

NCAA Hoops - UWM!!! Woot! Alumni baby!

NHL - born and raised to hate Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota I was in a pickle when I fell in love with pucks at age 20. Picked the Caps and haven't looked back. Although, I enjoy watching almost all teams since the rivalries weren't burned in during my youth.

Minor HOckey - All about the Moose. Dig the Admirals though too.

[yankeefrank15]

OK, here goes...

MLB: New York Yankees--Need you ask? My father's side bleeds pinstripes. I can still remember being in a bar the night they returned to the field after Thurman's funeral; this normally raucous joint was stone silent. Converted my wife from a Met fan, although I think Tino Martinez had something to do with that, too. I don't despise the Mets; Subway Series 2000 was one of the greatest events I ever witnessed; I remember always being jealous that my folks got to experience one almost every year back in the 40's and 50's. I save my venom for the Red Sox, although I told a Sox fan last year after they won it all, "Now they're just another team; you might as well root for the Devil Rays."

NHL: New York Islanders--Got acquainted with hockey as a Rangers fan pre-expansion, but never got to the Garden. When the Isles were born, I adopted them because my uncle worked for Grumman, and I figured (correctly) that I'd get to see some games live. Since then, have reacted to the Rangers and their fans about the same way they react to me; ie, something you scrape off your shoe. I do have a second favorite team in the NHL: the Ottawa Senators. Goes back to the summer before they started play; I was in Orlando and saw Lightning stuff everywhere. When I came back, remarked to my closest friend and fellow Isles fan that Sens merchandise is probably non-existent. Lo and behold, he presented me with a Sens baseball cap for my birthday.

I realize that naming a favorite NHL team right now must seem like the pinnacle of masochism, but I know I'll be back whenever they hit the ice again.

NFL: New York Giants--Hometown team, although I don't hate the Jets. I'm just not that much of a football fan.

Basketball: I don't really follow the NBA, so I root for my alma mater twice over (BS and MS), St. John's University. Still consider myself one of the Redmen, even though Red Storm isn't that bad a nickname. Absolutely hate it when the NY Daily News and Newsday refer to them as the Johnnies.

I'm beginning to get interested in English Premier League soccer thanks to the Sunday night highlights on MSG, but I can't pick a team just yet. I also like NASCAR. As a kid, rooted for Richard Petty cause he basically was stock car racing, but #43 has fallen on hard times, so now I more or less root for Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

[oz615]

it's simple, hometown pride(look @ my signature),and comprehensive coverage(ie Cubs and W Sox via WGN)

[Discrim]

hm...so WGN DOES show the Paleys nationally. heh.

[bhambruiser]

all right, here goes nothin

NCAA- Whether it is football, basketball, badmiton, women's sychronized swiming or what-have-you....it is ALWAYS- The Crimson Tide....

Alabama

UAB is second due to proximity....but if you grow up in Alabama, you are pretty much forced from birth to choose Alabama or Auburn. And since I don't like cows, I chose Bama.

NFL- Minnesota Vikings

I was a Cowboy fan until i was about 15, because my dad had a friend in Dallas who sent me all this Cowboy crap. Then I decided I wanted to choose a favorite team myself. I must admit I was attracted by the purple (seeing how that is my favorite color). But I have been a big Vike fan since then

MLB- Chicago Cubs

The Cubs were the only baseball on TV in Birmingham, besides the Braves and when I was growing up everyone was a Braves fan, which led me to loathe them...which I still do. Also a friend of mine went to Chicago and brought me back a Cubs hat.

I also pull a bit for the Sox, since Birmingham is their AA affilate....but they are a distant second.

NBA- Chicago Bulls

I was a HUGE Jordan and Pippen fan....also B.J. Armstrong was one of my favorite players since I shared his name (B.J.)....they were also on WGN a lot, so I took to them and have been a huge Bulls fan ever since.

I have always been glad I am not a bandwagon jumper as I have a lot of friends who are...I am very loyal and have stuck by my teams even through misery (see Cubs, Vikings and Bulls...and Alabama football lately). the way I look at it fair-weather fans suck

i don't really have a favorite hockey team ...go Slammers?

[Cartabago]

Red Sox: Mother's hometown. She's always been a fan and I've been one since only 2000ish, I really wasn't into sports previously.

Nationals: Closest team to me, and have always liked the Expos.

Flames: Had a friend in Calgary and this was way back when I didn't know jack about Canada, or probably even knew it existed. Googled for calgary and got the flames site and was introduced to hockey for the first time *jarring tone*

[biohazard69]

Minnesota Twins: Home state team

Chicago Cubs: The loveable loosers

Baltimore Orioles: Huge Cal Ripken Jr. Fan

Green Bay Packers: Grew up in a Vikings household and just to be a rebel I beacame a Packer fan

Minnesota Wild: Once again home state pride

Colorado Avalanche: Filled the void till we got a team back

Minnesota Timberwolves: State pride

[Ez Street]

Kansas City Chiefs: The Top of the heap for me. This is the the team I want to see win it all before I die. Been a fan since my first game in 1987 versus the Houston Oilers.

Kansas City Royals: My first sports event as a child. George Brett, Frank White, Willie Wilson, Bret Saberhagen, Hal McRae, Bo Jackson. Those are memories I'll always have of the American Pastime. Too bad it's way PASTIME for the Royals to be good again. Ah....modern day baseball. It has lost it's luster.

Topeka Tarantulas: HOMETOWN, any hockey team calling Topeka home will be # three on the list. I love hockey and am glad it's in my city.

Colorado Avalanche: I rooted for Quebec and when they moved to Denver it was an obvious choice to make them my #1.

Kansas Jayhawks: Hometown-ish, I live about 30 miles from Allen Fieldhouse so it's easy for me to be a KU fan. I'm a fan of football and basketball there.

Kansas State Wildcats: I pull for all Kansas Colleges so K-State is high but not overtaking KU.