Unpopular Opinions

[ColeJ]

Aesthetically, I prefer the current solid red socks on the Red Sox over the traditional striped socks with the blue and white on top.

[WSU151]

3 hours ago, smzimbabwe said:

I have no rooting interest in tonight's NCAA basketball game as I did not go to Gonzaga or N.C. I was raised not being allowed to root for college teams and I do the same for my kids. None of them have any UW gear, as they did not go there. Someone brought me a Boston College hockey hat a couple years ago that sits in my closet, I have no affiliation with B.C. won't wear it.

 

I think that college and professional sports rooting are two different things. I've never been to Pittsburgh, but have no problem rooting for the Penguins. It wasn't until I started at UW that I became a fan of theirs.

 

When your kids go to college, are you going to root for the school (and maybe get a shirt) even if it's not UW?  

 

Seems like your kid wanting a UW shirt to wear around wouldn't be a real issue.  I don't think I see the real benefit of the "You can't root for X college because you're still a kid" mantra.  

[kroywen]

1 hour ago, WSU151 said:

 

When your kids go to college, are you going to root for the school (and maybe get a shirt) even if it's not UW?  

 

Seems like your kid wanting a UW shirt to wear around wouldn't be a real issue.  I don't think I see the real benefit of the "You can't root for X college because you're still a kid" mantra.  

 

I couldn't agree more. And what about those of us who go to colleges that don't have good athletic programs, or don't play in D-I, or those who don't go to college at all? I don't think we should be precluded from rooting for a major college sports program for the rest of our lives, just because we're not students or alums of a college with a strong D-I program.

 

I personally went to a school that is D-I, but has a laughably terrible athletics program. I knew tons of students who legitimately had no clue we were D-I, and earnestly thought we were a D-III school. Our basketball gym (most decidedly not an arena) was the oldest, and one of the smallest, in all of D-I, and yet we still couldn't fill it up for home games regularly. Our basketball team hasn't been to the NCAA tournament in over 25 years. Our football field was literally a single grandstand of bleachers on one side of the field, with a parking lot on the other side. There's D-III programs with better facilities than us. Being an urban school, we had extremely limited space of facilities, and were reliant on aging facilities that were the butt of jokes of students and opponents alike. I'll speak glowingly about my alma mater in almost every other facet - academics, our campus, our history, our student body, etc. - but let's just say that I never expect to be watching the old alma mater on the big stage in football or basketball.

 

But I am a Connecticut native, and I've been a UConn fan since I was a little kid. They were the one sports team that could unify the State of Connecticut - the state is famously divided in half between Boston and New York teams when it comes to pro sports. But I grew up when the men's and women's basketball teams were ascendant, and were the pride of the entire state.

 

Being from Connecticut, if often felt like the rest of the country only knew us as that strip of land connecting Boston and NYC, with a bunch of rich people and a name that no one knows how to spell. Or worse yet, "Connecticut? Is that a state? Where the heck is that?" I'm not sure if we're truly the most forgettable state in the country, but it certainly felt like it - we were a tiny state that didn't even have a cool trivia fact like being the smallest state or the first state. But everyone in the country suddenly knew what UConn was, even if they had no clue where that mysterious land of Connecticut was located. They were a point of pride for an oft-overlooked state.

 

I have no personal association with UConn, but they're my home state's team. Not just that, they're our only prominent team, pro or college. So I root for them. Except for that one time years and years ago when they faced my college...  and we got trounced thoroughly. 

[8BW14]

I went to western Illinois for four years and never saw a single game of any sport the entire time I was there. I don't think I even own any WIU Gear.  I don't feel any loyalty as a fan to the athletics there at all. I have always been a huge U of I fan though, namely men's basketball and football. I've seen tons of games, watch most of them on tv and I have lots of hats and shirts, but I don't have any personal connection to the school beyond the fact that Illinois is my home state and the U of I is the most prominent school in the state but I'm definitely a fan.

[ColeJ]

my sister's family is one of those "if you didn't go there, you shouldn't cheer for them" people. i don't get it.

 

my family is from alabama, where you are forced to choose between alabama or auburn at birth. that IS pro sports in that state... so i come from an alabama family, and cheer for alabama...

 

i went to troy university, however. i'll be honest, i care more about if alabama wins than i do if troy wins, because the stakes are higher... luckily, i've never had to watch them play each other in football... in baseball or basketball or whatever, i'd probably hope Troy won, because that's awesome and I have a degree from there... but my saturday ritual involves watching alabama football, and maybe troy as the undercard if they're on and it isn't a schedule conflict.

 

i know a lot of people with very strong opinions on this topic. i've never understood that. it's sports, played at a high level. i'll watch it and cheer for whoever i feel like. i'll also grant that freedom to everyone else. lol.

[kroywen]

15 minutes ago, ColeJ said:

my sister's family is one of those "if you didn't go there, you shouldn't cheer for them" people. i don't get it.

 

my family is from alabama, where you are forced to choose between alabama or auburn at birth. that IS pro sports in that state... so i come from an alabama family, and cheer for alabama...

 

i went to troy university, however. i'll be honest, i care more about if alabama wins than i do if troy wins, because the stakes are higher... luckily, i've never had to watch them play each other in football... in baseball or basketball or whatever, i'd probably hope Troy won, because that's awesome and I have a degree from there... but my saturday ritual involves watching alabama football, and maybe troy as the undercard if they're on and it isn't a schedule conflict.

 

i know a lot of people with very strong opinions on this topic. i've never understood that. it's sports, played at a high level. i'll watch it and cheer for whoever i feel like. i'll also grant that freedom to everyone else. lol.

 

This is exactly how I feel about my alma mater, Fordham, as compared to UConn. To be honest, I have no clue how Fordham's basketball team was this season, beyond "not good." I'm far more interested in UConn basketball because there are actually high stakes there. It's a hell of a lot more interesting than watching a team lose in front of a half-full 3,200 seat gym. I can count of one hand the amount of Fordham students and alums who have an emotional investment in Fordham basketball, and can guarantee that almost no one can name a single player on the team.

 

Funny story about that, actually. I went to one single Fordham basketball game during my time there. Sat in the student section behind one of the baskets, and all I can remember was the Sixth Man Club wiggling their fingers in the air and howling whenever a Fordham player was shooting a free throw toward that basket. A friend of mine (who lives and breathes basketball) and I just looked at each other, completely puzzled, and said "wait, they're supposed to do that to our opponents!" And I knew right then that that'd be the last time I'd go to a game.

[2001mark]

Green looks weak on the NJ Devils.  

 

Green & devil don't match for me ever.

[WavePunter]

18 hours ago, ColeJ said:

my sister's family is one of those "if you didn't go there, you shouldn't cheer for them" people. i don't get it.

 

my family is from alabama, where you are forced to choose between alabama or auburn at birth. that IS pro sports in that state... so i come from an alabama family, and cheer for alabama...

 

i went to troy university, however. i'll be honest, i care more about if alabama wins than i do if troy wins, because the stakes are higher... luckily, i've never had to watch them play each other in football... in baseball or basketball or whatever, i'd probably hope Troy won, because that's awesome and I have a degree from there... but my saturday ritual involves watching alabama football, and maybe troy as the undercard if they're on and it isn't a schedule conflict.

 

i know a lot of people with very strong opinions on this topic. i've never understood that. it's sports, played at a high level. i'll watch it and cheer for whoever i feel like. i'll also grant that freedom to everyone else. lol.

Roll Tide, and I agree.. I am also from Alabama originally (and named "Bryant" for obvious reasons), but moved to SC and was much better at wrestling than football, so going to Alabama wasn't as much of an option for me.. I took a dual wrestling/football scholarship to a D2 school, but still root for Bama.. My dad, aunt, and sister are alumni, but even without that, I'd feel completely justified in pulling for them.

[Rj0498]

I really don't like these but then again, I have never liked cream uniforms

[ltjets21]

This endzone font is great...idk where it comes from but the Raiders should bring it back.

[BJ Sands]

Football teams shouldn't retire numbers. Isn't practical. Any numbers that are retired should be thrown back into circulation.

 

Want to honor team legends? Go with a Ring of Honor.

[IceCap]

I moved all of the "we" vs "they" talk to its own topic in Sports in General. Please continue that conversation there.

 

 

[FinsUp1214]

An Oakland Athletics two-fer:

 

1) This is, to me, the best cap the A's have ever worn by far:

 

 

It should've been the only cap in the entire set, and should have remained altogether. With it, that road uniform was easily a top five uniform during it's time.

 

And 2) The A's in forest green and gold >>>>>>>>> Kelly green and gold. 

 

P.S: Totally used a Bartolo picture on purpose for added Big Sexy effect

[Discrim]

On 4/3/2017 at 4:05 PM, kroywen said:

Our football field was literally a single grandstand of bleachers on one side of the field, with a parking lot on the other side. There's D-III programs with better facilities than us

There are high schools with better fields than what you described, and that's even if you leave out those stadiums in Texas.

[kroywen]

13 minutes ago, Discrimihater said:

There are high schools with better fields than what you described, and that's even if you leave out those stadiums in Texas.

 

Yeah, there totally are. This is our D-I football stadium, no joke:

 

 

 

Yeah, it's not just those super-rich high schools around Dallas that have better facilities than us.

[Radiohead]

The Mets' blue tops and white bottoms...I hated them back then, and I still hate them. And I hate when any other team does it as well. The best uniforms are single color. Mix and match is for football and beer leagues.

 

Now get off my lawn, too.

[Discrim]

Woof...I live about 15-20 minutes away from an actual D3 stadium (at Carthage College) and went to UW-Whitewater.  Can confirm both schools' football facilities being easier on the eyes than Fordham's (never been inside Carthage's gym).

[AstroCree]

11 hours ago, Radiohead said:

The Mets' blue tops and white bottoms...I hated them back then, and I still hate them. And I hate when any other team does it as well. The best uniforms are single color. Mix and match is for football and beer leagues.

 

Now get off my lawn, too.

2 things I'd change with that uniform.

1. Bring back the Mr. MET patch. I don't know who suggested to get rid of it but they should be fired. 

2. Wear the blue jersey with white pants. I think it just looks better than the pinstripe pants. 

[kroywen]

12 hours ago, Discrimihater said:

Woof...I live about 15-20 minutes away from an actual D3 stadium (at Carthage College) and went to UW-Whitewater.  Can confirm both schools' football facilities being easier on the eyes than Fordham's (never been inside Carthage's gym).

 

From the looks of it, Carthage's gym is also larger and more modern than Fordham's:

 

 

versus

 

 

It's absolutely incredible that that is an A-10 gym. The A-10, as in a conference that usually sends around three teams to the NCAA Tourney every year, and is often considered a "high-major" conference.

 

The football stadium is somewhat excusable, given that they're on an urban campus in the middle of the Bronx, and space is very, very limited as a result (though I wish Fordham would relocate some of its "minor" athletic fields - baseball, softball, etc. - to a spot in Westchester, to free up space on campus).

 

But there's definitely room to build a larger and more modern gym - the only reason that hasn't happened is lack of funding and general apathy.

[WSU151]

1 hour ago, insert name said:

2 things I'd change with that uniform.

1. Bring back the Mr. MET patch. I don't know who suggested to get rid of it but they should be fired. 

2. Wear the blue jersey with white pants. I think it just looks better than the pinstripe pants. 

 

The Mets logo is better than Mr. Met. Mascot patches seem ill-placed in MLB (though it might be kinda cool if the Pirates had a non-mascot green parrot as a sleeve patch on an alternate).