Your "Second Team"

[Viper]

MLB:

1st: Minnesota Twins

2nd: Los Angeles Dodgers (son of a Brooklyn/LA Dodgers fan)

NFL:

1st: Green Bay Packers

2nd: Indianapolis Colts (have visited Indy a number of times, and was struck by how much they love their Colts)

NHL:

1st: Minnesota Wild

2nd: Montreal Canadiens (son of a Habs fan, and always dug their logo)

European football:

1st: Arsenal FC

2nd: Inter Milan (their nickname is "Il Biscione", which roughly translates as, you guessed it, "Viper")

NLL:

1st: Minnesota Swarm

2nd: Toronto Rock (only Canadian team that's not a Swarm division rival)

[KevinMcD]

MLB:

1st: Baltimore Orioles (My dad grew up idolizing Brooks Robinson, he passed that fandom down to me)

2nd: Whoever is playing the Yankees

NFL:

1st: Buffalo Bills (I live 2 miles from Ralph Wilson Stadium)

2nd:New Orleans Saints (Post-Katrina, Drew Brees, never won a Super Bowl until this year like the Bills)

NHL:

1st: Buffalo Sabres (Obvious)

2nd: Phoenix Coyotes (I used to always play with them in old video games, cause I loved their uniforms)

NCAA D1:

1st: UB Bulls (I love anything from Buffalo)

2nd: Boise State Broncos (I love underdogs and when I saw that Fiesta Bowl I was in love. Trick plays, underdog from out of nowhere, blue turf, everything)

[FantasySportsUnion.Org]

MLB

Favorite: White Sox

Second Team: St. Louis

NFL

Favorite: Jacksonville

Second Team: Tennessee

NCAA

Favorite: Tennessee

Second Team: Boise State

[bstewart]

Interesting topic. For me it's:

MLB

1st Toronto Blue Jays

2nd none. there are no other teams that matter!

NHL

1st Detroit Red Wings

2nd Toronto Maple Leafs - not that I am a fan, but its hard not to follow them when thats the majority of NHL news where I live

[DDR]

MLB

Favorite team: White Sox

Second team: Cardinals

Notes: Well, I live in St. Louis now, and most Cardinals fans and I bond over our mutual hatred of the Cubs.

NBA

Favorite team: None

Second team: (tie) Bulls, Jazz

Notes: The Bulls are the default team, but I tend to follow individual players, with Deron Williams being my favorite.

NHL

Favorite team: Blackhawks

Second team: (tie) Toronto, Montreal

Notes: If the 'Hawks aren't contending (and that used to be the norm), I'd root for the Canadian Original Six teams.

NFL

Favorite team: Packers

Second team: None

Notes: Besides being the rare non-Bears fan Chicagoan, I also don't have a second favorite team. With fantasy football, I watch non-GB games for the individual players more than teams. So depending on the game, I'll be rooting Ray Rice, Roddy White, Larry Fitzgerald, Jason Witten, Knowshon Moreno and Justin Forsett in addition to my Big Homer Three of Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings and Ryan Grant. And off-the-field, I'll be rooting for Vincent Jackson to land in a good spot for him and only sit out those first six games, and I'll be rooting for a speedy recovery for Sidney Rice (once the Pack has the North locked up).

[Gary]

1st favorite is everything Detroit when it comes to the Tigers, Pistons, Lions and Redwings. But being raised in Phoenix my whole entire life, I can say I am a huge fan of the Diamondbacks, Suns, Coyotes and Cardinals. For College, I can't say 1st or second love as they both mean alot to me. Being born in Michigan and having parents who are die hard Michigan fans, I grew up as a die hard Michigan fan. But I am also a graduate of Arizona State so I have love for the Devils the same way I do for the Wolverines.

[pianoknight]

NCAA: Nebraska Cornhuskers

2nd Team: Oregon Ducks - I moved to Eugene back in 2006, so the Ducks have become my backup plan.

NFL: St. Louis Rams

2nd Team: Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals. This one is odd, because the Rams, Cards and Seahawks are all in the same division. Technically, I should hate those teams, but I was a big fan of Grant Wistrom (see above: Cornhuskers), so when he left STL for Seattle, I cheered for him still. Same thing for the Cardinals and Kurt Warner. Also, there's a shared STL history there since the Cardinals used to be in St. Louis. Odd, I know- that my favorite 3 NFL teams are in the same division.

NBA: Chicago Bulls

2nd Team: Nobody. I was really into basketball when I was younger and like many people, fell in love with the Jordan- and Pippen-led Bulls teams. Since then, I've kinda given up on basketball; I rarely watch it.

Other sports: I really don't care about other sports. I do kinda hate the Yankees, though.

[MEANS]

MLB-White Sox

2nd team- New York Mets, moms been a die hard ever since they came into the league, loved 86 when they beat the Sawks.

NFL-Really don't have a 2nd team, I like the Steelers/Niners equally

NBA-Bulls

2nd team- 76ers

NHL-Blackhawks

2nd team- Flyers

NCAA-UNC

2nd team- Penn State

[IceCap]

NHL

1. Toronto Maple Leafs

2. Vancouver Canucks

MLB

1. Toronto Blue Jays

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

NFL

1. San Diego Chargers

2. Arizona Cardinals

CFL

1. Hamilton Tiger-Cats

2. none, though I guess the Saskatchewan Roughriders if I had to pick one

NBA

1. Toronto Raptors

2. Phoenix Suns/Miami Heat (yes shameless bandwagon choice there, they're going to be very fun to watch)

CIS

1. UWO Mustangs (my alma mater)

2. Waterloo Warriors (hometown team back in Kitchener)

NCAA

1. Auburn Tigers (sister goes there)

2. Michigan Wolverines

[Gary]

NHL

1. Toronto Maple Leafs

2. Vancouver Canucks

MLB

1. Toronto Blue Jays

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

NFL

1. San Diego Chargers

2. Arizona Cardinals

CFL

1. Hamilton Tiger-Cats

2. none, though I guess the Saskatchewan Roughriders if I had to pick one

NBA

1. Toronto Raptors

2. Phoenix Suns/Miami Heat (yes shameless bandwagon choice there, they're going to be very fun to watch)

What cracks me up is you love Phoenix teams, but yet that one little team in Glendale irks you to no extent

[IceCap]

The Diamondbacks defeated the Yankees in the WS at a time when the Yankees, hated division rivals of the Jays, seemed unbeatable. The Suns have Steve Nash, Canadian basketball player extraordinair, and they've grown on my beyond just liking one player. The Cardinals? I have a soft spot for always rooting for the underdog, and they were THE underdog of the NFL for years. So I always found myself rooting for them. The fact that they are the oldest team in the league (I love anything with a lot of history behind it) and that they signed Kurt Warner really sealed the deal for me.

But yes, the Coyotes continued existence as a comedy of errors annoys me to no end. If they can turn it around and become the Dallas Stars 2.0 (in terms of fan support) I'll gladly change my tune. Aside from have all my "number twos" in mostly the same location I do like their uniforms (well the pre-Edge versions anyway).

[CS85]

NHL

1. Chicago Blackhawks

2. San Jose Sharks

MLB

1. Chicago Cubs

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

NFL

1. Chicago Bears

2. Cleveland Browns

CFL

1. Illinois Fighting Illini

2. Notre Dame

NBA

1. Chicago Bulls? I guess?

2. Indiana Pacers

[lost_limey]

NFL Favorite: Washington Redskins

Second Favorite: Pittsburgh Steelers (I liked that they played a smash mouth, run first style, similar to what the 'skins did, so they became my AFC team), Whoever plays Dallas

NBA Favorite: Orlando Magic

Second Favorite: Washington Bullets Wizards (Hey, they're local)

MLB Favorite: Washington Nationals (Not that I follow closely)

Second favorite: Any team that can keep the Yankees/Red Sox out of the play-offs/Series (So go Rays, I guess...)

NHL Favorite: Washington Capitals

Second Favorite: None really, just whoever's playing the Pittsburgh Crosbys

Soccer Favorite: Oxford United

Second Favorite: Liverpool (just because I can still see their games on TV over here)

[connriv]

NFL:

1. New England Patriots

2. Cleveland Browns (I'm from Ohio)

MLB:

1. Boston Red Sox

2. Chicago Cubs (My dad's been a Cub fan since birth)

NBA:

1. Boston Celtics

2. Eh ... probably the Chicago Bulls

NHL:

1. Boston Bruins

2. Toronto Maple Leafs (gotta be one of the Original Six)

Wow, looks like I'm a big homer.

[Camden Crazy]

MLB

1st: Baltimore Orioles

2nd: Cincinnati Reds or Colorado Rockies

NFL

1st: Cleveland Browns

2nd: Carolina Panthers

NBA

1st: Oklahoma City Thunder

2nd: Orlando Magic

NHL

1st: Philadelphia Flyers

2nd: Winnipeg Jets

[DustDevil61]

MLB

1st--St. Louis Cardinals (Ozzie Smith, Loved baseball as a kid)

2nd--Oakland A's (Jose Canseco; I know) , though I also tend to pull for Colorado (locality, went to their park), Philadelphia (went to their park), LA Angels (Major affiliate of AAA Salt Lake, been to Anaheim) and Houston, so long as they aren't playing St. Louis.

NFL

1st--Carolina Panthers (Decided to root for one of the new teams back in 1995, and picked them. Generally followed Boomer Esiason's team until he went to Arizona before that)

2nd--Denver Broncos, again for locality reasons, and my older brother's a Broncos fan, who became a fan with the help of neighbors with Colorado ties. The stores usually didn't have Panthers apparel, so for birthdays, Christmas, etc., I often ended up with Broncos stuff. It also helps that my mom is a Raiders fan, and my dad is a Seahawks fan; I'd often find myself on the side of my brother in those deals.

I've also always had some pull for the Cleveland Browns ever since returning to the league in 1999, and the Arizona Cardinals (locality). I'll admit to some bandwagoning here, but the Cards have been committed to mediocrity for 50+ years, and have only recently been competitive. As long as they seek to compete, I'll pull for them, but if not, then forget about it.

In some irony, the Baltimore Ravens have somewhat grown on my list, mainly because of the hard-nosed defensive reputation they've gained over the years. They also are a continuation of the original Browns operations (roster, staff, etc.).

NBA

1st--Utah Jazz (Locality)

2nd--I don't know about this one too much; if I'd have to pick, it would be either the Suns (locality) or the Spurs (similar way of play than that of the Jazz, and the Spurs are the only "Big 4" sports team in San Antonio).

NHL

1st--Carolina Hurricanes (they used to be the Whalers, one of the only NHL teams I could remember as a kid)

2nd--I'm torn here. On one hand, I'd say that I like the Avalanche (locality), but I'd also say that I've pulled (or could see myself pulling) for the Stars (were the NHL affiliate of the AAA Utah Grizzlies; Ed Belfour played a few games as a Grizzly), Flames (somewhat locality, has affiliation with current Grizzlies franchise and was affiliate of Salt Lake Golden Eagles franchise), or Kings (local ties, Luc Robatille owns a summer home in Utah, and was key to getting the Sharks/Kings preseason game in Salt Lake a year or two ago) at one time or another.

NCAA

1st--Utah State University (where I'm at right now)

2nd--Just about any other school in Utah, as long as they're not playing USU. I grew up watching BYU as a kid, and have just a slight preference of them over the U of U (when playing each other). However, I've lost a lot of respect for BYU, with the recent flirtation with football independance, the fact that their basketball team refused to come up here to Logan a few years back because of the rowdy USU Spectrum crowd, and the fact that they now don what I like to call "BYU Aggie Blue," thanks to Nike. Compare USU's blue with BYU's blue:

BYU:

Utah State:

And a pic from a football game (BYU in blue, USU in white):

Outside of the state, I'd probably go with Arizona State, Illinois (Deron Williams; I've got to respect those orange-clad fans showing up at Bulls games when the Jazz go to Chicago), and Oregon (who doesn't like ducks? I wish they'd settle on a single, consistent look; though guessing what color combo they'll be using has become a tradition in and of itself).

[The Six]

Anyone with a "second team" should stop following sports and go on a vision quest. Or fast for a few days to cleanse the body. It should not happen and is indecent.

[The Fixer]

I always like the teams my favorite college players go to. So I think of the Saints, falcons, and eagles as my 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams next to the bears

[crashcarson15]

2nd: Florida Gators - I'm a sucker for a trash-talking coach, and Steve Spurrier definitely fit the bill. My favorite line of his was, when talking about Peyton Manning, "I know why Peyton came back for his senior year: he wanted to be a three-time Citrus Bowl MVP!" (Bill Parcells was always a favorite of mine too, for the record.)

It's pretty sad that all my second teams have won at least one championship but my first teams haven't won any titles in recent memory, if at all!

Well except for the Pacers! They're going nowhere it seems

2nd: Indianapolis Colts (have visited Indy a number of times, and was struck by how much they love their Colts)

From what I've understood (and remember a little bit of), the Colts didn't get too much support when they sucked. I mean, I remember in the Manning-era as a little kid wondering if the Colts were gonna be on TV.

Anyways, this is the perfect thread for me.

NFL

1st: Cleveland Browns - First and foremost I'm a Cleveland fan by the nature of being from northeast Ohio. So the Browns will always be #1 in my heart.

2nd: Houston Texans/Atlanta Falcons - I've always liked the Texans a bit from day one and have liked the Falcons originally because of the jerseys and Mike Vick, even more so with Matt Ryan at quarterback. I also follow the Jaguars and Chargers (in addition to the Saints) for various reasons. The Colts used to be #2 on this list, but once the team started jacking up ticket prices and moved into Lucas Oil Stadium, I really lost interest in the Colts (and figured out how annoying Colts fans can be). The RCA Dome held a lotta memories there (like actually going to Colts games...) and moving into Lucas Oil kinda killed the team for me.

MLB

1st: Cleveland Indians - See the Browns for explanation (except I could someday see the Nats getting even with the Tribe in terms of popularity)

2nd: Washington Nationals - I always followed the Expos in MTL, and when the team moved to DC I really adopted them as my second team. They're the 2nd team that's closest to my 1st team in terms of popularity. In addition to this, I pull for the D'Backs (stadium, original colors), Rays (green and black colors, young team), and the Padres (colors fo sho, also had a history teacher from SD in 7th grade).

NBA

1st: Cleveland Cavaliers - I don't follow the NBA all that much, but being from Ohio I'm a Cavs fan. Really enjoyed the LeBron era and unfortunately it's over, so my interest won't be as huge any more.

2nd: Charlotte Bobcats - I've always liked the Bobcats from day one and their last uniform update really sealed the deal as the #2. I've also become a fan of the Suns because of Steve Nash, Thunder because of Durant, and the Pacers would be #2 if they ever were able to get good again...

MLS

1st: Columbus Crew - "Hometown team" as I start to get into soccer more.

2nd: Seattle Sounders FC - If I had to choose one, I've gotta go with the neon green. Don't really follow them at all though.

EURO SOCCER

1st: Aston Villa FC - Decided that I was gonna adopt a team based on who I was drawn to. The claret and sky blue colors are really nice. And Randy Lerner owns the Browns too, so why the hell not?

2nd: Olympiakos - Last year I decided they were my favorite team left in the UEFA Champions League's 2009-10 edition. That's really all, I've never payed attention to them since.

NHL

1st: Columbus Blue Jackets - This is where the largest gap probably is. I love hockey and I've followed the team since 2000-01. It's easier for me to get into the Jackets than the Cleveland teams, as they're only 2 or 2.5 hours away from Indy and as a young team, they're really fun to follow. The 2008-09 season was the most fun I've ever had following a team. Plus hockey's my favorite sport.

2nd: Washington Capitals/Tampa Bay Lightning - My Caps fandom comes half from Ovechkin and half from the fantastic logo set. I've always liked the Bolts since I was a kid (as a 2nd team) so there's a decent sized history with me following them. Also, the Sabres are close to making this list as well as the Flames. No real rhyme or reason to those.

NCAA

1st: Notre Dame/Youngstown State - My dad's always been a huge ND fan and I've been going to ND games since 2003-ish, at least one a year, so I've become really connected to the team. Also, both of my parents graduated from Youngstown State, and since it's my hometown, they're probably #1 overall and definitely the #1 FCS school.

2nd: Boise State/Ohio State - Naturally, from Ohio, I'm a tOSU fan and I've been to three Buckeye games before. I really follow the basketball team there, more so than the football. Also, Tressel originally coaching at Youngstown State helps. With Boise State, I got hooked during the 2006 season when they made the run to the Fiesta Bowl. I remember sitting at my grandma's house watching the Oklahoma game so vividly.

CFL

1st: Winnipeg Blue Bombers - Any team that's blue and gold with a nickname of the Bombers attracts me.

2nd: BC Lions/Hamilton Tiger-Cats - The Ticats will probably be my #2 team when the Bombers finally move to the West, and the Lions are my favorite West team at the moment.

[Lights Out]

Well except for the Pacers! They're going nowhere it seems

We'll always have those three ABA Championships in the '70s.