Your "Second Team"

[winters in buffalo]

Interestingly enough, one of the teams I grew up with has since fallen to #2.

Anyone care to guess? Bonus points to the person who also guesses the team that displaced them.

[Thad]

MLB Favorite: Braves

2nd Favorite: Mariners

- When I started playing "kid pitch" baseball I wore #3 during A-Rod's rookie year and have followed the Mariners since.

NFL Favorite: NY Jets

2nd Favorite: Falcons

- I was born in Atlanta and lived there until I was seven, and have always liked them. Dad has always been a Jets fan because he liked Namath, and that rubbed off on me.

NBA Favorite: Hawks

2nd Favorite: Jazz

- John Stockton.

NCAA Favorite: 1a: Alabama, 1b: Appalachian

2nd Favorite: Oregon

-They gave me a scholarship coming out of high school and if I wasn't terrified of moving across the country I would have gone there.

[crashcarson15]

Interestingly enough, one of the teams I grew up with has since fallen to #2.

Anyone care to guess? Bonus points to the person who also guesses the team that displaced them.

Buffalo Sabres displaced by the Carolina Hurricanes? Just a wild guess.

[HedleyLamarr]

MLB

My team: Atlanta Braves

My adopted team: Tampa Bay Rays - Liked the makings of their roster two years ago when I went to a game there, and they're actually able to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox.

NHL

My team: Atlanta Thrashers

My adopted team(s): Vancouver Canucks, Nashville Predators - Vancouver's my girlfriend's team, so that's simple enough. I casually root for the Predators since they were my team for one year before the Thrashers started play.

NBA

My team: Atlanta Hawks (I suppose)

My adopted team: None - It's hard enough drumming up enthusiasm for one team, much less another one.

NFL

My team: Atlanta Falcons

My adopted team: None - Season's too short to have fandom for two teams. My fantasy team would be my second rooting interest.

NCAA

My school: University of Georgia

My adopted school(s): Georgia State, Mississippi State, Yale - GSU's only been a passing interest...followed them a bit during that season they went to the Big Dance and beat Wisconsin, as well as the year they reached the NCAA Baseball Tournament. A friend of mine is an alum of MSU, so I like to see her happy about their sports, since they don't win much anyway...they're no threat to UGA. Been a decent follower of Yale, simply because they "aren't Hahvahd".

One question I'd like to add...I have no Steelers gear, does anybody else actually wear gear for any of their 2nd teams?

I wear Canucks items every so often, since I've got a bunch of their things. I've got a green Devil Rays cap I've worn a couple times.

[Legend]

Mine aren't quite obvious, since I lived in Pittsburgh for quite a while I use my avatar/sig stuff for Pittsburgh mostly. I love my Pittsburgh teams.

But I'm originally from New York, and still a New Yorker at heart with the teams I've loved since I could remember.

I like a few teams in every sport, I hate when people say you can't.

NHL

1. Islanders- from the day I was born I hadn't a choice and I love my Isles.

2. Penguins- been to many many games and really like the Pens, but they can't displace the Islanders.

3. Lightning- my new home is Tampa and I've always liked watching Vinny.

4. Devils- 3 from the some division?! Sue me. Martin Brodeur has been my favorite player my whole life. I have to pull for him.

5. Sharks- my adopted west team. I loved Sharks as a kid and have liked them since.

NFL

1. Giants- born and raised.

2. Steelers- love the Steelers, my home team for many years.

3. Bucs- my new home team. But I've always enjoyed the Bucs for many years anyways.

4. Jets- large part of my family is Jets fans, so I like em. Just can't stand all the ex Ravens players and coaches now.

MLB

1. Yankees- I was born with a Yankee cap on my head and will die the same way. Baseball isn't my favorite sport, but I love my Yankees.

2. Pirates- I refused to not root for my home team because they were awful, I enjoyed being loyal regardless.

3. Mets- another, uh oh. Mets and Yankees?! Same with Giants and Jets, my family was split. I had one I prefereed but also rooted for the other when I could.

NBA

1. Bulls- not a big basketball guy, family was never into it much. But I played some when I was younger and idolized MJ like many others.

2. Knicks- by NY default. Again, no big basketball fanship but I like my NY Team.

3. Nets- Started following when Vince was there and have liked them because.

4. Raptors- Huge Vince and T-Mac fan since the beginning.

NCAA

1. USF Bulls- the school I attend.

2. Miami FL- had a great grandfather live in Ft. Lauderdale, so before I followed much college, I rooted for the Canes with him. My favorite until I started going to USF.

3. Syracuse/St. Johns- my football and basketball NY teams.

[infrared41]

Interestingly enough, one of the teams I grew up with has since fallen to #2.

Anyone care to guess? Bonus points to the person who also guesses the team that displaced them.

I have a similar story. The main difference is the team I grew up with simply fell off my radar. You'd think that after growing up an Indians fan, all their success after years of failure would have locked me in for life. The truth is that the fans, local media, and announcers drove me away from the Indians. I couldn't take the Red Sox fan like sense of entitlement Indians fans started to display. The local media was just as bad. The announcers took homerism to an unacceptable level. It took a few years but by 2004 I noticed that I didn't really care what happened to the Indians. Thanks to MLB Extra Innings, the fact that I work nights, and an article I read about Arte Moreno a few years ago, I am now an Angels fan.

When I started working nights 5 years ago the only games I could watch were the west coast games. At first I just bounced around between games on Extra Innings but after a while I started going out of my way to watch the Angels. Vlad Guerrero was always one of my favorite players and I liked Mike Scioscia. Then I read an article about Arte Moreno. The article stated that one of Moreno's rules is that there is always a five dollar hat at the gift shop so everyone can afford to buy something. That really stuck with me for some reason. Anyway, to make a long story short, I didn't just wake up one day and decide to be an Angels fan. The transformation took place over a couple of seasons. I just wish I'd done it in 2001 so I could have enjoyed the World Series win as a fan instead of as someone just rooting against Barry Bonds.

EDIT: Ironically, I just finished watching the Angels lose to...you guessed it, the Indians.

On topic:

MLB:

1. Angels

2. If I had to pick just one it would be the Cardinals. In baseball it's more about not liking the Yankees and Red Sox than anything else.

NFL:

1.Browns.

2. Probably the Packers or Jets.

NBA: None to speak of. I just know I don't like the Celtics.

NHL:

1. Rangers

2. Anyone who beats Philly

College Football:

1. Ohio State

2. Probably LSU or UCLA. Actually, I like most of the teams in the SEC. Florida is the only one I have no use for.

[AJM]

NFL: Cardinals (No 2nd) Fan since they moved to AZ in 1988 when I was 5.

NBA: Suns (No 2nd) Born and raised.

MLB: Dbacks (Angels as 2nd). Up until 1998, I wasn't a huge baseball fan...although my grandfather was a big Angels fan, so when I did watch baseball I rooted for the Halos. The Dbacks started my frosh year of high school, since then Ive been a Dbacks fan.

NCAA (All Sports): Arizona State (Texas Tech as 2nd). Worked at Tech during summer of 2007 coordinating athletic summer camps in the dorms as part of my Masters degree...root for them, but ASU will always be #1.

[wildwing64]

NHL Favourite: Anaheim Ducks. My primary sports team, above all else.

Second Favourite: San Jose Sharks. Don't know why, but I kinda sorta like them for some reason. Might be something to do with the fact that I've been to the Bay Area (I was on the recieving end of a couple of boos and a cry of "SHARKS!" I think that as a fan of their hated rival team, I was treated quite well, MUCH better than fans of any hated football/soccer rivals in the UK would ever recieve ), and the fact that my first live and in-person NHL game is going to be the Sharks' season opener in Sweden.

NFL Favourite: Houston Texans

Second Favourite: I don't really pay much attention to the NFL, so I don't really have one. But if I had to pick one based on logo design, it'd have to be the Atlanta Falcons.

MLB Favourite: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the Republic of California of the United States of America of the Beaten Dead Horse Joke.

Second Favourite: Again, I don't really pay that much, if any attention to baseball. Although I've only really started to develop an interest, even if it is a fairly minor one. But my very first live and in-person major sporting event was an Oakland Athletics game (odd since I live in the UK, but this was during my aforementioned Bay Area visit) so maybe I'd pick them. Or the Arizona Diamondbacks, because I like their current uniforms.

[Gary]

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.

explain how it's "indecent". I've been following 2 teams per sport since I was a child. I grew up rooting for 2 teams. Because I graduated from Arizona State I should stop being a Michigan fan because it's "indecent" or stop rooting for the Tigers because the Diamondbacks are my team here? To most of us it's second nature. To most of us we didn't have major league sports in Phoenix. So I didn't get the Diamondbacks or Coyotes. But I love them like second nature and I love the teams in Detroit I grew up with as a child.

[FiddySicks]

MLB Favorite: San Francisco Giants

MLB Second: Oakland A's/St. Louis Cardinals

My mom is from San Francisco, my Dad is from St. Louis, and I was born about ten minutes from the Oakland Coliseum. I LOVE baseball and can watch just about anyone play, though. Under most circumstances, I've got no problem going to a game and wearing the home team's colors.

NFL Favorite: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Second: Raiders/Hard to say.

I've always been a huge Bucs fan, but I live in Niners/Raiders territory, so the options of what I can watch are limited. I've had quite a few teams in this spot. Titans when they first Changed from the Oilers, Chargers when I lived in Orange County, Raiders when they had Gannon, Niners when Merton Hanks was there, Random others because of various other reasons. It's entertaining, so I can watch just about anyone.

NHL Favorite: San Jose Sharks

NHL Second: Philadelphia Flyers

Before the boards I never had much of an interest in hockey. I liked the Flyers a bit, but really only followed them in the playoffs.

College Favorite: Tennessee

College Second: Nevada/USC/Cal/Texas/ECT

The NCAA just has too many teams to have a second. I like a BUNCH of different teams for various reasons.

I've never really understand the "We're the best so :censored: the rest!" attitude when it comes to sports. There are so many different story lines, talent levels, and fan rituals from team to team that it's hard to not find at least something appealing about each one of them. Of course when ANY team is playing my favorites I root against them. If not I might as well have a rooting interest, it makes games more entertaining.

[Discrim]

NFL

1A: Bears...been a fan since I knew what football was. I'd wager either the Bears or the Bulls are my family's most common fandoms

1B: Packers...came for Brett & Reggie, stayed for the rest

2nd: Oilers/Titans...Warren Moon, Lorenzo White and Haywood Jeffries were my guys back in the day...then it was Air McNair and Eddie George...and now it's VY.

3rd: Eagles, Saints, Falcons, Steelers, Cardinals...I'm only putting the Pats back here when Brady retires, I hate the guy. Randall Cunningham was the original reason I liked the Eagles, I'd long felt pity for the Cards, and oddly enough, Morten Andersen was why I first liked the Saints.

4th: Patriots, Cowboys...I can't bring myself to shun the Pats completely...and the Boys are only here cus Romo's from my county.

Baseball

1st: Cubs. always has been since I knew what baseball was, always will be.

2nd: Mariners...it's all cus of Junior.

3rd: Twins, Indians, Orioles, Pirates...for the Bucs, it's largely because of my boy Jaramillo. The Twins, mainly because they're not the Pale Hose or the Brewers. the Orioles were cus of Ripken, and the Tribe cus of Major League.

NHL

1st: Avs...when they moved, I was wondering which team I should start following. Couldn't see myself following the Blackhawks back then, so I figured these guys who just moved from Quebec to Denver would do.

2nd: Penguins, Senators, Habs...honestly, if the Nordiques had never become the Avs, I would probably have chosen the Pens, and the Nords never enter this conversation.

3rd: Blackhawks, whoever's playing the Red Wings, and whoever's playing the Stars.

NBA

1st: Bucks...of all the teams I follow, I think the Bucks will be the one to give me a heart attack.

2nd: used to be the Hornets when they were in Charlotte (don't lie, you liked Muggsy and them too ), though being honest with myself, it's gotta be the Thunder. even with the new colors, new city and new name, I'll always have a place in my heart for the Sonics.

NCAA

1A: Notre Dame. again, ever since I knew what football was, I've been an ND fan.

1B: Wisconsin. state pride, a second reason to hate Michigan, and another reason to avoid maroon and gold together

1C: UW Whitewater...far as D3 goes, it's the Warhawks or nothin.

2nd: Georgia Tech. purely because I despise the Georgia Bulldogs. simple as that.

3rd: Texas baseball, Grambling football, Temple basketball

grudging respect: Mount Union. back in 02, before my Warhawks were even capable of going to the Stagg Bowl, they met Mount Union for the first time. Unlike their Stagg Bowl tilts over the last half-decade, this one was a blowout. and yet, I couldn't take my eyes off of Dan Pugh, Mount's running back...dude was just running wherever the hell he wanted cus Whitewater couldn't stop him. They've had guys like him before, and guys like him since. I hate losing to em, but I'll always respect them.

Aussie Rules

1st: Essendon...you can thank Mero...they'll get back to the Grand Final one of these days though

2nd: Fremantle...I felt sorry for them.

3rd: Adelaide...they have the perfect jumper.

[winters in buffalo]

Interestingly enough, one of the teams I grew up with has since fallen to #2.

Anyone care to guess? Bonus points to the person who also guesses the team that displaced them.

Buffalo Sabres displaced by the Carolina Hurricanes? Just a wild guess.

Good God, no. Stab me in the neck if that ever happens.

No, this is a slightly less obvious one.

[Subi]

NHL

Favourite: Calgary Flames

Second Team: Ottawa Senators

I moved to Calgary from Vancouver about 2000, and didn't really have a favourite hockey team, despite growing up during the Canucks' 94 Cup run. A couple of my friends in junior high had Colorado and Detroit as their favourite teams, so come playoff time I randomly chose a team from the opposite conference as them to be my favourite, and that was Ottawa. Though as I lived in Calgary more, the Flames started to become my favourite more. I still really like the Senators, and since I now really dislike Darryl Sutter, I might just temporarily bump them back up to number 1 until he is fired.

NFL

Favourite: Seattle Seahawks

Second Team: Minnesota Vikings

Don't have any real attachment to them, but this year in a fantasy league I'm in I got autodrafted Brett Favre and have Adrian Peterson as a keeper, so I really hope they do well. My second team will probably change next year.

MLB

Favourite: Seattle Mariners

Second Team: Toronto Blue Jays

Supporting the Canadian team. Grew up in Vancouver in the 90's during the Griffey days, even went to a few games, so I'm primarily a Mariners fan. But I support the Jays secondarily, since they are the only Canadian team left.

NBA

Don't care

NCAA:

Favourite: Boise State

Second Team: Oregon State

Admittedly I'm more of a bandwagoner for BSU, but they are the closest FBS school to me geographically (besides Idaho and Washington State...yeah...no), and they have the whole underdog story going, so why not. Aside from that, Oregon State, since I absolutely love vacationing down around Newport, which isn't too far from the OSU campus.

[tp49]

Interestingly enough, one of the teams I grew up with has since fallen to #2.

Anyone care to guess? Bonus points to the person who also guesses the team that displaced them.

Buffalo Sabres displaced by the Carolina Hurricanes? Just a wild guess.

Good God, no. Stab me in the neck if that ever happens.

No, this is a slightly less obvious one.

Buffalo Bills supplanted by the Carolina Panthers?

[FamousAtticus]

MLB

Favorite: Yankees

Second Team: Cubs

I grew up a Yankee fan thanks to my dad and grandfather being huge die-hard Yankee fans. There is no other team that I would cheer for other then them, but after taking a trip to Chicago in 1999 I went on a tour of Wrigley Field and attended a Cubs-Cards game, and with all of that I came out with a liking of the Cubs franchise. They are my underdog MLB team. Ofcourse if they played my Yankees I would hope the worse for them, but against any other team I would pull for them.

NFL

Favorite: Jaguars

Second Team: Dolphins

Before the Jaguars existed I was a huge Dan Marino/Don Shula fan. My entire family are New York Giants fans.. When my family moved down to Florida, I didn't have as much exposure to Giants football games so I got into the Dolphins. The reason i'm a Jaguars fan is because I lived in Jax when the team started playing, so I got really into the wave/rush of a new pro team in town. Since 1995 I've been a Jags fan and Dolphins on the side.

NBA

Favorite: Magic

Second Team: None

I've been a Magic fan since 1989. I've had season tickets w/ my dad since 1992, before then I only followed star players in the NBA(MJ, Bird, Ewing, Barkley and Drexler) and I really didn't have a "team". So to this day there really isn't another team I like other than the Magic.

NHL

Favorite: Lightning

Second Team: None

Out of all the major sports, the NHL is the one I follow the least. I only watch a handful of games throughout the year and then finally get into it during the Playoffs.

NCAA Football/Basketball

Favorite: North Carolina

Second: University of Central Florida

I've been a UNC fan since I was a kid watching Jordan, Perkins and Daugherty play ball. Since then on I've followed TarHeel basketball and football(well...started following UNC football in the late 90's). I'm a UCF alumni, enough said about that.

[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.

explain how it's "indecent". I've been following 2 teams per sport since I was a child. I grew up rooting for 2 teams. Because I graduated from Arizona State I should stop being a Michigan fan because it's "indecent" or stop rooting for the Tigers because the Diamondbacks are my team here? To most of us it's second nature. To most of us we didn't have major league sports in Phoenix. So I didn't get the Diamondbacks or Coyotes. But I love them like second nature and I love the teams in Detroit I grew up with as a child.

That's like having a thing for blondes, but marrying a brunette, and then having a blonde enter your life, and then saying WELL I GUESS I HAVE TWO WIVES NOW.

No. You choose one, and you stick with it. There's no splitting of loyalties. I've always been a 49ers fan, but live in LA. Am I gonna just decide that I have two teams if the NFL puts one here? No way. I already have my team. There should be no room in a fan's life for more than one team in a league/sport. If there is, then you're just not very devoted, which is fine. There's nothing wrong with being a casual fan if that's what you're going for. But then you might as well have a third and fourth team.

[winters in buffalo]

Interestingly enough, one of the teams I grew up with has since fallen to #2.

Anyone care to guess? Bonus points to the person who also guesses the team that displaced them.

Buffalo Sabres displaced by the Carolina Hurricanes? Just a wild guess.

Good God, no. Stab me in the neck if that ever happens.

No, this is a slightly less obvious one.

Buffalo Bills supplanted by the Carolina Panthers?

No.

[DG_YouKnowWhatThatMeans]

Interestingly enough, one of the teams I grew up with has since fallen to #2.

Anyone care to guess? Bonus points to the person who also guesses the team that displaced them.

Buffalo Sabres displaced by the Carolina Hurricanes? Just a wild guess.

Good God, no. Stab me in the neck if that ever happens.

No, this is a slightly less obvious one.

Buffalo Bills supplanted by the Carolina Panthers?

No.

Orioles/Indians to....something else. Nationals? Braves?

[winters in buffalo]

Interestingly enough, one of the teams I grew up with has since fallen to #2.

Anyone care to guess? Bonus points to the person who also guesses the team that displaced them.

Buffalo Sabres displaced by the Carolina Hurricanes? Just a wild guess.

Good God, no. Stab me in the neck if that ever happens.

No, this is a slightly less obvious one.

Buffalo Bills supplanted by the Carolina Panthers?

No.

Orioles/Indians to....something else. Nationals? Braves?

Getting warmer.

[loogodude90]

NBA:

Favorite team: Wizards

Second team: Sixers

The Sixers are right up I-95 from where I am, and they aren't in the same division as the Wizards. So I sort of root for them.

MLB:

Favorite team: Orioles

Second Team: Nationals

The O's and Nats are constantly flip-flopping which games are shown on MASN2, and I get MASN2 but not MASN (Baltimore basic cable is wierd). So whenever the O's are on MASN2 I watch them and root for them, and whenever the Nats are on MASN2 I root for them. Since they both suck, there is not much of a rivalry (yet) so there's no guilt.

NFL:

Favorite team: Ravens

Second team: None

I'm not a big enough NFL fan to really have a second team.

NHL:

Favorite team: Capitals

Second team: Rangers

I'm originally from NY and I followed the Rangers when they played in the Cup ('94), which was my last year living up there.