What are your "rules" & reasons for your sports team fan-ships?

[Arts11]

I was recently talking with a colleague when the conversation ended up shifting to sports and it came up that he was a big fan of Chelsea. I wondered how that came about since I knew he grew up somewhere in the midwest that didn't even field any pro teams, much less one for soccer. Anyway, his reasoning was that he basically saw them once on TV or something and then just sorta ran with it. To be honest, I felt that was kinda weird, but far be it for me to say what's legitimate or not in regards to choosing one's rooting interest. I guess since I happened to grow up in an area that fielded pro teams, I was sorta "indoctrinated" into the local fandom without really consciously choosing to.

But that got me thinking, what are your rules and reasons for "picking" the teams you root for?

Personally, I sorta liken team fandom to family. You can't really choose 'em (with some exceptions), you're sorta born into them (based on where you grew up when you started following sports). Also, I'm not trying to say what's right or wrong with this thread. I just want to see other people's philosophies on this topic.

|| EDIT || just want wanted to update the thread title a little bit

[BigBubba]

Don't just cheer for a team because they're good/have won a lot (i.e. Don't be a bandwagoner).

[piratesfan16]

Don't just cheer for a team because they're good/have won a lot (I.e. Don't be a bsndwagoner).

Yes. However, something I also cannot stand is people who generalize an entire team's fanbase as bandwagoners when they start winning. C'mon, be open-minded enough to realize that there are going to be bandwagoners on EVERY team who's winning. I will admit however that the Penguins fans do have good reason to be criticized. They were on the verge of bankruptcy just a few years after Lemieux's return(mostly due to disminishing revenue, no fans going to game, no pruchasing of merchandice,etc.). I'm sorry, but if the greatest player in NHL history is playing for your team, each game should be sold out(I understand he was injured a lot after the turn of the century, but still.) I'm about 70/20/10 when it comes to supporting the Pirates/Steelers/Penguins respectively.

[Don]

I dont have any "rules" for being a fan of teams, be a fan of who you want to be a fan of.

[YessSir32]

1. Don't be a fan just because of a big signing. (Prince Fielder and Peyton Manning)

2. Don't be a closet fan until a team is good. Too many Lions fans have done this.

[tBBP]

1. Don't be a fan just because of a big signing. (Prince Fielder and Peyton Manning)

2. Don't be a closet fan until a team is good. Too many Lions fans have done this.

Re: #1...two of my high school buddies down home were (I say were because I don't know if they still are) huge fans of the Indianapolis Colts specifially because of Peyton Manning. Both right now are being teased about becoming Bronco fans next season.

Re: #2...I'm right with you on that one. Bear in mind I'm from Pensacola, FL...the closest NFL team is the Saints. Now up until about 2005, you wouldn't have found a single Saints fan along the entire Panhandle let alone Pensacola, unless they were from Louisiana. After that, damn near everyone back home suddenly decided they were hard-core Saints fans. (I won't even start on 2009-2010, when the Saints won the SB.)

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Apart from that, I wouldn't really say there are any hard-set rules of fandom, short of liking teams in or near your home area. I'm a fan of the teams I like due to blood strengthening my pre-existing fledgling fandom as a young'n (two of my cousins played at Florida State, one baseball, the other football...who then went on to play a pretty good career with the Buccaneers). As for the other two, one is due to having watched and then followed their games while deployed overseas (that'd be the Argentina men's national club), the other due to living in the area when they were born and instantly falling in love with their branding and identity (the Philadelphia Union). Historically, I've never had a favorite NBA team, just players, but the past two years due to living in Indiana, I've found myself following the Pacers pretty strongly. Not enough to add to my sig just yet, but we'll see if this casual following turns into full-blown fandom by next season.

[GO2HELL]

I actually became a fan of the capitals around the time I started watching hockey (late 90's) mainly because I thought they had the coolest jerseys in the league. I then adopted them as my "east team" and continued watching as many games as I could even through the bad years. I also took a lot of for being a "Crapitals" fan during those times and What pisses me off to no end are the people who find out that I'm a caps fan and jump to the conclusion that I'm an ovechkin bandwagoner.

[Funky Bunky]

I became a Ducks fan for many reasons. I loved the Mighty Ducks uniforms, they're the closest team to me, and I was already a giant Angels fan, and they're right across the street, so it was just natural.

I actually turned my Dad into a Ducks fan... Not the other way around.

[DaytonBlue]

I was pretty much born into all of the teams I root for (Cards, Blues, Rams, Mizzou), except for my college, Dayton, and the Grizzlies and Memphis Tigers when I moved to Memphis.

Rams fans on other boards have debated staying a fan if they move. Some say they're fans of the team regardless of where they play. I would just assume burn all my Rams stuff if they move.

Another odd thing I do is pull for all the SEC teams with ties to Memphis: Tennessee, Ole Miss, Miss. State, and Arkansas...most people around here would think that's crazy, but I have different friends who like all these teams and I like seeing people happy. Of course, if they're playing Mizzou from now on that's a different story.

I tend to pick up teams in the opposite league/conference as secondary teams for various reasons.

Ohio State: most people in Dayton loved them

Cincinnati Bearcats: sister goes to grad school there, got to see them in Liberty Bowl this year

Titans: AFC team I can actually follow in Memphis (I don't like watching games in bars, and I can only afford one sports package and chose Center Ice).

Bulls: NBA Eastern Conference team, started liking them when Jordan was around and still like them in the East

Lightning: adopted as Eastern Conference team when my aunt randomly gave me a hat growing up

White Sox: AL team, could follow on WGN and the enemy of your enemy is your friend theory

Rays: went to the Trop during its first season and have always liked them since

Sevilla FC: went to a game there when I was in Spain

I've tried picking an EPL team to be a fan of, but it's hard to do so when there's no real emotional connection to a team.

I notice my younger middle school cousins flip-flop back and forth on different teams. And it isn't always jumping on and off bandwagons. I think this is in part because of the variety of teams they can now see on TV with all the sports networks available that weren't available in the 90s. I have an old Blues program from 93-94 (the Arena's last year) where the TV schedule consisted of no home games and every road game. I also remember my Dad buying this premium Cardinals TV package one year. I think it was around 93 and we had to put the old analog cable box on a special channel to get the games. This was before Fox Sports Midwest.

[smzimbabwe]

My only rule is that once you start cheering for a team, you stick with them...

My dad, brother, and I all root for different teams and have had different reasons for cheering for them. Since I didn't grow up near any pro sports teams, I wasn't bound by the "must root for closest team" rule that some people have. My dad never encouraged us to root for his teams, saying that we needed to come up with our team loyalties for our own reasons, not for his...

For example, my dad is a Steelers fan because his best friend in basic training was a big Steelers fan and was killed in Vietnam, so my dad adopted the Steelers as his team and has been faithful for over 40 years now. I'm a Chargers fan because when I was just being introduced to football, I got my first football preview magazine and the cover headline said "Why Fouts is better than Bradshaw" so I figured I'd be rooting for a team better than my dad's Steelers. My brother is a 49ers fan because he enjoyed watching Ronnie Lott at USC and said whichever NFL team drafts him will be his favorite...

All different reasons, all legitimate and we've stuck with our teams. If my brother suddenly said he's a Tennessee Titans fan, there would be so much grief, might even kick him out of the family for his disloyalty...

And he discouraged us from rooting for a college team until we actually went to a college. I watched college football and enjoyed it, but had no rooting interest until I went to Washington and became a Huskies fan...

[Magnus]

I generally root for teams that are closest to the city in which I live. Exceptions to this occur when there are Canadian athletes on teams of mostly American players (Phoenix Suns - Steve Nash) and athletes born close to the town in which I live (Claude Giroux is a Northern Ontario native).

[Island_Style]

My history

My first and true love of all of sports is football. Grew up in a football family for both CFB and NFL. The NFL was me and my older brother's favorite. When I was really young the Dolphins were trying to protect their record by hosting the undefeated Bears. This was a huge deal to my older brother who was a Dolphins fan. This is when I first started getting in to football. He asked me who my favorite team was. I don't know. I'm only 5. So I ask him. What is you favorite team? He tells me the Dolphins. So I tell him my favorite team is the Dolphins. When he asked me why I told him it was because it is his favorite team. He got mad an said that wasn't a good reason. "You can't like a team just because I do", he says. So I asked him what team he hates the most. He looked at the TV and said the Bears. So I adopted them as my favorite. With them came the Cubs, Blackhawks, and Bulls. Keep in mind there are no pro sports in Florida outside of football.

When I got a little bit older I had more pride in where I lived. I understood where I lived, I guess. When Orlando came I instantly became a fan. Same with Marlins (first FL team in baseball) and Panthers (Started watching hockey during the year of the rat). All the Chicago teams were forgotten about. Expect for the Bears. Who I followed as much as a boy from Florida could in the late 80's/early 90's. When I heard Jax was trying to get a team I watched every sports show I could to get an iota of a detail on the process. My brother thought there was no way. I had hope. In November in 93 when they announced it I was beyond euphoric. Even after my first time with a girl I looked back at that magical moment in November 93 when we got that Jaguars. lol, jk. I do tell my wife that she is my mistress and the Jaguars are my true love. She knows and understands.

I grew up a FSU fan because of my mom. Once I went there it sealed it even more. So to sum it up. Before Florida teams were born, I was a Chicago fan. When the great Florida expansion begun I went local. My hometown Jaguars trumps them all.

[njmeadowlanders]

I wasn't given a choice, and now it's far far too late to opt-out. Mets, Jets, Rangers.

No wonder I'm such a pessimist.

[Kramerica Industries]

The idea of "liking the locals" is a perfectly plausible premise, but the people who badger home the point of "root for the locals even if you aren't local yourself" irritates me to no end.

I mean, if you lived in Philly and moved to Tampa, and decided to adopt the TB area teams, by all means. But I hate people who will criticize the Philly guy for keeping his teams. That's entirely their choice.

(That's just one example in part influenced by local radio personality Steve Deumig.)

But to echo some above sentiments - no bandwagoning. There's no respect to be had for those who bandwagon. And that isn't to say you can't start off as a bandwagoner, perhaps, but stick with the team thereafter. The lean years will make those successful seasons feel so much better. I can barely describe how rewarding the 2011 Lightning playoff run was, for instance, after they had gone 89-157 the three seasons previous.

[njmeadowlanders]

But to echo some above sentiments - no bandwagoning. There's no respect to be had for those who bandwagon. And that isn't to say you can't start off as a bandwagoner, perhaps, but stick with the team thereafter. The lean years will make those successful seasons feel so much better. I can barely describe how rewarding the 2011 Lightning playoff run was, for instance, after they had gone 89-157 the three seasons previous.

Well you're never going to stop people from bandwagoning. All you can do is know deep down that it means infinitely more to you than someone who first watched a game in the second round of the playoffs or whatever.

This is why I never, ever, watch any of my teams playoff games at a bar. I don't want to be around idiots.

Insert joke about "what playoff games???", though yes, I know the Rangers just were w/in 2 wins of the SCF and the Jets were in B2B AFC Title games in the last 3 years...

[Kramerica Industries]

Well, yes.

But you knew what I meant, so that's all I care about.

[bosrs1]

Only rule I have is don't root for a team just because they're winning. Any other reason you choose can be legit (as long as you come up with a reason) except rooting for winners for the sake of rooting for a winner. I say that because my rooting interests are all across the board and for so many reasons that it would take a much longer post to explain them all.

[Arts11]

And he discouraged us from rooting for a college team until we actually went to a college. I watched college football and enjoyed it, but had no rooting interest until I went to Washington and became a Huskies fan...

College sports has always been weird for me. I grew up rooting for a couple different schools depending on the sport, but I eventually became a fan of the big state school because I had family that attended. However, when it came time for me to go to college, despite getting accepted to that school, I chose a smaller D-III mainly for financial reasons. I never really felt like I had enough investment in college sports after that because I didn't truly "belong" to it, so to speak. Nowadays I'm definitely a little detached, and I've sorta fallen back into my old habit of rooting for certain schools depending on the sport, but not really considering myself an actual fan of any.

[DaytonBlue]

I think what drew me to the local teams growing up besides them being family tradition was the ability to go see them live relatively easily. Of course for many people that isn't a realistic option very often if you don't live near any major teams.

[Eye]

I disagree about "bandwagoning". I think that, the more people involved, the better the experience is as a fan.