How to pick a team to follow

[loneranger158]

I'm not sure if this is too similar to is thread : but I'm going to post anyway.

I was wondering, if there is a league that you follow but there is no team in your area, how do you pick a team? The main reason why I ask is because I've been following soccer since about 2006 and have a general idea of teams "across the pond" (EPL, La Liga, etc.) but I would like to start following these leagues more closely and pledge my allegiance to one specific team. Not just for soccer though, for any sport. Thanks.

[monkeypower]

Maybe try looking through the teams and see what logos or jerseys you like. Or find out about the team's history..

I don't really know what you're asking.

[TorinK92]

Whatever you do, don't pick a team just because a good players on it or if they just won a championship. I might never forgive you.

[officeglenn]

When I started watching the English Premier League, there were only a few teams that were featured on TV Saturday mornings here in Canada, like Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool. I knew I didn't want to cheer for Man Utd, and the more I saw of Arsenal's fluid passing game, the more I wanted to cheer for them.

If you're stuck on it, watch a few games, see which club appeals to you —style of play, atmosphere in the stadium, kits, whatever — and go with it.

[loneranger158]

Maybe try looking through the teams and see what logos or jerseys you like. Or find out about the team's history..

I don't really know what you're asking.

Basically, do you pick a team to support on a whim, or is there a specific reason?

[raysox]

I have stupid reasons for liking the foreign teams I like, I rooted for Dortmund in the CL cause I played for them in FIFA. I root for Chelsea because when I got back into soccer, I remembered an old shirt from Epcot that I thought was Chelsea. Bought a kit, and a scarf when I was actually in England. I saw a picture of me in that shirt, and it was an arsenal one.

[Tynamo]

OKC was the first team I ever supported and I'm still not sure why. I like the Bucs because that was our Juniors batch name in high school. I suggested it without knowing about TB. I learned about them and now I'm a supporter. We don't have NFL in my country though so I know little about the sport.

Whatever you do, don't pick a team just because a good players on it or if they just won a championship. I might never forgive you.

The top three teams in my country are Lakers, Celtics, and recently, Heat. Guess why.

As for Soccer erm Football if I had to pick a team, I' got with the Tottenham Hotspur just because I like their crest.

[wildwing64]

Maybe there's a team with a name, logo, or colour scheme that you really like, or any particular players than are drawing your attention. You'll find a favourite team based on any of these and it will just feel "right" to you.

[-kj]

If you're in the States or Canada, a team may be a lot closer than you think.

[theSLVRBCK]

If you're in the States or Canada, a team may be a lot closer than you think.

Thanks for the link, didn't actually realize we had any form of semi-pro club here in town until now. My nephew is really getting into the sport and it'll be cool to take him to a couple games.

[Enio125]

I would say try to find a city that is similar to yours and root for that cities team. Even if there are multiple teams in that city, teams tend to create their own identities. Try to find a one that you can root for with passion. For example some teams get the reputation as overpowering overspending juggernauts, some as lovable losers, some as scrappy small clubs, some as little brothers, etc.

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

Valencia. Valencia is now your team.

[crashcarson15]

I'm sure I've written on this subject in the past and that I'll write on it again here on the forums but regardless, here goes my set of advice on "picking" a team (most all of which centers around soccer):

Make a list of things you'd like to see in a club you support, similarly to how you may make a list in what you'd like in a partner—"a good sense of humor" may be replaced with "a strong respect for history of the sport" or with "plays an attractive brand of football."

Watch a lot of different matches and different teams. Eventually you're bound to have that "moment" where you realize you're a supporter of a certain club. Mine with Villa was Darren Bent's debut goal to beat City 1-0. TFoA talks about his with City being when Adebayor ran clear to the other end of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal supporters while I think Mockba's reason for supporting Norwich has something to do with them playing United the last time they were in the Prem. You're likely to find that moment—wait for it to happen.

The first team you pick might not always be the one that sticks! You might say you have an inclination to support, say, Valencia as was suggested above. If you end up a Valencia supporter when it's all set and done, great! That's what happened with me and Villa but it's certainly not what happened with Hertha and me! When I first started watching the Bundesliga, I went through phases of following 1860, Hannover, 'Gladbach, Dortmund, St. Pauli, and hell even Bayern before I ended up landing on Hertha. I really loved the city of Berlin and supporting Hertha seemed like it was the thing for me—but incidentally enough, when I started following the sport I absolutely despised Hertha. Funny how that stuff sometimes works out. Similarly, if you would've asked me a year ago, I would've told you I was a huge PSG supporter. But my interest in PSG's starting to dwindle a bit as the Qatari money continues to come in, making me think about "reopening" my search for a Ligue 1 club. It might take awhile and that's okay too.

This kind of goes back to the list but think about finding things that may parallel your stateside rooting interests. Part of what appealed about Villa was a connection I found to Cleveland teams—plenty of early successes like the Browns but not many since, a solidified place in the history of the sport (like northeast Ohio and American football), a storied supporters section (the Dawg Pound and the Holte End), a long drought in perhaps the club's most valued competition (the FA Cup), and from researching, I got the general feeling that Birmingham was a lot like Cleveland as far as cities go (having visited Birmingham now, I tend to agree with this assessment). Alternatively, if you have inclinations towards a certain European city (like I love Berlin), listen to them! They might point you in the right direction.

That said, only you're going to know precisely when and how you've come to choose a team. It might even take awhile, but start watching further and researching the history of the clubs and you'll probably start to get an idea of the clubs you like.

/I could go into the story of how/why I'm a Timbers fan but that's neither here nor there. Maybe for a later date.

[pianoknight]

Don't root for the Yankees, Red Sox, Patriots, Steelers, Cowboys, Lakers or Heat.

Anyone else is fine.

[JayMac]

Don't root for the Yankees, Red Sox, Patriots, Steelers, Cowboys, Lakers or Heat.

Anyone else is fine.

So in other words...don't watch ESPN. You can do what I did as a kid which was pick by color.

[hellslayer2000]

Well I picked my teams based on a mix of history and aesthetics and living in LA with a lack of a football team I ending become a Colts fan, that and they won the superbowl when I started watching football. Also if you have multiple teams in the same city like LA or New York go with the better franchises like the Lakers and Dodgers over the Clippers or Angels seriously dont make your self miserable.

[pianoknight]

Some of it is regional.

I grew up in Nebraska and am a Cornhusker for life. But my extended family (grandparents, uncles, etc) is all from southeastern Missouri. They're all Cardinals and Rams fans, which I adopted. They're also all fans of Mizzou, which I did NOT adopt due to my pre-existing Husker history.

Although truth be told, I now kinda-semi-somewhat root for the Tigers since we both split the Big 12.

[AJpackers]

I would just watch games of various teams for a while and settle on one that you like watching. I know from experience that it's very irritating to choose a favorite team, really get into the sport and then realize there is another team you like watching/rooting for more.

[smzimbabwe]

I just did something similar to this last week. I always knew my great-grandparents came here from Finland, but never really knew where until my mom found some papers and now I can trace my roots back to a family of reindeer herders in 1707. So, since I never had a favorite SM-Liiga team before, I decided to now root for Oulu Karpat because they're closest to the old "home town"...

[SlamToTheMoon]

For baseball, I like the Dodgers because I'm close and the Astros becqus the my towns farm teams is owned by the Astros. Both of them also have good looking colors and logos.

For soccer, I picked BayernMunich because part of my family is from the Bavaria area (this was years ago before they where major champs)