Sports Fandom

[Yaz]

Kinda been mulling this over in my head for a bit, wanted to start a topic on it. How did you come to root for the sports teams you root for?

Sure, the simple and most abundant answer will likely be that people root for their home town/state team. That is certainly the case for me for the Indianapolis Colts and the Indiana Pacers.

Indiana however, doesn't have an NHL or MLB franchise. Not a major league one anyway.

So in the NHL I root for the Colorado Avalanche. When I first started getting into hockey in my early teens, Colorado was good, so they were on TV a fair bit and that made them accessible. They also have some pretty cool jerseys. How can you not root for a team with a yeti print on their shoulder?

In baseball, I root for the Atlanta Braves. Growing up we had two stations that showed baseball games on the reg. WGN and TBS. WGN was based out of Chicago, so they showed a lot of Cubs games and the occasional White Sox game. Ron Santon was the biggest homer announcer of that time and it turned me off to the Cubs (Plus Harry Caray is overrated, fite me). The Braves were also a better team in the mid 90s, so it felt good rooting for a winner a kid.

I'm most interested to hear those who don't live in an area with any pro teams, like Ty, as I know he roots for Minnesota in the NFL and Golden State in the NBA. Also those who have a rooting interest in a team in another country, like American fans of European soccer or UK fans of American spots. I know certain guys, like Lee, root for the Toronto Bluejays because he saw a game in Toronto. Simple enough.

Me, I root for Everton in the EPL because when I was getting into soccer they had a prime Tim Howard and it was easy for me to root for them because one of their best players was American.
(I wish he would have played for a better team.)

[GuyCompton]

Would MMA warrant its own thread or should I keep it in here?

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Alabama - One time I bought a shirt from a flea market in Alabama, and well... who am I kidding. I'm a proud member of the Nick Saban bandwagon! Roll Tide! But I'm here for life, even after we eventually start to suck.

Green Bay Packers - Who doesn't love watching HOF QBs execute go-ahead drives in the 4th quarter, only to see the defense fall apart in the closing minutes.

New Orleans Pelicans - I'm just a huge Anthony Davis fan and think he's the second best player in the league.

[Yaz]

Alabama - One time I bought a shirt from a flea market in Alabama, and well... who am I kidding. I'm a proud member of the Nick Saban bandwagon! Roll Tide! But I'm here for life, even after we eventually start to suck.

Green Bay Packers - Who doesn't love watching HOF QBs execute go-ahead drives in the 4th quarter, only to see the defense fall apart in the closing minutes.

New Orleans Pelicans - I'm just a huge Anthony Davis fan and think he's the second best player in the league.

I am neither shocked or mad you are a Bama fan you little fuck.

[Theo]

Baseball and Basketball are all location for me. Phillies and Sixers. That one is pretty logical. Football however, the Eagles were never my thing. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a Vikings fan. In fact I've had people just assume that I love all Minnesota teams because I openly support the Vikings. It comes as a shock to some that I'm a Phillies and Sixers fan.

Anywho, there's no crazy story on how I became a Vikings fan. As a kid I loved Barney (the dinosaur). I was three or four or so and because I loved Barney, purple was my favorite color and at that time the Vikings were the only team that wore people and it stuck. During that same phase I also was rooting for the Jazz and the Rockies (they were new at the time, so it worked). However those teams never stuck like the Vikings.

I don't care for hockey. I don't follow it. All my friends are Flyers fans, so I just tell people I love the Penguins (more so Sidney Crosby) to piss them off. It brings some joy to my dark soul.

[Yaz]

Would MMA warrant its own thread or should I keep it in here?

If you want to talk about why certain fighters are your favorite, I think that would add to the thread for sure. If you wan't to start up the old WZ MMA threads again just for general discussion, I'd also support that.

['Ravishing' Ned Flanders]

Oregon doesn't have any pro teams except the Portland Timberscand I'm not a huge soccer fan. Luckily i grew up in New York so my favorite Football is the Giants.

Other than that i don't really have a favorite

[Smally]

Everton as itâ??s te team my family have always supported.

Re Tim Howard, he did play for
Manchester Utd first in England but wasnâ??t quite good enough for them. Everton were more his level for a time, and I feel we kept hold of him too long in the end. Landon Donovan was the best American I saw for us. Brian McBride was good too. Joe Max Moore barely played in a poor side

[Yaz]

Oregon doesn't have any pro teams except the Portland Timberscand I'm not a huge soccer fan. Luckily i grew up in New York so my favorite Football is the Giants.

Other than that i don't really have a favorite

https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/portland-trail-blazers-logo.png?w=400

[BaconBits]

I like the Pittsburgh Pirates after growing up in Jersey a Yankee fan. There was something lovable about the losers in Pittsburgh in the early 00s. At first it was mostly the incredible new ballpark that took my breath away, but then it took on a new level just watching certain guys give it their all , like Jack Wilson or Brian Giles, despite being stuck on a horrifically bad team with a horrifically bad culture. I somehow managed to be optimistic through all of that suck. In 2013, that culture changed and the rush that ensued is really hard to describe. Yes, I know, a return to the doldrums is likely to happen the next couple years, but I still have optimism, because crying about it certainly isn’t going to help a return to winning baseball.

In football, I’m a Bears fan. They won the super bowl in 85, and 8 year old me jumped on the bandwagon. I never jumped off,.

In NBA action, I dig the 76ers. Just always have.

NHL, I’m a Devils fan.

[Khalifa]

All my favourites teams come from originally playing video games of the sport (except MLB) and just liking a player and sticking to that team.

Lakers were the first American team to enter my heart. NBA live 06 was my first or second basketball game (NBA ham being the other) and Kobe Bryant would always be my first pick in fantasy draft so I just decided to like the Lakers. Weird stage as well. After Shaq but before Pau, hard times.

Philly Eagles came about because I use to play NFL street and Donovan McNabb was my boy. I never really watched NFL (consistently) until about 4-5 years ago so my knowledge on what was actually going on was limited. Have watched every game since 2012 pretty much but I haven’t been as excited for a player than I am for Wentz when I see him on there since McNabb so I’m really into it at the moment. Also the Eagles are the name of my favourite team in the AFL (Aussie rules) so it kind of goes hand in hand.

Arizona Diamondbacks. Yeah no real story to this, started watching a few years ago and didn’t really have a team for the first year. I decided to pick D-backs because they could score but weren’t a good team but still had a decent player (Goldy). I’m not as into one side in the MLB because I still really like the Athletics, Cubs, Cards and Mariners but Arizona are definitely the team I support when it comes down to it.

Manchester United, back when Pro Evolution Soccer was good, the United team was stacked on there, being 8 it 9 at the time, you like being the best so having Rooney, Ronaldo and Owens all up in one attack was sexy. Ronaldo is still my favourite player to this day but I stuck to the Red Devils because my brother liked Chelsea and mate liked Arsenal, so I had to stay in the prem league.

10 year old me seemed like a huge glory hunter (though how else do you like a foreign sport I suppose), but I’ve stuck through the good to the bad to the good coming back again so that’s all that matters.

[klunderbunker]

College sports: Kentucky Wildcats. Graduated from UK in 2010, live ten minutes away from Rupp Arena, why settle for anything but the best?

MLB: Cleveland Indians. My dad is a die hard baseball fan and had stickers of each team on his tool box. I always liked the Indians logo as a kid and became a fan as a result.

NFL: Dallas Cowboys. The first game I ever remember seeing was Super Bowl XXX between Dallas and Pittsburgh. My dad is a Steelers fan so I picked the other team and they won. I stuck with them.

NHL: Dallas Stars. No idea why and I only know one player on the team. I'm far from what you would call a real fan.

NBA: New Orleans Pelicans. Back when they were the Charlotte Hornets, they had two UK players in their starting lineup. Who else could I like?

Super League (Rugby League in England): Leeds Rhinos. My wife is a huge fan and took me to a few games. It was a lot of fun and Rhinos is a rather cool name for a team.

[Ty Burna]

NFL: Minnesota Vikings. Mom and dad were both Vikings fans. I was corrupted at a young age, and now I bleed purple. Tears have been shed over my team even going back 20 years. This is my one true sports team love. I have a god damn Minnesota Vikings garden gnome in my office.

NBA: Warriors and Wolves. Alright hear me out. Not a bandwagon jumper, I just follow certain players. Curry was one of my favorite players when he played in college, so when he jumped to the NBA I started following him and the Warriors. It just so happens they become a god damn juggernaut a few years later. This may be rescinded if they win again, it's getting boring. Wolves are kind of my 8 hours away hometown team, and I really like KAT.

MLB: Minnesota Twins. They won the World Series a little less than 2 months after I was born. Again, see Vikings, Wolves as they're my hometown team.

NHL: Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars. When the North Stars moved to Dallas, there was no hockey team around here, so I just stayed with the Stars. Then the Wild were created and they're my primary team now.

NCAA Basketball: Syracuse. Always liked saying the name Syracuse growing up, so I kind of stuck with it. Plus that zone defense is sexy. Villanova is kind of a secondary team to me as I always seem to overrate the fuck out of them while filling my brackets out.

NCAA Football: Uh.....Oklahoma I guess? I don't follow one team super close but I guess Oklahoma would be my pick. Mostly because Adrian Peterson was my favorite NFL player for a lot of years.

NCAA Hockey: University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Yeah I know they're the Fighting Hawks now, but fuck that, they will always be the Fighting Sioux to me.

[Yaz]

I forgot to mention college sports.

Indiana University is a rooting interest across all sports. Like the majority of the fine Hoosier population, Bobby Knight was the coach to us. Complete assbag, but successful. Speaks to your talent when you yourself are an arguable top five coach and your protege is the top coach of all time. IU Football is pretty brutal, but there are few things more exciting than hoping to hit that magical sixth win each year to get to a bowl.

I am also a fan of Texas. Something about that burnt orange. Both football and basketball are in transitional periods right now, but that can be fun to root for. Plus, the most exciting sports moment of my life, happened thanks to UT.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8zZRBTOcnY

My college basketball exclusive rooting interest is Butler. Smaller Indiana school that constantly puts out a solid team and was one shot off upsetting Duke for the title a few years back. When Stevens left for a rightfully deserved NBA job, they fell off a bit, but have remained one of the most consistent non Power Conference teams.

In college football, I tend to fall for those Cinderella teams, but I don't have like a set 3rd team.

[A11]

As an aussie I couldnt give a shit about College sports, will watch the big games for the contest but thats about it

Never really been able to get into an NFL team. At one point I liked the chiefs for some reason, then the eagles and then I kinda got around the steelers when Big Ben rocked up on Raw but yeah never really managed to connect with these teams

NBA is Miami, I had NBA street V3 on the original xbox and that was the team I connected with in the career mode

NHL is San Jose. It was the ducks purely for the mighty ducks but they scrapped the mighty ducks part and I didnt like the new look. Got drafted by San Jose in like NHL 12 (maybe I cant recall the exact year) and that was that.

My number one team (in terms of professional sport) is without a doubt Melbourne Victory. I love football (soccer to the common folk) and this is my local team. Manchester United in Europe but I cant be arsed watching it as much anymore because its just at shit times

[CyberPunk]

Wow! This is one thread I'm completely out of place. But hey, I like sports!

As an Indian, of course the biggest sports here is Cricket, and I played and watched it for a long time. I've lost interest in the limited over formats (ODI or T20; I'll still catch occasional games though). If it's a test series between one of the top 4, I'll probably watch.

Football (or soccer) is my favorite sport though. In PL, Man City is my favorite team to watch. Admittedly, I started following them when I first played FIFA 06, so it's been like 13 years I've been following PL, plus the obnoxious Man Utd fans of my neighbourhood with there songs of history drove me even further towards the other side of Manchester. Happy to see them doing so well this season and with Guardiola at helm, I can see consistent success.

While ISL has tried to change the face of Football in India, it's still in its infancy and the lack of star power has plagued it since last season. The biggest star playing in the league is Berbatov, I believe, but most games are of poor quality, especially when you watch a superior European product. I really hope at some point my city gets a franchise in so that I can get a team to cheer in the ISL.

Tennis is another sport I sporadically follow, mostly the grandslams.

Never understood American Football or Baseball.

['Ravishing' Ned Flanders]

I didn't start paying attention to college sports until after I moved to Oregon so that left me with 2 Pac 12 teams to choose from. Oregon State has been pretty bad since i moved here and Universriy of Oregon hasn't.

They also fight for a Platypus trophy every year which is pretty fun to watch.

Never understood American Football or Baseball.
What would you like to know?

[Yaz]

Wow! This is one thread I'm completely out of place. But hey, I like sports!

As an Indian, of course the biggest sports here is Cricket, and I played and watched it for a long time. I've lost interest in the limited over formats (ODI or T20; I'll still catch occasional games though). If it's a test series between one of the top 4, I'll probably watch.

Football (or soccer) is my favorite sport though. In PL, Man City is my favorite team to watch. Admittedly, I started following them when I first played FIFA 06, so it's been like 13 years I've been following PL, plus the obnoxious Man Utd fans of my neighbourhood with there songs of history drove me even further towards the other side of Manchester. Happy to see them doing so well this season and with Guardiola at helm, I can see consistent success.

While ISL has tried to change the face of Football in India, it's still in its infancy and the lack of star power has plagued it since last season. The biggest star playing in the league is Berbatov, I believe, but most games are of poor quality, especially when you watch a superior European product. I really hope at some point my city gets a franchise in so that I can get a team to cheer in the ISL.

Tennis is another sport I sporadically follow, mostly the grandslams.

Never understood American Football or Baseball.

Well I have tried and I can't for the life of me figure out what the hell cricket is, so consider us even.

Just cultural things really. Baseball was the most popular sport here for a long time and has history dating back all the way to the Civil War. Was just our take on rounders, but it was the first sport that was fairly accessible to everyone. Just needed a stick and ball. American Football though is uniquely American in that we know it is incredibly dangerous and is about 98% likely to leave its players with brain issues and shorten their life, but fuck if we can't stop watching. It is far and away the most popular sport here, and it exists almost nowhere else in the world. Canada and Mexico have pretty solid NFL followings, and the Canadian Football League is fairly popular in Canada. 105 countries actually have a national team, but the only ones outside of North America that seem to care about the sport are Japan, Germany, and Sweden. They held the first IFAF World Championship in '99 and have held it every four years since.

In '99 Japan won over Mexico. Finland, Sweden, Australia, and Italy were the others to compete.
Japan won again in 2003, though it was only a four nation tournament with Mexico, Germany, and France.
In 2007 the IFAF invited the United States to field a team, and it was about what you expected. They beat South Korea 77-0, Germany 33-7, and Japan 23-20 in double overtime. Unlike FIFA and FIBA rules, the IFAF didn't allow the US team to field professional players. Probably because they didn't want to broadcast a snuff film.
2011 was much the same. They beat Australia 61-0, Germany 48-7, Mexico 17-7, and Canada 50-7.
2015, no team scored more than 18 points on the US.

There is hope though, as the IFAF was so tired of America dominating American Football, they kicked them out.

Why the fuck did I just type all that out?

[#AbsoluteUnit]

nba: I really don't care until the playoffs. The Pistons are/were my favorite, since I was born there.

NFL: Packers or Ravens.

MLB: Brewers or Tigers.

NHL: Red Wings. I have a signed Chris Chelios jersey and i've met plenty of former red wings over the years.

Soccer/Futbol - Liverpool and Real Madrid. Something about them drives me crazy, but i love the passionate fans and the first time I went to England I saw a Liverpool game and the whole game was awesome.

CFB - This is my sanctuary. This is what I wait for every year. CFB is where I mark the F out. I don't have a favorite, I'm just a huge fan of the game.

[jmt225]

NFL: New Orleans Saints. Lifelong fan, born just an hour away from the stadium. My dad specifically raised me to be a fan.

NCAA: LSU. In the same city, my mom worked there for almost 40 years, and my entire family bleeds purple and gold.

NBA: I used to love the Sacramento Kings. Chris Webber is my all time favorite player. Since his departure though, my fandom for the sport as a whole has died down. If the Kings become good again with their new core of guys I may start following again.

MLB: Houston Astros. Closest to a local team we have in Louisiana. My uncle is also a massive fan and took me to many Astros games growing up when I would visit my family in Houston.

NHL: Anaheim Ducks. I loved the Mighty Ducks growing up lol.

[Fire Marshall Bill]

College sports: Kentucky Wildcats. Graduated from UK in 2010, live ten minutes away from Rupp Arena, why settle for anything but the best?

MLB: Cleveland Indians. My dad is a die hard baseball fan and had stickers of each team on his tool box. I always liked the Indians logo as a kid and became a fan as a result.

NFL: Dallas Cowboys. The first game I ever remember seeing was Super Bowl XXX between Dallas and Pittsburgh. My dad is a Steelers fan so I picked the other team and they won. I stuck with them.

NHL: Dallas Stars. No idea why and I only know one player on the team. I'm far from what you would call a real fan.

NBA: New Orleans Pelicans. Back when they were the Charlotte Hornets, they had two UK players in their starting lineup. Who else could I like?

Super League (Rugby League in England): Leeds Rhinos. My wife is a huge fan and took me to a few games. It was a lot of fun and Rhinos is a rather cool name for a team.

Thoughts on your Indians changing their logo?

[klunderbunker]

Really doesn't bother me. It's the same team and if people are offended by it, change the thing. It's not that big of a deal.

[The Bearded One]

NFL - Jacksonville Jaguars. I’ve lived in Jacksonville my whole life and I was 5 during the franchise’s inaugural season, so I don’t really have sports memories from before the team’s existence. Some of my earliest memories are going to Jaguars games and my family had season tickets for nearly every season. This is the one team I am super die-hard passionate about. Duuuval!

NBA - Orlando Magic. They’re the closest regional team and have had a lot of success mixed in with the down years. Following their run to the 2009 NBA Finals was one of my favorite sports years and that team just was special. I truly think they helped revolutionize the NBA into what it is today with their 3-point shooting. I have a hard time watching them these days, and have maybe caught 4-5 games at most this year. Still, growing up watching Penny and Shaq and then T-Mac was pretty awesome.

NHL - Winnipeg Jets. This might seem random but there’s actually logic to it. I got into hockey really hardcore during last year’s playoffs. I instantly became hooked with the Nashville Predators after they swept the Blackhawks and loved the passion surrounding the team. But after they made the Stanley Cup Finals, I felt like I’d be a bandwagon fan if I continued fheering for them. Around the same time, Jacksonville received a minor league affiliate of the Hets. The Jets seemed a lot like the Jaguars: A young team that was on the rise but not quite there yet, so I latched on to them. And so far they’ve had a really fun season. I can’t wait for the playoffs to start.

MLB - Atlanta Braves. I don’t follow baseball much anymore, but growing up I loved the Braves. Why? 1. I’m from the South. 2. They were on TBS every night. 3. Chipper Jones, Gred Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz.

College - North Carolina and Florida. I’m very casual about both teams, and am most passionate about my alma mater’s - the University of North Florida - basketball team. But my dad, brother and sister all went to UNC, so I was raised to hate Duke. Most of my wife’s family went to Florida, and some players I’ve covered as a sports writer play there, so I root for them too. The Gators were also my team growing up, but I fell out of love with them because I felt Irban Meyer was super sleazy.

[Big Nick Dudley]

I never understood caring about teams outside of your personal area. I love Detroit teams and MSU, and have a strong hatred for Michigan.

[A11]

Well I have tried and I can't for the life of me figure out what the hell cricket is, so consider us even.


So you have the playing field and then in the middle is what is not as the pitch. At each end of the pitch you have a set of wickets (think of this as the strike zone). You have two teams of 11 players (generally teams are made up of a balanced lineup of 5 batsmen, a wicketkeeper, an all-rounder who is skilled in both batting & bowling and 4 bowlers) on top of this you can have substitute fielders who can come on when a team member needs a rest, to use the toilet or is injured.
There are three forms of cricket, two are limited overs and the other is known as Test cricket. T20 (Twenty Twenty), each team bats for twenty overs (an over is six balls bowled by the bowler) and the team with most runs wins. One Day cricket is similar in nature to Twenty20 cricket but its 50 overs for each team instead. Test cricket is the original form of cricket and as such is the most prestigious. Test cricket is a five day contest, each day consists of 90 overs (captains can be fined for slow over rates by the ICC) and each team bats twice. At the end of the five days if both teams have not been dismissed twice the game will be a draw regardless of how far in front one team is in front of the other. There is no limit on how long an innings can last in test cricket, it is only over when 10 batsmen have gone out or the captain of the batting team declares the innings over believing they have enough runs scored.
Scoring is rather simple. The batsmen (there are two batsmen at a time) can hit the ball anywhere they please, they must then run to the other end of the pitch and that counts for one run. If the ball makes it to the boundary rope without bouncing (a home run basically) it is worth 6 runs. If it makes it to the boundary it on the bounce it is worth 4. If the bowler bowls an illegal deliveries (a no ball for overstepping the mark, or bowling it wide on the pitch) the batting team will be awarded a run and the bowler will have to bowl the delivery again.
The bowler aims to dismiss the batter. This can be done multiple ways. He can bowl them out by hitting the wickets (the strike zone), get caught out (like baseball), ran out by the ball being fielded and thrown into the stumps before a batter can complete a run or they can be stumped which is where the batter charges down the pitch to hit the ball, misses it and the wicketkeeper takes the ball and hits it into the stumps before the batter gets back to his mark.

Simple yeah? Cant be anymore complicated than NFL where you guys dont even know what a catch is ffs

[King Patrick Star]

For me, it was a combination of my Dad choices in teams, and where I'm from, South Jersey. My favorite teams are the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Sixers, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Philadelphia Flyers.

[SSJPhenom]

As most people here know, I'm a huge basketball fan. I was raised in KY everyone I knew and their mothers were UK Wildcats fans. So I started watching basketball at a young age and liked it instantly. I started playing basketball in 6th grade and was pretty terrible because I was smaller and honestly afraid of getting hit. So, I was lucky if I played at all when I first started. What turned it around for me was after my 7th grade season ended in Feb. 2001 I was pretty down on myself thinking that I was too small to be good. One day, during P.E. in late May, our teacher had us watch a video. It was of the Sixers/Raptors playoff game where Iverson and Vince Carter both went crazy. That game changed my life. I watched Iverson, the smallest guy on the court go out and out play, out hustle, and out heart everybody and from that day on he's been my basketball hero and I've been an NBA junkie. After that I became a better player because I tried to play like Iverson and I got pretty damn good too.

So I've never really had a team, I've always just had a favorite player who'd I root for. It went from Iverson, to Nash, to now CP3. I root for whichever team they're on because I've never lived in an NBA city. I'd like to one day though.

[Fire Marshall Bill]

Chicago. For the most part.

Bears. Though Iâ??m odd with the NFL. Between family and friends Iâ??ve picked up hopefuls. Pats, Lions and Browns.
Baseball - Cubs. Never met a White Sox fan. Not sure how they fill their stadium. Hard to not like the Indians. Major League is literally one of my favorite 80â??s movies.
Hawks - Havenâ??t kept up well enough. Glad theyâ??re doing as well as they have been though. Hockey is stupidly underrated.
Bulls - Used to love basketball, but the culture has changed so much I have a hard time handling it.