Comments on: Why do you root for those guys? You’ve never lived there!

By: loungefly74

loungefly74 — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:34:55 +0000

grew up in norcal…my teams are the SF giants, LA lakers, and SF 49ers. but…before i knew anything about sports, i liked the red sox and the broncos as well…why? i dont know exactly…maybe because i thought the “B” on their hat was cool and thought Fenway was just the weirdest coolest looking park ever…and my friend convinced me elway was a god. I’m embarrassed for that.

By: anybodyinhere

anybodyinhere — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:14:25 +0000

Kind of an interesting dynamic here in Baltimore. When the Colts tucked tail and ran, fans here gravitated towards the ‘Skins, Eagles, and Steelers, depending on whether they lived north, west, or south of the city. Many could not buy into Baltimore doing unto another city that was done unto us, so some of those loyalties remain (though I believe a greater percentage of Steelers fans did not embrace the new home team. I’m guessing that has a lot to do with the rivalry that used to exist between Pitt and Cleveland, but there is that element of bandwagon fans as well.)

I also think there’s an element of people identifying with the fan base that comes into play as well. Want to identify with threatening psychos, be a Raiders fan. Want to be a down-to-earth small town guy, be a Packers fan. Want to be someone who thinks people are afraid of yellow dish towels, be a Steelers fan…

By: Angry Orange Man

Angry Orange Man — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:44:30 +0000

There are a myriad of reasons people root for teams outside their area. I assume that mainly it is front running because a lot of people who like teams away from them like the Yankees, Cowboys, Bulls, Niners, Steelers, Lakers etc.

On the other hand I am a NYG and NYY fan and root for the Cubs and Dolphins in the NL and AFC. Cubs because they suck so bad and had players I liked in the late 90′s and the Dolphins whom my Uncle likes and had Dan Marino who was in Ace Ventura in the late 90′s.

By: agelardi

agelardi — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:50:04 +0000

My situation may be even weirder. I grew up in New York City and none of my childhood friends & I rooted for the local football teams. I’m a Dolphins fan as was 1 other friend, I was friends with 3 brothers who were Redskins fans, knew 1 Eagles fan and 1 Cowboys fan. All of us born & raised in NYC.

I can’t speak for the others but, growing up in the 80′s, the Jets stunk and Marino to the Marks brothers was amazing to watch. Plus I really liked the Miami uniforms as a kid. I have to admit, the Giants were/are my secondary team to root for. While I don’t live & die by Giants loses, I am glad when they win.

By: denny65

denny65 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:16:00 +0000

I root for the Mariners because, hey, they’re the closest thing we have to professional baseball here in Alaska.

(Although truthfully I’ve never computed the mileage to Japan. Oh well, I don’t speak Japanese, anyway.)

By: growler32

growler32 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:03:00 +0000

Remember the 2008 Lions. I do. But I will always bleed Honolulu Blue. Finally something to cheer for. If I recall your team made it to the promised land. Also, all of you Michigan born and bread Packers fans make me angry. I mean the ones in Lower Peninsula.

By: growler32

growler32 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:22:54 +0000

I’m sure he’s not talking about the network that makes most of its money from advertisements. He is just trying to say the Yankees have the largest payroll usually and they can’t get the job done. I love it when the Yankees lose.

By: bobdira

bobdira — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 01:26:51 +0000

Hello Apples? Meet Oranges. The television revenue is not part of the performance on the field is it? This is a business model about spending many times what your competitors spend for less in results, kinda like what you got out of your education.

Duh!!!!

By: localbandhero

localbandhero — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:34:16 +0000

My whole family hated the Cowboys when I was a small child. Naturally, I rooted for them just out of spite. 20 some odd years later, 1 playoff game win in about 18 years…and the Steeler fans still call me a bandwagoner. Pretty crappy wagon if you ask me.

Then the city of Dallas just grew on me, and I root for all Dallas teams. Except baseball, I like the Indians simply because I live near Cleveland and can go see em 20+times a year.

By: umrguy42

umrguy42 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:21:44 +0000

I’m kinda the inverse of SmackSaw – growing up in St. Louis, I was a (football) Cardinals fan (or at least, I would’ve been if I hadn’t been like 7 and barely aware of football when they moved away) until they moved, and a Rams fan once they came (admittedly, more of a fan since the ’99 season when they won instead of being a laughingstock). Should the Rams leave, I will not have a rooting interest most likely until / unless STL gets another team. (My fandom for most players runs the same way.)

By: umrguy42

umrguy42 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:16:09 +0000

78mu, my personal theory is that all Cubs fans are masochists. It explains so much.

By: deathmonkey41

deathmonkey41 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:46:09 +0000

I’m a Yankees and Devil’s fan because I grew up in North Jersey almost smack dab between the two stadiums, but I’m also a Rams fan in the NFL (yes, I know they are awful). Not to date myself, but I was actually an L.A. Rams fan.

By: nes125

nes125 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:32:19 +0000

Its a “horrible business model”? Oh boy…..is that why the YES network is worth around 3 billions dollars?

Dont get me wrong, other teams have valuable TV networks too, but to say that its a horrible business model is short-sighted at best.

By: saintssince8

saintssince8 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:53:57 +0000

I am a Saints, Spurs and Astros fan…I grew up near New Orleans and have been a saints fan since I was 8 years old. Later in life I lived in San Antonio and lived there when the spurs won the championship in
’99. I also lived in Houston off and on for the past 20 yrs ’til moving to Missouri a year ago. I never grew up with hockey, but now that I am in Blues Territory, I will probably become a Blues fan eventually. One thing is for sure…once I pick a team as a favorite of mine, I stick with them. Even if I do not like your team, if you tell me that you have been a die hard for many years, I must respect that. To be a fair weather or frontrunner type fan, while you have that right, I believe you are cheating yourself out of being a true “dyed in the wool” fan…aka not a true fan. If you DO have a geographical connection, it means more to you than if not…

By: mjagosports511

mjagosports511 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:26:40 +0000

ive lived in NJ for my entire life, yet for some reason i love teams like the Orlando Magic, and USF Football…im a general Yankees, Jets fan but how those florida teams for there is a mystery to even me

By: cur68

cur68 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:26:11 +0000

So Godwin’s Law in 6 words is it? Dang, man. Did you read the article before you spouted out this wall of text or did you intend to intentionally invoke The Law to kill the discussion? I fail to see how you came up with all of this because neither George Vecsey or Craig Calcaterra demand that anyone do anything in any way shape or form. They’re recounting stories and inviting a chat about non-local sports interests. Jeez.

By: hcf95688

hcf95688 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:51:42 +0000

It’s OK for ME to pass judgement Gonzo, because I’m a superior person.

By: ta192

ta192 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:24:41 +0000

Oh, and I forgot to explain, I became an LSU fan in high school, and an Arkansas fan in college, while attending school at RIce. Later, I did tours at Yale and Florida, but it never changed my loyalties to LSU and Ark…just to further add to the confusion…

By: ta192

ta192 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:18:03 +0000

I’m one of those people. And my loyalties go back many years to before TV changed everything. My original rooting interests didn’t coalesce until the mid-50′s when the family moved out of DC to southern Florida. At that time, I became a fan of the LA Rams, the Cinncy Reds, the St Louis Hawks, and the LSU Tigers. Primarily it was the presence of one or more players that I really liked on these teams,, but it was more than that. Had that been the primary reason, I would have been a Bosox or Cardinal fan. There wasn’t then and there isn’t now anyone I liked better than Ted Williams, and Stan Musial was a close second. It had something to do with how they played the game and how much entertainment value the teams brought to the table. Later, I added the Oakland Raiders and the Arkansas Razorbacks (not much later) and that’s pretty much my rooting lineup circa 1963. It seemed that geography had absolutely nothing to do about it, but when the franchise moves came along, with the Rams and Hawks moving, I lost interest in them. My ardor for the Raiders even cooled when they moved to LA and hasn’t really come back to original levels since they went back to Oakland. So there, figure it out, I never have, but I’ve never felt the need to. I just root for who I like, and screw anyone that doesn’t think it’s appropriate…

By: edog623

edog623 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:33:46 +0000

that’s funny. there aren’t any islander fans

By: RickyB

RickyB — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:24:06 +0000

I grew up just outside the Chicago city limits, and rooted for the Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks. But baseball, while I like both the Cubs and White Sox, I am a Yankee fan. When people ask me how I ended up that way, I simply tell them, “My dad raised me right.” Not a bandwagon thing, though the Yanks did win the Series when I was 6 and 7. Granted I was 25 by the time they won it again, so much of the first quarter century of my life was spent rooting for a team that gave me great heartache, which I know is hard to believe these days.

By: jdd428

jdd428 — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:53:14 +0000

Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, I grew up a WSox/Bears/Blackhawks/Bulls (not a big NBA guy though) fan. But as I grew up, I detached from all but the White Sox. … In the late 80s/early 90s I became a big fan of Warren Moon & the run-n-gun Houston Oilers and grew indifferent about the Bears ever since. When Moon left the Oilers, I changed as well – latching on to the newly christened Carolina Panthers, and they have held my allegiance ever since. Around that same time, I also began admiring Pavel Bure and the Vancouver Canucks (cursed 94 Rangers!) and have remained a Canucklehead to this day (cursed 11 Bruins!) – but I wish they’d stop trashing the city when they lose in the finals.

By: raftershostmom

raftershostmom — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:40:05 +0000

I was born and raised in Youngstown, OH…south of Cleveland and slightly northwest of Pittsburgh. My family was always a fan of the Steelers. Had more to do with the fact that many generations of my family worked in the valley steel mills rather than the fact the the Cleveland Browns just stink. But when it came to baseball, the Cleveland Indians were all I cared about.

Now I live in central Wisconsin. My closet is full of Indians and Steelers T-shirts and jerseys. Doesn’t make me very comfortable living here surrounded by cheeseheads but, having been raised in Youngstown, I’m holding my own.

By: yahmule

yahmule — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:00:47 +0000

Frank Miller’s historical misinterpretations make us all dumber.

By: mattjerr

mattjerr — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:28:30 +0000

George is an Aye Hole. If never lived in LA, but why shouldn’t I be a diehard Clippers fan?

By: mgflolox

mgflolox — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:16:44 +0000

I’m from the East Bay, so I’ve always been a fan of the A’s, Raiders & Warriors going back to the early ’70′s. Certain teams come along once in a while that have players that are so much fun to watch (mid-90′s Mariners and Indians come to mind), that I develop a definite fondness for them. But no matter what, I always come back to my local guys.

By: drewsylvania

drewsylvania — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:53:55 +0000

What skeleteeth said. CT is war territory.

By: Lucas

Lucas — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:34:12 +0000

Craig, I can do you one better…not only have I never been to an Atlanta Braves game (not in Atlanta anyway), I’ve never even BEEN to ATL and I’ve been a huge Braves fan since 1990 (essentially when they brought up David Justice, I just really, really liked him as a player, not to mention the fact that I watched them daily on TBS). I’m a Cubs fan by birth (North Chicago), I’m a Tigers fan by blood (mom went to the 1968 World Series even) and a Padres fan by location (because I’ve been stationed out here for almost 13 years now). I’m a Braves fan, and have been for 20+ years, and that’s all by choice.

And, yes, for those who think I’m a bandwagon jumper, that year they brought up Justice they were still horrible. It was the following year that they did that “worst-to-first” thing and made it to the WS.

By: offseasonblues

offseasonblues — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:11:03 +0000

Why do you root for those guys? is exactly the question I wanted to ask the owner of the car ahead of me on the highway a couple of days ago. The first bumper sticker I noticed was Packers. I checked the plates and they were the same as mine – NH. Ok, so maybe they moved here from Wisconsin. Then I looked at the other stickers: Penguins, Thunder, and NYY.

There’s got to be a story there.

By: tribester

tribester — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:52:58 +0000

There are also a fair number of Indians fans in the East Bay, because the Korean population started rooting for Choo and then moved to the whole team.