Undying fan loyalty? Why?

[NoChance]

Good example.

I grew up in Wisconsin, moved to Minnesota to work, and just last year moved to Arizona.

I grew up liking the Steelers, Chargers, Pirates, Padres, and Lakers for major sports. I liked Pittsburgh and Michigan for college sports.

Today I still like the Steelers and Chargers. I will root for both but the Steelers are by far my favorite if they play heads up. I no longer like the Pirates. I switched to San Francisco when Bonds was traded. I still like the Padres the same but SF is my top team. I loved Kareem, Johnson, Worthy....but now absolutely HATE the Lakers. Shaq and Kobe ruined it for me. I can't stand either of them. I no longer have a favorite team but I do root for players I like. I root for Pit in college now but could care less for Michigan.

Is this wrong? I think when you are a child you can root for different reasons than when you are an adult.

My biggest passion is obviously the Steelers. That will never change. As for the rest, I think having a baseball card / sports card business while in High School and College had a lot to do with me following players "moreso" than "teams". In my case that makes perfect sense but I doubt anyone would understand that.

[Green Kool Aid]

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I dunno, I just don't see any point in being, like, a Pirates fan right now.

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jack...im a celtics fan, i was 0 when the celtics won a championship. im convinced that in paul pierces contract year (2007-2008), which will also be al jeffersons fourth year---that the Celtics will win the NBA championship. is this delusional, yes. but will it be unbelievably more exciting for me when they make a good playoff run because i watched 75 out of this years 82 game abomination? yes.

im actually dreading them becoming popular if they start to win, because i feel it will drain my individuality.

[holeplug]

I don't really think it matters who you root for as long as you stick with them and don't jump around from team to team if "your" team is sucking at the moment.

[MEbenhoe]

how many OSU basketball fans do you think there will be next year?

[Jack of Arcades]

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I don't really think it matters who you root for as long as you stick with them and don't jump around from team to team if "your" team is sucking at the moment.

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But why? Let's stick with the Pirates, who make [censored] move after [censored] move. Why would you keep supporting that?

[Force1]

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I don't really think it matters who you root for as long as you stick with them and don't jump around from team to team if "your" team is sucking at the moment.

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But why? Let's stick with the Pirates, who make [censored] move after [censored] move. Why would you keep supporting that?

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Because over time you devolop a 'bond' with your team. You feel the agony of losses and the excitement of wins. To me switching the team I do that with would be like cheating them. People invest to much time in teams to just switch cause they are doing bad. Its about the connection between me and the team not their W-L record.

[J.R.]

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I don't really think it matters who you root for as long as you stick with them and don't jump around from team to team if "your" team is sucking at the moment.

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But why? Let's stick with the Pirates, who make [censored] move after [censored] move. Why would you keep supporting that?

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whether logical or not, most fans are able to reconcile supporting their team while despising its management. For example:

[New001]

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I don't really think it matters who you root for as long as you stick with them and don't jump around from team to team if "your" team is sucking at the moment.

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But why? Let's stick with the Pirates, who make [censored] move after [censored] move. Why would you keep supporting that?

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Think of it as supporting the troops while protesting the war.

[CrazyPsycho]

I grew up in between Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. My family is all Sabres/Bills fans, so I naturally joined on board. Since there was no baseball team in Buffalo, and since I wouldn't root for a Pittsburgh or Cleveland teams(based on them being Bills rivals), I ended up following the Braves because they were on TV all the time, and it was the year they came from worst to first.

I don't think you should ever follow a team just because they are local. You need to have some emotional connection that keeps you around(easy in hockey and baseball because they play so often, you can see their highs and lows). I loathe people who only follow teams when they are going well(this happens alot in the Buffalo area). You don't get any satisfaction out of following a winner. It's building a winner which makes it so much fun(Braves, Sabres).

[Zurvan]

I follow the Leafs religiously. I grew up near Toronto, I now live in Toronto, and most people I know are Leafs fans, even the people who never watch hockey. I have a connection with the team, because I watch 80 games a year, I watch every move they make, and just want them to win. When they do finally win, it will be great.

I'm also a Blue Jays & Raptors fan, because they're the local teams. I'm not big fans of the sports at all, so I do only watch when they're winning. The only time I find those sports entertaining is when "my" team is doing well. Needless to say, I don't watch a lot of basketball, or baseball after July [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

As for football, I don't really have a team. I do enjoy watching the game a lot more than baseball or basketball, so I tend to just watch whatever is on. If given a choice, I watch a good team. Recently it's been the Colts, because they're fun to watch, but I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a Colts fan, because as soon as they start losing, I'll pick somebody else.

I think geography is a good reason to cheer for a team, because that way you can enjoy it with your friends who also like that team. It gives you someone to complain with when they do something stupid, and someone to be happy with when they win.