do you root for favorite or underdogs? and why?

[J.Brown]

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I root almost strictly for underdogs. its almost pathological, to the point where i am pretty sure i wouldn't like the OP in person after reading this post.

seriously how could any non new yorker root for the yankees?
how could anyone root for jamie gold at the final table last year?

i know in 1992 i rooted for the dream team, but i was only 8, but i would never root for the American Olympic basketball today, and would be upset if anyone i knew overtly supported them. other American Olympic events would mostly be ok though, if you are a citizen. i'll give people a pass for the home team since there isn't much you can do about that.

a big one for me is rooting for Phil Ivey in a cash game or tournament? its like rooting for Bill Gates or Warren Buffet to do better at their jobs so they make more money. that one i don't even get rooting at all, let alone rooting for the rich and famous guy for whom the win doesn't even matter.

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] the Royals!

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we would get along in real life, i guarantee...... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
i get along with everyone and it would be a good source of friendly betting with us (you getting alot of 10-1 shots at me and all the favorties!!)

thank you for the input on this, it is really puzzling to me why i am like this and totally understand why people pull for the underdogs, it does make sense.

great example with the dream team in 92. i might not root for them today either, but i am not sure, i also might root for them to win every game by 80. lord knows we don't have to worry about u.s. basketball dominating anymore.

i am not a yankees fan, but i grew up in an area with no local pro sports, so you had to pick a team or teams to root for. everyone usually picked the great teams or the ones on t.v. all the time. maybe that is partially to blame.

well i am off to root for tiger to win his 3rd british open.

later. J.

[Yeti]

j brown, i am like you, i will always root for tiger, federer, etc etc. i realise that mainly we're doing this because they are so great we want to see them achieve incredible things, but personality is playing a HUGE part here. i'm not gonna root for a complete jackass even if he's the greatest of alltime.

[MicroBob]

I've thought about this before actually because I'm very much in the underdog camp and always have been and I could just never understand the mentality of many of the fans who are so much in the camp of the extreme favorites unless they had always grown up watching that team or something.

I think my underdog-leanings are practically why I used to like to drink RC Cola as a kid instead of Coke or Pepsi (although 'just to be different' was also a consideration too I think).

I've always viewed myself as an underdog as kind of a personal movitator I guess. Like I have to 'work harder' with less talent just to have any chance of competing with all the more talented types.

This would also have a lot to do with the fact that I was extremely small as a kid (and am not exactly a giant now).

I grew up in the Cincinnati area and cheered for Miami (Ohio) University sports mostly (as well as the Reds and Bengals).
So when Miami would play #8 ranked LSU in football and pull off a win it was a huge upset (the Sports Illustrated upset of the year in 1986) and when I was with them in 1999 as a 10 seed in the basketball tournament and they upset #2 seed Utah to go to the Sweet 16 it was a big big deal for all of us.

Miami is not likely to ever win any national championships in football or basketball (although it's entirely possible in hockey actually) but it somehow feels more sweet when they win compared to a lot of people I know who are big Ohio State fans and just get to cheer over and over again that they beat yet another team 49-7 or something.

I just never really understood the joy in cheering that hard for an extreme favorite like an Ohio State when you pretty much KNEW they were going to win by 28 points or more.
Meh, seems really boring to me to get to do that all the time.

Similar feeling I think to when Miami would play some D-3 program early in the season like Marietta College or something and would win 95-40.
Geez, it's not even a game and it's certainly nothing to get excited about.

[guids]

I root for teh favorites also, unless the guy is just a super duper underdog. Id root for Tiger, in tiger vs 2nd place golfer, but Id root for an average dude in average dude vs Tiger.

[wmonfor]

if its a team i follow, i root for them favorite or not.

if its just a big thing that i have no emotional stake in, i root for the underdog.

[Dazarath]

I always root for the favorite because I hate how the underdogs get all smug when they win. Or it's like if a friend likes some [censored] team, and year after year they suck, but finally one year they do well, you know the friend's going to be up in your face about how they "knew" that team would do well. No they didn't. They "knew" it would do well every year, it's just that they finally managed to guess right this time. I hate that [censored].