Razgriz-Specter
Member
Similar to me, I was more for the Cowboys and Saints before that.
Now its not even close. Patriots are my favorite by far but I do still like the Saints.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Sports fans of teams from other cities (that they aren't from)
- Thread starter Switch Back 9
- Start date
- Status
Similar to me, I was more for the Cowboys and Saints before that.
Now its not even close. Patriots are my favorite by far but I do still like the Saints.
Lots of kids like a certain player not on their home team growing up and will stick with that team long after that player is gone.
Some people like to bandwagon(Boston did just win the cup a couple years ago).
Some people like to troll and will cheer for whoever is playing the home team.
Some like to always go against the norm so they go with a team that isn't "mainstream". You see this all the time with music but people do this with sports sometimes too.
Some people like to bandwagon(Boston did just win the cup a couple years ago).
Some people like to troll and will cheer for whoever is playing the home team.
Some like to always go against the norm so they go with a team that isn't "mainstream". You see this all the time with music but people do this with sports sometimes too.
It does seem so when I watch the Indians home games...
Can you describe what the problem is, specifically? Why is rational to root for the team which happens to be located in an area near you?
I understand that it's the norm, but being normal doesn't make it more (or less) rational.
I'm sure people from Cleveland think you're nuts too!
I was living close to LA when I got into sports. Been following the Lakers ever since, they were my first love. For baseball I'm an Angels guy(Disney ties and growing up my dad worked for Disney).
LA never had a football team when I lived there. I am a Packers fan due to family ties.
For soccer I bandwagon Swansea, Borussia Dortmund, and Man City(because why the hell not?!)
Opiate: I assume it is because the "home team" represents your area and is a way to give you pride in your locale.
UberTag
Member
It stands to reason. Europe is far enough away from Cleveland to not understand why nobody cheers for teams in Cleveland.
The Awesomest
Member
Because rooting for a losing team year after year builds character! It's why I've never been able to follow the Sounders despite them being the home team and me being loyal to home teams. They win too much. Also soccer doesn't entertain me that much but eh
Allforce
Member
You have to remember to that there are a HUGE population of older fans who grew up without any sort of cable. No ESPN, no national sports news. Back then you read the paper and got your box scores and maybe once a week you had a game on the TV. Which for baseball was often the Yankees or the Reds back in the 70's. Football was the Cowboys or the Steelers (Or Notre Dame).
So you got kids growing up in the 70's who's only exposure to the sports were watching Staubach and the Cowboys on a Sunday afternoon on the "Game of the Week". Or Johnny Bench and the Big Red Machine taking on whoever on Saturday night. Basically you took what you got and you liked it.
I grew up in Northwest Ohio about an hour from Detroit so all my teams are from that area (Wings, Pistons, Tigers, UM). I liked the Browns and Lions for years but I mainly follow the Lions anymore. It just was what was on TV growing up.
So you got kids growing up in the 70's who's only exposure to the sports were watching Staubach and the Cowboys on a Sunday afternoon on the "Game of the Week". Or Johnny Bench and the Big Red Machine taking on whoever on Saturday night. Basically you took what you got and you liked it.
I grew up in Northwest Ohio about an hour from Detroit so all my teams are from that area (Wings, Pistons, Tigers, UM). I liked the Browns and Lions for years but I mainly follow the Lions anymore. It just was what was on TV growing up.
Terareflection
Member
Kinda the norm in Oklahoma, for some reason a lot of people are Miami Heat fans.
I'm from Toronto and originally from Germany (near Dortmund). I picked up association football two years ago and began watching the Bundesliga and chose between Bayern and Dortmund. While Dortmund was actually closer to where I used to live, i chose Bayern over them because of the players and because of their kits (
Being from Toronto, I'm very used to heartbreaks. I gave up the NBA (it became boring to me) and with that the Raptors. I am following Toronto FC and feel disappointed at least once a week. Hockey is boring to me, so there's that.
oneils
Member
I can totally understand why some TO hockey fans don't want to support the leafs. Insanely high ticket prices for no results. Why put up with that shit?
I think those fans are just tired of being taken for granted and have decided to root for another team. I'm sure lots of other posters have explained this, just haven't finished reading yet.
I think those fans are just tired of being taken for granted and have decided to root for another team. I'm sure lots of other posters have explained this, just haven't finished reading yet.
MLSE is notorious for charging an arm and leg for ticket prices. They are also notorious for owning teams that make poor management decisions that lead to constant failures. See: Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC. Toronto FC had absolutely no success since its inception, yet ticket prices went up every single year. People are sick and tired of supporting a losing team for more than half a decade. Die hard fans aren't showing up anymore and the stadium is becoming more empty as the weeks pass by. Fuck MLSE.
That's an extreme example to illustrate my point, yes.
TL;DR - Born & raised in Miami; fan of local teams since 1988. Also ended up being a fan of several other city's teams.
------
My overall point still stands though. I live in Miami now, born and raised. I follow a lot of sports, but lets stick to hockey here. Growing up, there was no local team, so when I could actually watch a game I would. I ended up following the Penguins the most, mostly because of Lemieux. Finally, a somewhat local team shows up in the Tampa Bay Lightning in '92, so I start following them since I can more easily watch their games. The Panthers come to town a year later, but I do the sports team thing and more or less stick to mostly watching "my team", although I did watch the Panthers often enough.
Then came 1996, the Year of the Rat. That year, I still rooted for the Lightning. All the way up until the Panthers were in the playoffs and I was lucky enough to get tickets to a game. I was there twirling plastic rats with everyone else. I still have two of them in my closet as souvenirs. Hell, I still remember staying up to watch their refusal to go down easy to a sweep to the Avalanche in 3 OTs in Game 4 of the Finals.
Since then? I follow them both. Push comes to shove, I'll say I'm a Lightning fan, but really for no other reason other than they were first. And realistically? Aside from the Lightning's recent run, and the Panthers surprising everyone last year, there hasn't been much to follow for the last 15 years. I was rooting for the Canucks at some point there.
I can get into other examples. I've been a Heat fan since the Timmy Hardaway days, but I lived in Sacramento when Bibby and Webber were giving the Lakers headaches. The Dolphins are my team, but they've been an increasing disappointment my entire life. Marino never got the ring he deserved, and it's been woeful since. I made do by enjoying teams like the Steelers and Ravens with their hard-nosed style of football over the years.
------
TL;DR End
So, at many times in my life as a sports fan, I find myself rooting for another team that's not "mine". But then,
Now I'm not singling out Jitters here, more that I'm pointing out that this is a common sentiment among sports fans. "You live with the team, you die with the team." If you show anything other than unyielding loyalty, you're seen as somehow a lesser fan.
Since my first example was extreme and sucked, here's an actual recent example. I mentioned to some co-workers that as much as I'm supposed to hate the Celtics as a Heat fan, part of me was rooting for them in the first round against the Knicks. Watching that old guard put up a hell of a fight and go down swinging in the last few games was admirable and inspiring to watch, rival team or not. The Bulls' infirmary squad gets a similar sort of admiration from me. Of course, the look of disbelief on everyone's faces as I said that was interesting, to say the least.
oneils
Member
I had to google New York Red Bulls.
I thought that maybe you were a very confused Englishman mixing up the New York Rangers, Washington Redskins and Chicago Bulls. Lol!
Yeah, seriously. Not sure why a Leafs fan is surprised that people are jumping ship. Everything about MLSE seems terrible to me.
sazabirules
Unconfirmed Member
Why? Because they always pick the top teams?
joeygreco1985
Member
I was born in Toronto so I pull for the Leafs, Jays, and TFC. When it comes to the NFL I've been pulling for the Saints and Patriots mostly because I like a lot of the players on both teams and they're entertaining to watch.
Fucking this.
Fucking this.
I think the concept that one can only be a fan of the team in the city they are currently residing (because.... people move) or were born in is absolutely moronic.
So sports fans arent fans of the actual players? They don't like this goalie, or that pitcher, or this coach and his coaching style? They don't like the history/lineage/story of a team, they don't favor the way a team plays, or the way an organization is run. Not the front office, or any of that.... They simply only care for the city the team is from?
That's absolutely stupid. Especially when most sports have teams that can actually MOVE from city to city. I mean.... Assuming Seattle gets the Kings, will all Supersonics fans that cheer for them automatically be band-wagoners because they don't CURRENTLY cheer for the Sacramento Kings?
As someone who looks at how the teams are run, and how they are started and move around, the entire idea is moronic to me. Enjoy the sport for the sport. And if you want to like it because of the city a team is in, then thats a bonus, but its not a requirement. Make no mistake, the 'bandwagoning' thing is just something salty fans of losing teams use as a battering ram against people that don't like the team they do (as evidenced by the fact that noone cares about these fans of other cities teams as long as those teams are losing). I know a KC born and bred Browns fan, and noone cares because the Browns lose. But every KC Patriots fan? Chiefs fans HATE them.
So sports fans arent fans of the actual players? They don't like this goalie, or that pitcher, or this coach and his coaching style? They don't like the history/lineage/story of a team, they don't favor the way a team plays, or the way an organization is run. Not the front office, or any of that.... They simply only care for the city the team is from?
That's absolutely stupid. Especially when most sports have teams that can actually MOVE from city to city. I mean.... Assuming Seattle gets the Kings, will all Supersonics fans that cheer for them automatically be band-wagoners because they don't CURRENTLY cheer for the Sacramento Kings?
As someone who looks at how the teams are run, and how they are started and move around, the entire idea is moronic to me. Enjoy the sport for the sport. And if you want to like it because of the city a team is in, then thats a bonus, but its not a requirement. Make no mistake, the 'bandwagoning' thing is just something salty fans of losing teams use as a battering ram against people that don't like the team they do (as evidenced by the fact that noone cares about these fans of other cities teams as long as those teams are losing). I know a KC born and bred Browns fan, and noone cares because the Browns lose. But every KC Patriots fan? Chiefs fans HATE them.
XiaNaphryz
LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
CountAntonius
Member
While I was into basketball(from 95-2005) I was a die hard Spurs fan even though I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I was always "That guy" who wore his Spurs jersey to school after they beat the Lakers. Good times.
My team was losing every year to the Jazz. I liked the Team colors in NBA Jam. That's honestly how it started lol.
My team was losing every year to the Jazz. I liked the Team colors in NBA Jam. That's honestly how it started lol.
I've been told this for being a Thunder fan. Usually its just a few morons, so its easy to ignore.
I am of the opinion that that is a stupid. People without local teams shouldn't have a team? People have to support their local team? Not forgetting of course you seem to be unaware of what a bandwagon actually is.
The worst offenders:
Red Sox
Yankees
Manchester United (around the world)
Liverpool (here in the US)
Dallas Cowboys
LA Lakers
Every team on that list is from a different city, so if you like more than one, you are almost certainly a frontrunner.
I know multiple people who were born and grew up in the bay area, but are Red Sox fans because they went to college in MA, or in one case because they interned at a company in Boston for the summer!
I also know multiple people who are fans of both the Yankees and Lakers. What the fuck...
Red Sox
Yankees
Manchester United (around the world)
Liverpool (here in the US)
Dallas Cowboys
LA Lakers
Every team on that list is from a different city, so if you like more than one, you are almost certainly a frontrunner.
I know multiple people who were born and grew up in the bay area, but are Red Sox fans because they went to college in MA, or in one case because they interned at a company in Boston for the summer!
I also know multiple people who are fans of both the Yankees and Lakers. What the fuck...
Lebron James is a fan of like four of the teams listed above
Basileus777
Member
I root for local teams in everything except American Football, where I've inherited the curse to be a Chiefs fan from my father. I don't really get rooting for teams you have no connection to via geography, family, or otherwise, at least once you become an adult.
One of the funniest things to me in college was that my main friend circle rooted for shit ass NFL teams. Titans for me, Raiders, Panthers, Bucs, Dolphins, Skins. Every Sunday we were miserable as hell. We spent more time rooting for draft position than rooting for wins lol.
Because the MLS is so widespread and awesome. Since there's no MLS teams in the entire fucking southeast (great job MLS!), rooting for an MLS team feels about as foreign to me as rooting for a European team.
CarpeDeezNutz
Member
Off topic but this reminds me of people who walk around campus with the sweater/shirt of another university. Maybe not the same since some people go to multiple schools but still it's kinda odd to me. As far as liking teams from other cities than your own that's strange to me as well. I'm not much of a sports fan though, I watch my local (DFW) teams sometimes for gambling and if my old man is.
My rooting is always based on whoever has Uconn players and whoever makes NY fans upset, Making Boston fans upset is a plus too but making NY fans upset is key (I live in New York).
So this year I'm rooting for
Miami heat because they have Ray Allen and Knicks and Cletic fans pissed.
Red sox cause nothing pisses off New York like Red sox winning. (2004 was glorious)
No clue what football team winning pisses New York fans the most. Some of the ones that would piss off New York fans like Patriots and Cowboys, I hate them just as much. But next year I hoping Tim Tebow have an MVP season. Plus Giant have Beatty so I can't hate them too much.
So this year I'm rooting for
Miami heat because they have Ray Allen and Knicks and Cletic fans pissed.
Red sox cause nothing pisses off New York like Red sox winning. (2004 was glorious)
No clue what football team winning pisses New York fans the most. Some of the ones that would piss off New York fans like Patriots and Cowboys, I hate them just as much. But next year I hoping Tim Tebow have an MVP season. Plus Giant have Beatty so I can't hate them too much.
I didn't wear shirts from other schools but I always felt like it was redundant to be wearing the shirt of the school I was currently at
I grew up playing hockey and love the sport, but I grew up in France and Seattle, so I got to choose whatever team I wanted. Red Wings because Yzerman, Shanahan, and Federov kicked ass. And Canucks because I actually got to see them play live.
Yeah I have two teams, so what? Give Seattle a team and maybe I'll only have one.
I guess I jumped on the Wings bandwagon in '96-97 when I first started playing hockey. Shoot me.
Yeah I have two teams, so what? Give Seattle a team and maybe I'll only have one.
I guess I jumped on the Wings bandwagon in '96-97 when I first started playing hockey. Shoot me.
Ace Harding
Member
Here in Philadelphia you sometimes come across Philly natives that are Cowboys fans. I'm pretty sure they do it just to piss everyone off.
Although they are usually older dudes that got into the Cowboys when they were "America's Team" and the Eagles sucked. So jerkdick fairweather fans.
Although they are usually older dudes that got into the Cowboys when they were "America's Team" and the Eagles sucked. So jerkdick fairweather fans.
José Mourinho
cocknose
As far as football is concerned from a Northern Ireland and R.O.I. point of view. The quality of our home leagues, particularly Northern Ireland, is so poor that a lot of people can't bring themselves to steadily follow their local team -- although my local team Glentoran F.C. won the Irish Cup this year. Half the players on these teams are just blokes who were in your school class or live in your street. Some of them are barely athletes! Any genuinely good players we produce end up in England and elsewhere. So the league is sort of doomed.
As such, the vast majority of people pick an English team since after all, the Premier League is arguably the most popular football league in the world. And with nothing tying most people to any particular side, it ends up that most people just choose a team for an arbitrary reason; kit colour, particular player, success. And as anybody from here can tell you, the most common teams that people support are the teams that have had some period of sustained success. Because as you can imagine, people picking teams with no ties to them aren't exactly chomping at the bit to support Crawley Town F.C.
Edit: I have a friend who is really in to NFL and he sort of got me interested. I decided I would try and follow a team next season. Since the football team I support, Chelsea, are a pretty successful side. I decided to follow a NFL side who aren't too hot. My friend recommended Jacksonville Jaguars. So I'll see how that pans out.
As such, the vast majority of people pick an English team since after all, the Premier League is arguably the most popular football league in the world. And with nothing tying most people to any particular side, it ends up that most people just choose a team for an arbitrary reason; kit colour, particular player, success. And as anybody from here can tell you, the most common teams that people support are the teams that have had some period of sustained success. Because as you can imagine, people picking teams with no ties to them aren't exactly chomping at the bit to support Crawley Town F.C.
Edit: I have a friend who is really in to NFL and he sort of got me interested. I decided I would try and follow a team next season. Since the football team I support, Chelsea, are a pretty successful side. I decided to follow a NFL side who aren't too hot. My friend recommended Jacksonville Jaguars. So I'll see how that pans out.
FUBAR McDangles
Member
As a Minnesotan, when I was young, I really liked the color combination of blue and white. So the Indianapolis Colts and Duke Lacrosse team caught my eye.
I've been a Colts fan for pretty much my entire life. Last year, watching Luck do pretty well, I realized I was not having as much fun as I used to. Over the years I pretty much became a fan of Peyton Manning. Last year my fandom for the Colts died out and my Manning love did not carry over to Denver. I joined the bandwagon of my home state Minnesota Vikings late last season.
I'm still a Duke lacrosse fan. I cheer for them and watch as much as I can. The only D1 program west of like Notre Dame is Denver, and I'm not a big fan. Gotta go with either Duke or Syracuse.
Wild fan since I started watching hockey. I don't watch basketball or baseball.
I've been a Colts fan for pretty much my entire life. Last year, watching Luck do pretty well, I realized I was not having as much fun as I used to. Over the years I pretty much became a fan of Peyton Manning. Last year my fandom for the Colts died out and my Manning love did not carry over to Denver. I joined the bandwagon of my home state Minnesota Vikings late last season.
I'm still a Duke lacrosse fan. I cheer for them and watch as much as I can. The only D1 program west of like Notre Dame is Denver, and I'm not a big fan. Gotta go with either Duke or Syracuse.
Wild fan since I started watching hockey. I don't watch basketball or baseball.
gross.
I know nothing about hockey but how were the Red Wings doing in '96-'97?
in 96 they lost to the avalanche in the third playoff round it was increadible :-D
The thing I don't get is why people have connections to the team as if it's theirs. All the players are from all over the country/world and don't give a shit about the region you're from, hell, some don't even live in the state they play for. I could see if like there was a player from your town and he hit it big in the local pro league, but there nothing like that. It's a business, and you are the consumer.
Aren't most of the Bruins from canada anyways?
Aren't most of the Bruins from canada anyways?
- Status