Why I cheer for this team

The sports board is one of the most passionate boards on TIB. I find some of the best discussions, posts and threads on this board, it also can make me quite annoyed. Obviously as sports fans some rivalry will take place their is no love between Yankees and Redsox fans anywhere, TIB included.

I was born in the Philadelphia suburbs and have cheered all four Philadelphia teams my whole life. One thing that has always deeply offended me is when I stumble on someone who is cheering for another team in a far off city, I ask them why and they say well I liked them when I was little. I just always liked them, I don't know why? Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, Barry Bonds was my favorite player when I was young. You my friend are a front runner. Pure and simple. Listen this may be a meaningless rant but when I see someone routing for the cowboys at a Philly sports bar because they liked Michael Irvin as a youth [/i](no seriously I even liked him at Miami dude!!) It really bugs me. I am not a typical philly asshole, I don't start fights with these people or call them names but a little razzing is in order.

I have great memories of watching the Phillies with my dad and uncles, vaguely remembering them going nuts in 1980. I have amazing pictures and memories of 2008 when my generation was treated to a series. Waking up at 7 a.m. with guys I went to high school with and have grown up watching the Phils (and having a partial package with) to go to the parade.

Every year my dad would take me and my two brothers to an Eagles game, we have stories about that going back to 1983. Not just about the game but about a lady who almost fell into the middle of The Linc because she was so drunk, thankfully my dad saved her. I fingered a 76ers dancing girl junior year of college. Countless memories of meeting players (Mike Quick in Atlantic City, John Runyan (who molested me) in San Diego, sitting at a strip club with John LeClair.

I have all this history and a very tight bond with numerous friends and family members about the Philly sports teams so can you see why (I liked them when they were little) is bothersome?

I have respect for the other cities as well. Every year we go see the phils in an away game and check out the city. Chicago is about as classy of a sports town as you will ever see. These guys are DIE HARD fans as well. Midwest girls are so friendly I thought they were joking. Point is when I see other fans like me who grew up with a team and supported them I respect it.

How hard is it for a guy who just happened to like the Celtics because they were good when he was little, how hard is it for him to see them lose a championship? His friends don't care, because he lives in Ohio, his family could care less, and it's not in the local media anywhere. The heartbreak of losing a championship is devastating (I'm a normal man so the most it does is make you in a bad mood) but it still is a terrible feeling all the way in your gut. When the Eagles lost to the Pats I didn't watch sportscenter for a week, that's a long time for me.

FOCUS: Why do you cheer for the team/teams you cheer for? What sort of etiquette if any should there be? I understand you can route for whomever you want but it still bothers me a little.


***** Please let's not get into hammering individual cities or groups of fans*******

 

NFL: My first team is the Bears, as I grew up in northwest Indiana, and saw nothing but Chicago media for years. In addition, I was born only a scant few years before the '85 Bears, and my childhood was spent riding the wave of Bears fans that came after that season. My secondary team is the Colts. Lived for a few years in Lafayette, which received the Indianapolis markets. Thanks to NFL rules, most of the time Bears games were unavailable to watch, so I had to watch someone and the Colts were the local team, so I started to watch and root for them. In addition, my wife is a big fan of the Colts, as she got really, really into football the year of the Colts/Bears superbowl (this is for reasons beyond football that I don't want to get into here). So NFC Bears, AFC Colts, and if they're both in the Superbowl, GO BEARS!

MLB: I am a White Sox fan. This is because my dad could get free tickets to White Sox games from his boss and took me too a few as a kid. Actually going to the games is the reason I am a fan. My parents, grandparents, and all of my brothers are Cubs fans, so I have a healthy respect for the Cubs and the pain their fan base deals with. I refuse to be one of those asshole White Sox fans that sees Chicago baseball as a zero-sum game, where the more the Cubs win, the worse the White Sox are, and vice versa. Bullshit. Again, a Cubs/White Sox would series would be ideal, and in that (very, very, very, very unlikely) case, I'd root for the White Sox.

College: Purdue. I'm an alumni. That's about it.

NBA: Bulls. Grew up in the era of Jordan, and for a few seasons watched every single game. After Jordan retired the 2nd time and left Chicago, I watched a couple of seasons, but their teams were just complete and total shit, and I sort of lost interest when I went away to college. I only follow them, and the NBA in general, in a pretty cursory manner, and I'll watch the playoffs to see how the Bulls do.

 

Same deal. Grew up in the Philly suburbs (born in California, but moved east when I was 3). There were other teams I rooted for growing up, but by around age 12-13 I was fully behind the home teams.

My personal pet peeve is adults who claim to be die-hard fans of multiple teams in the same professional league. The only possible excuse I can think of for rooting for multiple pro teams in the same sport is if you grow up in a city that doesn't have an (insert league) so you adopt an out-of-town team, then one day your city gets an expansion franchise or someone moves there. In that case I can understand rooting both for your city's new team as well as the team you've followed your whole life. Otherwise, unless you have a family member or close friend playing, no dice. College sports are a bit more lax--I don't have an issue with people rooting for multiple teams in the same sport as long as they follow the rule that their undergraduate alma mater takes precedence. After that, you can root for your local team, the team you rooted for before going to college, your grad school, a family member's school, whatever--as long as you get behind your own undergrad in case of a conflict. I don't care if you're my friend whose parents were both Villanova alums, had Nova courtside season tickets growing up, but ended up going to Harvard; if Harvard wins the Ivy League and ends up facing Nova in the first-roudn 2-15 matchup in the big dance, you better root for the upset.

 

I'm a die hard homer.

I've seen several Stanley Cup victories, and attended the parades. I've watched an NBA championship. I was at the game when Barry broke 2000 yards. I was at the game where Ernie made his farewell speech. I tried to go to playoff clinching Tigers games in '09, but they refused to let me enjoy myself. I have Tigers season tickets, and have had Lions season tickets in the past.

I've endured a few defeats in the Stanley Cup, an NBA Finals and a World Series, not to mention the 0-16 Lions, among all of their other horrible losing seasons. I've become a total recluse for a few days after each of the championship defeats, especially the Tigers in '06 and the one game playoff in '09.

I hate bandwagon fans. Both my friends who jump on random winning teams bandwagons, as well as randoms who jump on the local teams'. My neighbor growing up was a big Cowboys and Bulls fans, because they were the ones winning championships. It's bullshit.

In April 2006, one of my buddies came into my dorm when I was watching the Tigers games, and asked why I bothered watching them, as they were just going to have another shitty season. Well, guess who was a fan come September/October?

Other than rooting for my home teams, I root for certain players, but not teams so much. One exception is the Mariners. I liked them back when they had Griffey, A-Rodand the big unit. Griffey was one of my favorites because he was a badass left handed centerfielder, like myself. I liked the big unit because he was another dominant lefty. (That's what I looked for when I was 10). Nowadays they have Ichiro, who is truly one of the greats, and I love watching him play.

 

I grew up an hour west of Chicago in northern Illinois, so for the most part I am a Chicago sports fan. Growing up during the Jordan years, the Bulls were always my sports team of choice and basketball was my favorite sport growing up. I still remember the merchandise tents that would pop up all over town selling championship t-shirts every year. As for other sports:

MLB: I am actually a St. Louis Cardinals fan, its the one professional sport where my primary team is not a Chicago team. My uncle was a Cardinals fan, and he was my father figure as a young kid, so they're my team. One of my first memories is crying when they lost in 1985. I was pissed and brokenhearted in 2004 when they lost. And I was elated when they finally won in 2006. While geography would probably dictate me being a Cubs or White Sox fan, I think that can be trumped by your father (or uncle in my case) being a fan of a team from elsewhere.

In addition to the Cardinals, I cheer for the Rockies because I now live in Denver and try to go to as many games as I can, but I always cheer for the Cardinals when the teams play each other. In the AL, I'll cheer for the White Sox because Chicago will always have a piece of my heart, but nothing will equal my love for the Cardinals.

NFL: I'm a Bears fan. I don't really care about any other teams, and I only cheer for my fantasy players or good games if the Bears aren't playing.

NHL: I'm sure plenty of Canadians will mention hockey, so I might as well drop that I cheer for the Blackhawks to do well, and I was happy they won the Cup last year. That said, I barely care about hockey, so it only just barely registered as a sports event for me.

NCAA: First and foremost, I'm an Iowa Hawkeyes fan. I went there for undergrad, and I live and die with the team. I also root for Syracuse since I went there as well, but I am not nearly as passionate about them as I am Iowa. And when Iowa played Syracuse in football while I was attending Syracuse, I lost my voice from cheering for Iowa in the Carrier Dome.

Overall, I think geography generally should (and most of the time does) play a deciding role in who a person is a fan of. Certainly, if your father/uncle/whoever is a diehard fan of a team, they're within their rights to encourage you to root for their team. And you should suffer no blame or heckling from others for adopting their team as your own.

That said, I hate the douches and douchettes in the Midwest/West that wear fucking Red Sox gear (the Red Sox are not the only team worn, but they are the most prevalent team). I would guess that less than 5% fall into the honest inheritance of fandom, so 95% are just a bunch of bandwagon fans who suck as human beings. I can appreciate watching a team and trying to find a rooting interest in a game in which your team is not playing. I can appreciate taking up a local team if you move away from your team's local area as a secondary team. I can appreciate having a soft spot for guys who played for your college, and rooting for them and their team when your team is not playing. But just randomly picking a good team halfway across the country from you as your favorite team makes no sense to me. Where are the ties, how do you form an attachment to that team, why do you care? I cannot understand it.

 

I've seen it mentioned a couple times already, but I get a lot of crap for having two teams that I cheer for.

In the NFL, I'm for the Vikings and the Chargers, and MLB, the Twins and the Padres. Pretty simple explanation, really. I grew up in MN, then moved to San Diego for a long time. Besides which, there's rarely a conflict. Vikings are NFC, Chargers are AFC. Twins are AL, Pads are NL. On the few occasions my teams meet, I root for the MN team.

I don't get why people get so upset about it.

 

NHL
Red Wings all day. I grew up in Detroit so it only seems natural. More so than that though, I was born in Russia and the 1990s were the glory days of the Russian Five: Larionov, Fetisov, Fedorov, Kozlov, and Konstantinov. My entire family cried when we read about Konstantinov's car accident.

 

I'm a diehard Cubs fan. And I also hate them more than any other team.
I hate them because even though they are in one of the largest markets in the country, with access to more money to get better players, I've never ever even seen them in a World Series game. And I hate the fact that the fans reward them by buying their overpriced tickets and pack the stadium full for every game.
I hate their new ownership, and their shitty GM and President. Not only are they the worst evaluators of talent in the league, they compound it with long no-trade contracts.
I hate their left fielder who hasn't taken a direct route to a flyball or hustled since, well, since ever.
I already hate their new 1st baseman who we paid 10 million so he could attempt to repair his image and go somewhere else.
I hate every second baseman from Sandberg to whatever fuckbag mishmash platoon of Dewitt-Baker-insert another slow, no range having, noodle arm fuckstick we claim off of the waiver wire.
I hate their shitty Japanese right fielder who corkscrews into the ground every time he strikes out, and who hasn't got so much as a seeing eye single off of a left hander since Nagasaki was rebuilt.
I hate their new Alopecia having manager who got his job because he the other shitty manager had a sick mommy.
I hate their million dollar hitting coach who they got from Texas last year who did exactly nothing to make the team hit better thus proving we should have hired The actual BallPark at Arlington to coach our hitters.
I hate their shitty fucking bullpen who's full of guys (with exception of maybe one of them) that cannot for the life of them understand that to actually do well, you must know where the strike zone is. This includes their "All-American football star from Notre Dame" that can't throw a rosin bag for a strike who shoulda went to the NFL and suck there instead of blowing leads here.
I hate their starting pitchers as well, to include their idiot tantrum having "Ace" pitcher, their Harry Carey impersonating ginger pitcher from Canada, their 5 hole starter "Silva the Hutt" who eats more than a family of Fielder's, and their eight-headed palsy looking 4 hole starter we got from P-rats. And what about the 3 hole starter. Is there another starter in the league so bereft of talent? I'd love to hate him more, but I'm kind of impressed that he somehow made it to the big's without any actual pitching skills.
I hate their fat pot smoking catcher, who ironically can't his fat ass fat enough to block all the pitches in the dirt.
I also hate their MLB beat writer who's a fucking idiot that looks like a librarian and comes out with weekly question and answer sessions that highlight what moron our fan base is, and in turn what an idiot she is.
I hate their shitty men's bathrooms with steel troughs.
I hate their guest conductors of the stretch.
I hate their retarded "Go Cubs Go" song after one of their sparsely peppered wins in between losing streaks.

And finally I hate every fucking fan that holds up a sign that says "Its Gonna Happen" I hope those fans get drunk at the game and drive straight into a cancer abutment on the way home. And then I hope that the rest get run over by a CTA train.


About the only thing I don't hate is Marlon Byrd and Old Style.
Go Cubs.

 

What shegirl said.

It was Superbowl of 97' - Pats & GB, when I was in elementary school and Favre was kicking ass. Both me and a friend of mine had matching Green Bay coats, thought we were the shit, and that while tackle football wasn't allowed at recess; two-hand touch was for pussies. Always got caught by the duties. The rest is history and that's my cute story.

100%

 

You get passes in my book for any of the following:

1. A parent is from a certain area moved you out of the location but continued to cheer for the team and raised you on routing for them. When I meet Dallas fans in Philly and they tell me their Dad is from Texas they get a pass.

2. You were born in an area cheered for that team and then moved and became part of a new culture. If you moved from Philly when you were 14 to san diego, you are currently 30 years old and now cheer for the padres that is acceptable.

3. Your geographic location has no professional team near it. As Shegirl mentioned pick one and stick with it, it seems like people choose whomever is closest.

ALT-FOCUS:
Top Five Sports Cities: you must have a sport from every franchise

1. Philly (c'mon every homer should put themselves 1)
2. Chicago - as I said previously this is a great city. If you like baseball try and get yourself to Wrigley field at least once in your life. Walk next door to Hightops bar and enjoy all the sexy girls in Ryan Sandburg jerseys.

3. Boston- (If some idiot tells me that technically the Pats are not a Boston franchise I dare them to wear a Jet's jersey in south boston) Anyway awesome city and Fenway is a must
see. Bar's close at 1 which is a letdown but it's still a fun town.

4. Detroit- the city just has so much history. They also had Barry Sanders

5. NYC-personally the fact that they have so many teams kind of bothers me, I never understood the breakdown. If you like the giants you usually like the yankees, Jets and mets, ect....

 

NHL: I did the geographic thing and liked the Leafs when I was 5-10. Then I realized they sucked perennially, and I started to like the Avalanche. Then for a while I fell out of giving a shit about hockey. After the lockout however, I realized I missed it and really got into it. Just so happened that Crosby (from NS too) joined the Penguins, Mario now owned the team, we had an NHL centre ice package... So I was able to watch almost every game. It just grew on me, the Penguins have a great organization, great players, great fan-base, and a great future.

NFL: As I grew up in a Canadian hockey house, NFL was on TV ummmm never. Yea, never is the best way to describe the 5 seconds a year I saw it flip by as my father channel surfed past it. Anyway, I ended up being pressured into picking a team two years back. I went with the Chargers but I never really gave a shit. Win, lose, playoffs or not. I just owned a hat. Anyway, this season I made a commitment to take my time and look at the teams, start watching their play. See how their organization conducted themselves, etc. After watching some atrocious play, sportsmanship, and ownership of various teams I settled on the Falcons. I started with an open mind and slowly narrowed it down during the season. Last week it came down to the Falcons and the Eagles. Then (no offense Mike), I realized how much I fucking hated the Philthadelphia Flyers and realized I could never cheer for a team from the same city.

As for other leagues, I could care less for any other sports right now. Baseball is a sport that has bored me from a young, young age and Basketball I could never really get into as a fan despite playing for years.

 

OK, I'll bite.

Association Football (i.e. Not American Football): Arsenal F.C., Newcastle United F.C. (definite second to The Gunners) and Weymouth F.C. (dad's hometown club; my grandfather was a season-ticket holder for 30+ years). It's impossible to see a Weymouth F.C. match, since they barely have 1000 people in attendance and the matches are not televised. I've been an Arsenal fan since the first live match of theirs that I saw in 1996 - I think their opponents were Sheffield Wednesday. One guy was so much more skilled than the other players - Dennis Bergkamp. I was sad when he finally hung up his boots in 2006. I've always had a soft spot for Newcastle because they're always entertaining to watch and have the most passionate fans I've ever seen. Arsenal vs. Newcastle? Arsenal, every time. "One-nil to the Ar-se-nal".

Where I'm from, if you're White and you go to a live soccer match, you're liable to get mugged and/or killed. So, pass on that.

Rugby: Natal Sharks and the Springboks (national side). I've had friends play for the Sharks and been introduced to a few of their other players by my friends. Cool guys, and they're the local side. I wouldn't ever support any other franchise in S.A.. As for the Boks... well, no matter how much I hate some of the players (fuck you Adrian Jacobs you no-talent fuckface - double so because you play for the Sharks) and that muppet of a coach De Villiers, I'll still support the Boks. I'll also shout for England (except against the Boks; parental connection there) and Leeds in the Heineken Cup / Premiership (a friend of mine from school currently plays for them).

Golf: I'll usually stick around and watch some golf on the TV if Ernie Els, Retief Goosen or Tim Clark are playing. All three are from S.A. and Clark is from Umkomaas (about an hours drive away from Durban).

NFL: We got some NFL coverage here in the 1990s, but I guess I'll throw my hat in with the Green Bay Packers. I'm more a fan of a good game, though.

Formula One: McLaren and Williams, mostly due to the epic scraps they had in the 1980's and early 1990's involving Mansell (still my favourite driver) and Senna (always great to watch). I've always hated Ferrari so it seemed right to root for those two. Being a supporter of Williams now is like getting repeatedly kicked in the face by a Gulag guard with steel-toe-capped boots. They aren't really rivals with McLaren anymore.

WSBK/Moto GP: Ducati. Always. Regardless of who's on the bike. Such a lovely noise...

Cricket: Natal Dolphins and the Proteas. Dolphins are the local team (and, again,. I know a guy who plays for them) and the Proteas are the national side. I can't wait for Graeme Smith to hand over captaincy of the Proteas to someone competent.

 

Missed EDIT.

Wanted to iterate on Mr. Ness's rep: I'm not from Wisconsin. Seattle was closer in terms of city teams (although not a fan). I think being into the color "green" might have had a drastic affect on my pick back then though.

Not totally irrelevant, but anyone who's seen the documentary American Movie, knows that Mark Borchardt's a fan of the Pack. And who doesn't love that guy?

Alt Focus:

I'll just throw these out there for shits & gigs.

Not a fan of MLB, nor do I watch.. but if I had to chose, it'd be the Pirates and Boston.
Fucking awesome correlations regarding my choices?

Pirates - Torrents
Boston - Where the Hardcore music scene originated, in addition to the history behind the city.

Same goes for the NBA: Portland Trailblazers - more local.

 

NBA-

I'm a huge fan of the Utah Jazz; I used to fucking hate them, since I grew up during the Jordan era, and like every other kid, rooted for the Bulls. However, after Jordan retired the second time, I met a friend who was a crazy Jazz fan, and he managed to convert me (this was right before the lockout shortened 1998-1999 season). There was something impressive about Stockton and Malone, two men already in their mid thirties, running a system to perfection against young kids.

Later, once the duo retired, the Jazz had a surprising 42-40 team led by Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Arroyo (seriously), and...that's about it. At that point, I was a truly hardcore, lifetime fan of Sloan and the Jazz as an organization. Now, after a surprising 26 win season at one point, they are back to being one of the best teams, with Kirilenko their 4th best player or 5th best player.

For a long time, I didn't care for the local team, the Golden State Warriors, because of their incompetent, cheap-ass owner Cohen. I've never cared for Don Nelson, either. I have been getting a little more into them this year though, with the new ownership, and Keith Smart taking over as the coach. I love David Lee and Stephen Curry, but Monta Ellis is a fucking punk. A shame Deron Williams couldn't deck him when they had an altercation a few nights back.

 

NFL-
The Washington Redskins. My parents were die hard, paint-your-face every sunday along with all their friends, so I became one too. I've had the pleasure of watching them win 2 Superbowls in my life.

CFL-
I root for the Argos, but I don't watch CFL nearly as much as NFL, despite I like the action better.

NHL-
The Sabres. I know, right? Gretzky will always be my guy but this is my team, back to the days of Gil Perrault, Phil Housley and Mike Ramsey. I have four jerseys and will dress up in full fatigues to go see the play the Leafs at the ACC every year ( the fans there admire you for that rather than hate you). BRING ME A FUCKING CUP ALREADY, ASSHOLES. AND FUCK YOU, BRETT HULL.

MLB-
The Blue Jays, of course. The first time they one a division championship was on 8th birthday- October 5, 1985, when Doyle Alexander pitched a complete game and beat the Yankees. The was eventually trumped by Otis Nixon choosing unwisely to bunt again
on Mike Timlin. Then again even more, when Mitch Williams decides to throw a low inside fastball straight into Joe Carter's wheelhouse.

NBA-
Raptors. It's a Canada thing, before them I was a Jordan worshipper, but why wouldn't I be?

 

MLB: Yankees. Grew up in CT near the NY border and my parents were both Yankee fans (My mom was at the game where Maris tied Ruth, I have the tickets from the game).

NFL: Giants. Pretty much the same reason as the Yankees, grew up watching them.

College Basketball and Football: UConn Huskies. Live in CT and I am an alumnus of the university.

 

NFL-
Dallas Cowboys. I grew up in Wyoming and the closest team was the Broncos who I grew up hating. My dad is a Cowboys fan and all of his family lives in Texas and are all Cowboys fans. I didn't know any other Cowboys fans growing up an had no idea the extent of their popularity during the 90's.

NCAA-
LSU Tigers. My dad went to undergrad there and this was the team I grew up cheering for on Saturdays.
Wyoming Cowboys. Like I said, I grew up in Wyoming and I did part of my undergrad at UW. They are horrible and play in a mid-major conference but I love them anyway.

NHL-
Montreal Canadiens. My favorite team in my favorite sport and everyone I know criticizes me for this one. I grew up playing hockey and there was no professional team within 1,000 miles before the Avalanche came to Colorado. The habs were the first team I ever watched on television and I have loved them ever since. I love the culture and love how the fans live and die with the team. I get the center ice package just so I can watch my beloved habs.

 

The only team I support consistently and religiously is the Green Bay packers. Unlike the hitch hikers on this thread I was born in Wisconsin(I guess if there's no sports team near you you might as well pick the best), and grew up watching the glory days of the mid 90s. I've always loved that we have arguably the most dedicated fans of any football team and we're currently the only (at least as far as I know) American sports team that doesn't have an owner. If you want season tickets to Lambeau field you buy them in your 20s and give them to your grandchildren. Wait times are that long. I came really close to spending $1000+ (almost my entire bank account at the time) for nose bleed seats at the packers/giants nfc championship game. In restrospect I'm glad I missed it. Until I come into some real money I'll probably have to settle for the regular season. The cool thing though is that when you watch the packers in another stadium you're always surrounded by your own fans. I watched the packers play the jags in Jacksonville. That shit was like a home game.

Band wagoners annoy me, but the other thing that really pisses me off is fans that will only follow their team. Sure, we all need our team to root for, but how can you claim to love the sport when you never have any idea what's happening in the league? These also tend to be the biggest homers, and also those that scream for the head coach/his staff/qb/refs to be executed every time a play doesn't go their way.

College: Mostly just a big ten fan with slight favoritsm towards Wisconsin. Still more into the football, but who doesn't like march madness? I don't cheer for my alma mater because they suck horribly at everything and aren't even division 1 in most sports. I did spend a year at KU, who has an great sports program, but I've lived too long in the big ten area to prefer the jayhawks.

Other stuffs: I watch tennis occasionally just hoping for a good match. I go crazy every time the world cup comes around as my brain dissolves in a month long soccer drinking binge. I have to support our national team, but in almost every match I seem to find inebriated reasons to like one country more than another. With the olympics it's pretty much the same story.

 

Football is my favorite sport and we don't have any teams here. I've always had a thing for Boston, not just the sports teams but the city. I've only been there when I was younger but I have a lot of family there. Seems like an amazing city and the place has a lot of spirit and tradition. One thing I want to do ASAP is to head down there and visit Gillette, Fenway and the Garden.

It all started with football which I was into from a very young age due to how die hard the rest of my family is about the sport. Most are hardcore Cowboys fans going back to the late 60's early 70's and the rest who live in the States root for their respective home teams. I remember a close relative was over in early '97 which was while the playoffs were happening. He's a die hard Patriots fan and actually owns a store near Gillette stadium so the bastard knows all the players and cheerleaders. Anyways, I remember him and my father explaining the game to me and telling me all about Bill Parcells and the rest of the team. My dad respected Parcells but hated him since he was the Giants' former coach. So thats how I started following the Patriots. I don't remember who they played in the playoffs but I clearly remember Green Bay ripping my young heart out and shitting in the hole. I stuck with the team, cursed the gods when Bledsoe got hurt in '01 only to be replaced by some no-name fuck called Tom Brady, and the rest is history.

I follow the Cowboys as well, but only because it's a family thing, something to keep going from my late father. But when shit hits the fan, I'm all red, silver and blue.

As for the other sports, all Boston as well. Yes, even the Bruins.