Oh, give me a fucking break. About half of fans talk about their team this way, and then there's always one slimy little bastard who has to act like we're implying we're on the team. It's common and not a big deal. Yeah, some packers fans can be douches, but I don't think we're that bad. I mean, we're not like cowboy fans or anything. And vikings fans can be just as harsh when their team has a better season.
And with that you just jinxed this season more than it has been already. I'm kidding of course because as you know I think they're done, you still hold out out hope though so good for you. Don't go getting into a pissing match about this rivalry. It's been in existence for years and years and it always will be. Rivalries are part of football and part of why we all love it so much. It's perfectly natural for places with teams right next door to butt heads so also naturally fans will too. I don't agree that Packer fans are what he said but then again, I've never been there so I wouldn't know. Perhaps they are because they own stock in the team, no idea. But to say they are the worst? I don't think so. I will say the ones that bug me the most are Raider and Steelers fans. Raiders because they just look like a bunch of pricks, so in other words no real reason. And Steelers...terrible towels really? How the fuck can a towel be terrible? It bugs the fuck outta me.
Meh, one cheapshot deserves another. I mean what kind of response did you expect with that championship comment? In an absolute sense maybe some other fanbase is worse, but in a relative sense Packer fans are the worst because I don't have to deal with other fanbases; but that shithole of humanity otherwise known as western Wisconsin is a stronghold of Packerdom. And since western Wisconsin almost entirely consists of filth encrusted, meth-addled, trailer trash, the cheesefuckers (my nickname for cheeseheads) I most regularly come into contact with are the smug, obnoxious, loathesome shitbags that give every fanbase a bad name. Then of course are the traitors who live and grew up in Minnesota who root for the Packers instead of the Vikings for whatever bullshit rationalization they justify to themselves. Fuck them, too.
Wow, this must be what happens when you spend your life cheering for a team that sucks. Edit: Oh and if the Minnesota comment was directed at me, I was born in Wisconsin. Although I'm much more Minnesotan I was a packer fan first and have no reason to switch.
NFL - The Falcons. I had a guy try to call me a bangwagon jumper because I'm currently in California. Thing I used to live in Georgia when I started watching football, this was in 2003 and I've stuck with the Falcons throughout all the shit seasons they've had. NHL - Vancouver Canucks, essentially same story as above, we moved to Vancouver when I was in grade 9 and I even though I had played hockey I didn't really watch it much. My friend's dad was a huge fan and he took us to a Canucks game once and I've been a fan ever since. I will admit one thing though I used to think the Sedins were pussies. Ryan Kessler is the man though.
I never understood why front running was a bad thing. I root for good teams because watching good teams play good teams in the playoffs generally makes for the most interesting game. Would you rather see a Falcons-Eagles NFC Championship or a Rams-Bear NFC Championship? Lakers-Celtics in the finals or Nuggets-Hawks? I'll keep rooting for the Patriots, Eagles, Falcons, Lakers, Heat, Celtics, Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, and whoever else is talented, because I want to see good teams play good teams come the postseason. Hate on me all you want, but that's just the way I feel about it.
Wanting to see decent football is not frontrunning, wearing a Tom Brady Jersey in Miami is. Case in point take for example your love of Mark Sanchez, say the Jet's actually won the superbowl. If you decided because you always liked Sanchez, that you are now an official and passionate Jet fan you would be a frontrunner. Unless of course you were from NJ, or the designated section of NYC. I'm hoping the Packers pull it out because I enjoy watching Aaron Rogers play, if they lose I won't lose any sleep. However if the Eagles shit the bed (or if the NFL figures out they are not that they just have Mike Vick) I will be quite disappointed.
I'm from Houston, so my loyalties aren't hard to figure out. Astros: Grew up going to games in the Dome, and rooting for the Killer B's. I hold the firm belief that Bagwell and Biggio were two of the classiest guys to ever play the game. I wish they had done better than a sweep in the Series in 2005, but at least both guys got a chance to play there before they retired, because it looks like we're not going to get back there anytime soon. Rockets: My first real basketball memory was Clutch City, and I think I still have the little "Double Clutch" sign the Chronicle gave out in the newspaper when the Rockets won in 1995. I remember staying up late to watch game 7 against the Knicks -- I wish I had been a little older when we won, as I don't think I really appreciated what it meant to win a championship then. I figured it was just won of those things that happened every so often....guess I learned my lesson, there. Texans: Fuck me. No sane person would ever root for this team. We have the best receiver in the league and the best rusher in the league (for this year), an above average quarterback, and we still have an offense that struggles to put up points in games. We have a coach who has not learned from a mistake in 5 years of being on the job, who says "this ones on me" after every loss, who's idea of really mixing it up is throwing a HB pass from the 2 yard line that gets picked off, and who is the worst picker of defense talent that has ever kept a job for this long. Let us not even speak of the defense.
You could definitely call me a front-runner, since the teams I like do very well. You'd also be wrong. My parents were immigrants from a country whose favorite sport is cricket. They barely even cared about that. My whole extended family could not give two shits about American sports. I moved when I was nine years old, before I had had a chance to really discover sports on my own. I moved from eastern Connecticut (land of close friends, beautiful shorelines, and wilderness) to New Jersey suburbia. So there was no way in hell I was ever going to root for any Jersey teams - they all piggyback off of New York anyways. I started watching the NFL regularly after I moved to Jersey, in the 01-02 playoffs. I still missed Connecticut terribly, and it was awesome to see a team from that area do well. That's about when I became a Patriots fan, and I rooted for them through those playoffs. The memory of that last kick from Vinatieri going through the uprights is still fresh in my mind. The next year, they ended up 9-7, a "rebuilding year" after the highs of the Super Bowl. It was a brutal reminder that we had basically lucked out, winning the championship with gutsy defense and no running game or receiver core to speak of. I still remember crying myself to sleep like a bitch after we lost to the Broncos that year. Even twelve-year-old me knew there was something very, very wrong when Tom Brady and his squad were getting whupped by Brian fuckin' Griese on national TV. 2002 or so is also when I really started watching the Red Sox. This is back when they still were being managed by Grady Little, and the team was still Nomar's to screw with. Those '03 playoffs were fucking brutal, especially growing up surrounded by Yankees fans. I skipped the next day of school. (That's a lie. My damn immigrant parents weren't swayed at all by my argument that I was too heartbroken to go to school. I didn't even get to stay up till the end of the game. I was sent to bed in the eleventh inning, and only learned about Aaron fuckin' Boone secondhand from Yankees fans the next day. All day.) I support my school and go to as many games as possible. We have a much better team than our fair-weather student body deserves. I never really gave too much of a shit about NBA, so yeah I'll bandwagon the Celtics. And my allegiances in hockey rest solely with the team that has the coolest logo (i.e. the Sharks). But I defy anyone to say that because I didn't root for a team when I lived in that area, or I didn't have family who rooted for them, or I did not root for them since I was in the womb, that that somehow makes me less deserving of a fan. Fuck that shit.
I am in the same boat. I have one cousin who was a sports fan. Every other single person in my family could not list a single player from a single sport in our area or nation wide. Are lives just didn't revolve around sports like a lot of "die hard" fans. Bengals- I started following sports for the first time my freshman year of college(03-04 season). When 90% of your social interactions involve drinking at sports events, it's hard not to follow. Being from Cincinnati I took the convenience of the hometown team to start following. It's hard to sum up very well but being a fan of a perennial loser that has flashes of brilliance every couple of years, it's depressing. If you want to see what having a team that hasnt won a play off game in two decades (of the two post season games theyve been to) does to a die hard fans psyche, lurk at a bengals fans message board sometime. It makes people bitter cynics. Bearcats- Bearcats football is probably my first true foray into hardcore fandom. Having gone the school, participating in the events and traditions, traveling with the team, and hanging out with the players and their families.' It is definitely the most emotionally attached Ive been to a sports team. Having them compete on a national stage, though not coming through with a win, was still amazingly awesome and Ive had some of the best experiences of my life on road trips to the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl. I'd say I am sort of a fair weather Reds fan if I could be honest and just say so. Not being a hardcore sports fanatic baseball is the slowest and hardest game to follow in the long run for me. A trip to Great American usually is more about getting as hammered as possible and girl watching on warm spring days. I am happy to root for them like everyone else when they do well. But all in all baseball, so far, just hasn't clicked for me.
I'm an Arkansan, most of my family is from St Louis and north Texas, so the loyalties are obvious but: Arkansas Razorbacks. I'm from Arkansas... which is the only reason anyone needs to root for the Razorbacks. St Louis Cardinals. For some reason, I just took on my dad's fandom. He's been a Cards fan since he was a kid, because he could pick up the games on KMOX. Dallas Cowboys. My grandpa was often more of a father to me than my father and he was a big Cowboys fan. So, I picked it up. Been pretty rough in the past decade or so, but I hang in there. Watch every minute of every game while trying not to be a huge tool like many Cowboys fans are. Dallas Mavericks. Went to a bunch of their games as a kid. I had a Jason Kidd jersey from when he played there early in his career. St Louis Blues. Not a huge hockey fan, but enjoy going to games when I can. Keep up with the Blues over the Dallas Stars because it was really fucking stupid that the Minnesota Northstars moved down to Dallas. Pretty lame reason, but whatever.
I'm from Seattle. Guess who my teams are? NFL: The Seahawks. If there isn't a team aside from Buffalo that hasn't had a history of failure as bad as this team, I'd like to hear it. I'm almost tempted to root for the fucking Rams if it means a better draft position. My dad remarked that he's never going to see a Seahawks championship in his lifetime, and that really bummed me out. He's been a fan since the franchise's inception. My NFL antichrists: The Steelers. Even before you shitheads won that Super Bowl (One for the thumb? I hope you lose it in your dilapidated steel mill, you wife-beating shitbags), those gay as AIDS towels of yours and having a guy on your team named Bam Morris, just irritated the shit out of me. Go fuck yourselves. MLB: The Mariners. I don't think I have to say anything about this team as it has been rebuilding pretty much since the 2003 season. Even when the team is successful, they choke worse than David Carradine in a Bangkok hotel room. Thanks for the ALCS exit after winning 116 games in a season, you fuckwits. My MLB antichrists: I'm sticking Boston and New York here. New York for obvious reasons. Seeing Edgar Martinez publicly violate Jack McDowell with his franchise saving double was my last happy memory of the Mariners. The fact that it came against the Yankees just made it that much sweeter. As for Boston, I was living with a Boston transplant when the Red Sox made their run in '04. For a week after the Series, all he wore was Red Sox stuff, never mind that the only reason he knew it was on was because I turned the channel. If a majority of Sox fans behave this way (and after watching assholes wearing pink Red Sox hats and jerseys for 3 years, they do) Boston sports fans can eat a warm bag of cocks. NCAA football: The Washington Huskies. I think it'll be great that opposing defenses aren't going to have just one guy to focus on because he's riding the pine in the NFL somewhere.
NBA: Cavaliers What can I say? I'm a NE Ohioan. I got to meet Brad Daugherty and Craig Ehlo when I was a little kid, pretty much cementing my devotion for life. Plus, the Mark Price candy bars weren't half bad. They were utter dogshit around the turn of the century, but the LeBron years were fun, and despite their god-awful record this year, it's still a fun team to watch. It's like seeing an 82-game science experiment, trying to determine who's going to develop into what for the future of the franchise. B-team: Celtics Watching the Bird/Parish/McHale teams was just awesome in the day, and although I'm not a big KG fan, I love watching Ray Allen and Pierce, who stuck with his franchise through some horrible seasons. Still love Shaq, and was happy to have him in Cleveland for a year despite injury and poor utilization by the coaching staff. And of course, Delonte West, who I love solely for potentially banging the bejesus out of LeBron's mom. Team I wish would die in a horrible bus accident: Pistons Fuck Detroit. I still watch games 5 and 6 from the 2007 playoff series on YouTube every year, masturbating furiously the entire time. Rasheed Wallace's ejection is always my money shot. NFL: Browns Big surprise here. They suck, and will probably continue to either outright suck or wallow in mediocrity until I'm no longer able to function without Depends. But eff it, I still love 'em. Colt McCoy and Peyton Hillis will be a couple of decent pieces to start building around for the next couple years. Like the Cavs, the expectations won't be too high for a while, but it's still a team that's fun to watch. B-team: Packers Favre aside, I grew up as a big Green Bay fan thanks to my great-uncle (Ron Kostelnik) who played on the first two Super Bowl teams. He died when I was fairly young, but I always heard stories from my grandpa and his other brothers about crushing him on the pee-wee field, only to have him get the last laugh in the end. Team I wish would would die of AIDS: Steelers The worst part of this team isn't their winning history or their sex criminal QB; it's their white trash fans. The three-tooth having, mouth-breathing, blue-collar troglodytes, particularly the ones who actually live in NE Ohio, should be anally raped daily by a group of angry zebras. MLB: Indians Oh, the 90s. It felt like every single night, these crazy assholes would come down from a 4-run deficit in the 9th inning. I still have my Kenny Lofton jersey, and was happy to wear it for the one season he came back for recently. I don't even care that Jose Mesa blew the World Series. I'll always look back on watching baseball with great memories from that era. Unfortunately, the team is now a giant bag of ass. B-team: Cubs I'm not a particularly big Chicago fan, but of all the fans in sports, Cubs fans and Cleveland fans probably have the greatest shared empathy. We feel your pain, Cubbies. Team I wish would burn in the fiery pits of hell for all eternity: Also the Indians Without a functional salary cap in baseball, there's no fucking excuse for what happened at the end of the 90s, or for that matter, why we're feeding some of the best goddamn pitchers in the league to World Series contenders like we're some sort of farm team. I understand letting Albert Belle go. He was a headcase. Fine. But Thome? Ramirez? Alomar? Fuck... how many people did we just let go? Sure, they wanted more money, but when you're putting up a team like that and selling out entire seasons, you pay your ballplayers. Fuck those goddamn Injuns.
NFL: 49’ers. I was born in Napa and the niners were the first game I ever saw on TV. Yes, they suck sweaty hobo taint right now. So fucking what. I love my team and the only way I would ever leave them is if they left me. Case in point, my dad WAS a raiders fan when I was little. Got tickets through his work quite often and would hop over to Oakland for the games. Cue them moving to LA. My dad cursed Al Davis with every fiber of his being and vowed to actively root against the raiders until they moved back to Oakland AND Al Davis either sold the team or “fuckin croaked” Needless to say he just watches football as a casual fan these days. But I envision a NYE style party at my dad’s place when the crypt keeper finally shuffles off this mortal coil. MLB: Giants. See above. But for the moment they are champions with the best young rotation in the majors. I’m sure it will be another long stretch of suffering from here on out but, for this all too brief moment….ahhhh. NBA: The meteorite. Because fuck pro basketball that’s why. March madness is the only way to fly. And yes, I’m that asshole that picks a bracket full of upsets. NHL: Don’t know don’t care. Ice is for polar bears and Canadians. I will tip my hat to hockey as fighting is part of the game. Teams that deserve to die: Dodgers and Cowboys. Probably self explanatory. Most annoying fan base: Whatever team is currently on top. As it is difficult to pick out the long suffering fans that are just overcome with their teams current success from the douche nozzles that just want to be with the current winner. As far as front running goes…….I have no problem with someone picking a team to root for in the playoffs if your team is assed out. It just makes it more fun to be slightly emotionally invested in the game you are watching. Hell, even in regular games that you “have no dog in the fight”. It is perfectly acceptable to pick a team purely to spite friends or family. For example: The OU Auburn game. I’m going OU, yes they are a west coast team but I have no strong affinity for them. But a friend of mine went to AU and is a huge fan. Now if the ducks win I will talk mad shit just to increase his level of suffering, but that shit talk will be limited to at most one week as I am not a fan of OU. Now if after said team wins the championship, you shift allegiance and that has “always been my favorite team” you deserved to get gang raped by cujo, count chocula, and the 1984 soviet power lifting team.
It doesn't seem like Zyron answered this, so I'll try to help out (I've lived in northern NJ for 44 years). It isn't as cut and dry as simple geography, although Islanders fans typically do live on Long Island, and those on the island typically root Mets/Jets, though there are plenty of exceptions.. There is a bit of a correlation between MLB and NFL favorites, along Yankees/Giants and Mets/Jets lines. But I know Bronx natives who root for the Mets, and also like the Giants. Northern NJ tends to split Yanks/Mets and Jets/Giants, with and edge to the yanks and Giants. Connecticut tends to split Yanks/Red Sox, Giants/Patriots. Can't say I've ever met a Jets or Mets fan from Connecticut. As for hockey, Long Island folks along with some older upstate NY and NJ fans root for the Islanders. Devils fans are predominately from NJ. The Rangers, however, are the primary rooting interest for the NY tri-state area. Of the four major sports, hockey gets the least attention here. In basketball, its almost all Knicks. Hardly anyone, even in NJ, roots for the Nets, and I am the only Nets fan I know but I haven't been to a game in at least 3 years.
I am definitely a homer NFL: St Louis Rams. I was born and raised in STL, so there ya go. However, I just moved to Kansas City so the Chiefs are really growing on me. They also happen to be the team that got me into football as a kid when St Louis didn't have a team. NHL St Louis Blues. Being a Blues fan is in my genes. My parents' first date was a Blues game. Yea, no getting around being a fan. MLB St Louis Cardinals. Besides being the local team, it is hard not to respect an organization with so much history. Long line of great players, second in championships only to the Yankees, etc, etc. NCAA Mizzou Tigers. My dad went to school there, and I attended my first game when I was eight years old. Also, my alma mater (Saint Louis U) doesn't have a football team, even though we completed the first legal forward pass.