Looking for a favorite team

[Boogie!]

hop on the jays wagon. problem solved.

[Cactus Jack]

Root for whichever team you enjoy watching the most! I will always be a Mariners fan first, because that is my hometown team. Went to games at the old Kingdom. Idolized Ken Griffey Jr. but, was also a fan of the Braves, because they were always on T.V. So, pick a team or teams that you have some kind of affinity for.

[Dr Positivity]

When I was picking my last few teams what worked for me is finding the equivalent of what my other teams were. I liked the Raptors and Leafs already so teams like the Bills and Cubs fanbases felt like the more natural fit as fanbases used to getting punched in the gut. Judging from the Hornets and Hurricanes model, I think a team like KC or Milwaukee could be a good fit

[Cactus Jack]

You like to get punched in the gut!?

Being an M's fan, I know all too well what that's like.

[truth18]

Your instincts are correct. You are clearly supposed to become a Red Sox fan. But I hope you enjoy whatever team you choose.

[NY2TheBay]

Become a fan of a team that you can actually reach out and feel. What I mean by that is a team you can relate to. This is why people choose to root for their hometown team. They can go to the games, see the players and feel your city get behind them.

I root for the name on the front of the jersey not the back. People that choose a team based off of players well when those players go then you have a problem. The city remains.

[Bakuto]

it's not necessary to have loyalty to your state or to the team closest to you.

Yes it is. It makes no sense to cheer for a team outside your city/state. There is a reason teams are affiliated with cities.

Forgive me for bumping a post that is nearly six months old, but I would like to get more out of your opinion here.

I live an hour away from Toronto, and grew up in Saskatchewan. My father was all about the Detroit sports, he grew up in Windsor with 4 jocks of older brothers and a bodybuilder father who guided him to stay fit, healthy, be active and love sports. Every year he took my two older sisters and I to at least 5 games a year for the Pistons and a 4 game series for the Tigers. Pistons were his absolute favourite.

The last gift he ever got me was a Pistons hat signed by Isiah Thomas that he won in a draw at his work. He died four days later getting hit by a drunk driver while walking home from work. It was two days before the 1989 playoffs started (Pistons first championship in case you didn't think of it), and my grandfather - his father - had just got off the plane in Saskatoon two hours after and was about to see my dad for the first time in six years (my dad had to travel a lot for work). Needless to say it was an absolute mess. Though by telling you this, there is one question I have to ask you after reading this post.

Is it inappropriate that I am a Detroit sports fan, based on my experiences and family ties, despite living in Canada and never living in the States?

[Raps in 4]

it's not necessary to have loyalty to your state or to the team closest to you.

Yes it is. It makes no sense to cheer for a team outside your city/state. There is a reason teams are affiliated with cities.

Forgive me for bumping a post that is nearly six months old, but I would like to get more out of your opinion here.

I live an hour away from Toronto, and grew up in Saskatchewan. My father was all about the Detroit sports, he grew up in Windsor with 4 jocks of older brothers and a bodybuilder father who guided him to stay fit, healthy, be active and love sports. Every year he took my two older sisters and I to at least 5 games a year for the Pistons and a 4 game series for the Tigers. Pistons were his absolute favourite.

The last gift he ever got me was a Pistons hat signed by Isiah Thomas that he won in a draw at his work. He died four days later getting hit by a drunk driver while walking home from work. It was two days before the 1989 playoffs started (Pistons first championship in case you didn't think of it), and my grandfather - his father - had just got off the plane in Saskatoon two hours after and was about to see my dad for the first time in six years (my dad had to travel a lot for work). Needless to say it was an absolute mess. Though by telling you this, there is one question I have to ask you after reading this post.

Is it inappropriate that I am a Detroit sports fan, based on my experiences and family ties, despite living in Canada and never living in the States?

You can cheer for whatever team you want. You don't need my approval. But your case is special in that you don't have any professional sports teams that play in your city/province so my comment doesn't even apply to you.

And Detroit is closer to you geographically than Toronto.

[Kenny0873]

I've followed three teams from three cities that I've lived in or close to for almost all of my life...the Astros, Rockies and Mariners. Seattle has been my favorite since the mid 90's and it's been difficult at times because of ownership that values profits more than winning and there have been more managers, GMs and flamed out prospects than pretty much every other team in that time span. All three teams have had moments, but no championships. I love the game, but being a fan of those teams have been torturous. I feel like a Browns fan sometimes...lol.

[Nuntius]

Even then, I don't see how one can become a true fan of a team that they can't watch live or cheer for with their friends and family. But if someone can somehow develop that "true fan" attachment to a random team, then all the power to them.

You realize that this essentially disqualifies every international fan from being a "true fan", right?

[Raps in 4]

Even then, I don't see how one can become a true fan of a team that they can't watch live or cheer for with their friends and family. But if someone can somehow develop that "true fan" attachment to a random team, then all the power to them.

You realize that this essentially disqualifies every international fan from being a "true fan", right?

Pretty much. I love soccer, but I find it incredibly hard to care about any club (I live in North America). I can like the players on a team at any given time. But players are transient. There is nothing that binds me to a team long term.

[Nuntius]

Even then, I don't see how one can become a true fan of a team that they can't watch live or cheer for with their friends and family. But if someone can somehow develop that "true fan" attachment to a random team, then all the power to them.

You realize that this essentially disqualifies every international fan from being a "true fan", right?

Pretty much. I love soccer, but I find it incredibly hard to care about any club (I live in North America). I can like the players on a team at any given time. But players are transient. There is nothing that binds me to a team long term.

You are dead wrong, though. I'm an international fan myself (never set foot in the US) and I can verify first hand that you do develop a connection with the team you support. I developed a connection with the Indiana Pacers as a kid while playing NBA Live and that's the only NBA team that I've ever followed.

And I'm far from the only person to do that. The Pacers have a robust community of international fans (including a devoted fan of people in China that the team visits from time to time) and most of those people have never set foot in the US but still have followed the Pacers for decades. Most of us watch the games live even if that means staying up at 3:00 and 4:00 AM and we'd have to wake up 3 hours after that to go to work. And do you know why we do that? Because we chose it.

You see, supporting a team is a choice. That's why the OP is asking the question he asked in the first place. You choose to support a team for whatever reason you deem important. You aren't born into it.

[Cactus Jack]

You realize that this essentially disqualifies every international fan from being a "true fan", right?

Pretty much. I love soccer, but I find it incredibly hard to care about any club (I live in North America). I can like the players on a team at any given time. But players are transient. There is nothing that binds me to a team long term.

You are dead wrong, though. I'm an international fan myself (never set foot in the US) and I can verify first hand that you do develop a connection with the team you support. I developed a connection with the Indiana Pacers as a kid while playing NBA Live and that's the only NBA team that I've ever followed.

And I'm far from the only person to do that. The Pacers have a robust community of international fans (including a devoted fan of people in China that the team visits from time to time) and most of those people have never set foot in the US but still have followed the Pacers for decades. Most of us watch the games live even if that means staying up at 3:00 and 4:00 AM and we'd have to wake up 3 hours after that to go to work. And do you know why we do that? Because we chose it.

You see, supporting a team is a choice. That's why the OP is asking the question he asked in the first place. You choose to support a team for whatever reason you deem important. You aren't born into it.

Your absolutely in your right to support whoever you want. International or not. I've never been to Liverpool myself, but I'm a fan. I watch just about every game I can. Here in the states, most matches are very early in the morning. So, I often will record them.

[Cactus Jack]

it's not necessary to have loyalty to your state or to the team closest to you.

Yes it is. It makes no sense to cheer for a team outside your city/state. There is a reason teams are affiliated with cities.

What do you do, if you move around a lot? Or your team moves out of state? Some people don't have a close affinity to a team just because they live in an area. I've rooted for Seattle teams mainly, because that's my hometown. But, my basketball team was ripped away from me. I refuse to root for the Thunder, like many Sonic fans.

[jrn5]

If your team moves away, you keep your colors, keep your team name, keep your records, and wait for your team to come back.

[Cactus Jack]

If your team moves away, you keep your colors, keep your team name, keep your records, and wait for your team to come back.

Which is precisely what Sonic fans are currently doing. The Browns kind of are a special case, because you got a team back within a few years. Unfortunately, the NBA hasn't been open to expansion. They blocked the Kings move also. Not much hope it appears on the horizon.

[El Turco]

you gotta support your local franchises all the way or you lose em

[Cactus Jack]

you gotta support your local franchises all the way or you lose em

Are you trying to imply that fans didn't support the Sonics? Stop trolling Arda.

[El Turco]

it was a general sentiment but if the shoe fits..

[Cactus Jack]

it was a general sentiment but if the shoe fits..

If the shoe fits? The ONLY difference between Seattle/Sacramento was Sacramento had KJ in their corner. Fans were just as outspoken about keeping the team. Rallies held, etc. Unfortunately, politics always play a huge role in these things.