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Fandom: Geography vs. choosing "your" team
Posted on 4/26/11 at 12:55 pm
Posted on 4/26/11 at 12:55 pm
This is sort of spurred by the prevalence of Laker "fans" that were in attendance at the recent Hornets playoff game.
The speculation is that a lot of these folks chose the Lakers as "their" team before the Hornets showed up in New Orleans, and they're still their team. Whether these are "bandwagoners" is a slightly different argument that I don't really want to address here.
What I want to know is, do you agree with my opinion that (especially in regard to professional sports) geography should trump all? If you live in or within an hour's drive of a city, if you consider that city home, and it has a professional team in a particular sport, that team pretty much has to be your team. To claim anything else is pretty lame.
Agree or disagree?
The speculation is that a lot of these folks chose the Lakers as "their" team before the Hornets showed up in New Orleans, and they're still their team. Whether these are "bandwagoners" is a slightly different argument that I don't really want to address here.
What I want to know is, do you agree with my opinion that (especially in regard to professional sports) geography should trump all? If you live in or within an hour's drive of a city, if you consider that city home, and it has a professional team in a particular sport, that team pretty much has to be your team. To claim anything else is pretty lame.
Agree or disagree?
30
Posted on 4/26/11 at 12:57 pm to Y.A. Tittle
quote:
disagree
What if you have lived other places or grew up watching other teams before your city had a team? Should you ditch those teams when your city gets one or if you move? I don't think so.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 12:58 pm to Y.A. Tittle
I think it's more the geography of your youth. I grew up outside Baltimore and now live in Dallas. By your standard, I should now be a Dallas fan as geography trumps all. But that would be ignoring the over 20 years I have invested in Maryland-based sports. I root for the O's before the Rangers. Though I do pull for the Rangers.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 12:58 pm to Y.A. Tittle
I'm from New York and root for New York teams. That being said, root for who you want to root for, especially if your local team is in the duldrums. For instance, when the Knicks were wandering the desert I rooted for the superstars instead of picking 1 specific team. So what you may have witnessed is not Lakers fans per se, but Kobe fans. And Kobe is damn good, just not as good as MJ.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:01 pm to Baloo
quote:
I think it's more the geography of your youth. I grew up outside Baltimore and now live in Dallas. By your standard, I should now be a Dallas fan as geography trumps all. But that would be ignoring the over 20 years I have invested in Maryland-based sports. I root for the O's before the Rangers.
No, that's the hometown exception. That's okay. It's why I sort of stressed the word, 'home', but I probably could have clarified better.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:02 pm to Y.A. Tittle
Disagree, you made my argument for me, why should people just up and change teams one year because a team shows up in their city. I'm a hornets fan because I wasn't really an NBA fan before they arrived in NOLA. I'm born and raised in Baton Rouge, yet I'm a Flyers (NHL) fan and a Cardinals fan. If NOLA ever got an MLB or NHL team I wouldn't switch fanship
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:03 pm to Y.A. Tittle
I also think a lot of who your team is can be attributed to television. Growing up in BR, as we all know, there isn't a whole lot of MLB very close by. I grew up watching the Cubs on WGN Superstation, so I am a Cubs fan. I could have just as easily watched TBS, and would've become a Braves fan.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:04 pm to Tigerfan7218
quote:
Disagree, you made my argument for me, why should people just up and change teams one year because a team shows up in their city.
Because now you have a legitimate connection to a team, and not just a team you thought it would be cool to root for as a kid (assuming, unlike Baloo, you had no other legitimate connection to the team you previously rooted for).
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:04 pm to Baloo
quote:
I think it's more the geography of your youth.
+1
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:05 pm to Y.A. Tittle
I've always felt you have some connection to a team for it to be "yours". Like where you are from, where you live or lived for a while, where you or your family went to school etc. I don't get how you can be a fan of a far flung team from a place you've never lived for very long. Its funny to hear Laker fans that are not from LA deny they are bandwagoners because they always rooted for the Lakers. Why did you root for LAL and not say the Blazers or Kings?
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:05 pm to Y.A. Tittle
Access has to be a part too. A lot of true Cubs and Braves fans in this area exists because every game was on WGN or TBS.
Also team biased arise through experience. Shaq getting drafted to Orlando and being paired w/ Penny Hardaway made me watch and root for Orlando. I still root for Orlando as my 2nd team to the Hornets.
eta--also strongly agree w/ this:
Also team biased arise through experience. Shaq getting drafted to Orlando and being paired w/ Penny Hardaway made me watch and root for Orlando. I still root for Orlando as my 2nd team to the Hornets.
eta--also strongly agree w/ this:
quote:
. I don't get how you can be a fan of a far flung team from a place you've never lived for very long
This post was edited on 4/26/11 at 1:07 pm
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:06 pm to Y.A. Tittle
Doesn't mean I wouldn't support that team too, contrary to popular belief (of many) you can support more than one team. If an MLB team showed up in NOLA in the future, sure I'd go to their games and pull for them... except if they are playing the Cardinals
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:08 pm to Y.A. Tittle
I split my time growing up between Louisiana and Toronto and Glasgow Scotland but spent 3 years in Prague in the Czech Republic...WTF should I do? 
Oh and Now I live in Nova Scotia...
Oh and Now I live in Nova Scotia...
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:13 pm to Y.A. Tittle
I'm a Lakers and Braves fan
Growing up, Louisiana did not have a MLB or NBA team
The Lakers and Celtics were the 2 teams on TV all the time, so naturally, my favorite team was going to be one of those 2 since that is what I watched. I loved the Showtime Lakers and hated the Celtics. I have maintained that stance ever since. Just because New Orleans suddenly got a team doesn't mean my 20+ years of rooting for a team would just go away
As far as MLB went, there was the Superstation and WGN that showed baseball almost everday. So the choice of teams to watch was either the Braves or the Cubs. I became a Braves fan more so out of convenience since the majority of Cubs games aired during the day when I was still at school or playing sports. When I got home, Braves games were on, so that is the team I followed. Now this was during the 80's when the Braves sucked major arse, so it certainly wasn't for bandwagon reasons
So if Louisiana suddenly got a MLB team, does that mean I am suppose to shift my allegiance to this new team and forget about my 20+ years of rooting for the Braves?
Growing up, Louisiana did not have a MLB or NBA team
The Lakers and Celtics were the 2 teams on TV all the time, so naturally, my favorite team was going to be one of those 2 since that is what I watched. I loved the Showtime Lakers and hated the Celtics. I have maintained that stance ever since. Just because New Orleans suddenly got a team doesn't mean my 20+ years of rooting for a team would just go away
As far as MLB went, there was the Superstation and WGN that showed baseball almost everday. So the choice of teams to watch was either the Braves or the Cubs. I became a Braves fan more so out of convenience since the majority of Cubs games aired during the day when I was still at school or playing sports. When I got home, Braves games were on, so that is the team I followed. Now this was during the 80's when the Braves sucked major arse, so it certainly wasn't for bandwagon reasons
So if Louisiana suddenly got a MLB team, does that mean I am suppose to shift my allegiance to this new team and forget about my 20+ years of rooting for the Braves?
This post was edited on 4/26/11 at 1:19 pm
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:15 pm to LSUCanFAN
I just don't get why people have all these 'rules' as to who you can or cannot root for. Sports is for entertainment and some players/teams entertain better than others.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:15 pm to H-Town Tiger
quote:
I've always felt you have some connection to a team for it to be "yours". Like where you are from, where you live or lived for a while, where you or your family went to school etc. I don't get how you can be a fan of a far flung team from a place you've never lived for very long. Its funny to hear Laker fans that are not from LA deny they are bandwagoners because they always rooted for the Lakers. Why did you root for LAL and not say the Blazers or Kings?
^ This
I cheered for Shaq because of LSU. Immediately after he left the Lakers I never cheered for them again. It doesn't make sense for someone from Louisiana to like the Lakers.
This post was edited on 4/26/11 at 1:18 pm
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:17 pm to Y.A. Tittle
Disagree x1000.
I grew up a Saints fan and will always be a Saints fan. Living in San Fran 50 years will NEVER make me a 49er fan!
However, I grew up in Louisiana and didn't really have a baseball team growing up. SO when I moved to SoCal and lived 10 mins from Anaheim Stadium, I became an Angels fan (For the record this was in the late 90s when the Angels weren't that good).
I grew up a Saints fan and will always be a Saints fan. Living in San Fran 50 years will NEVER make me a 49er fan!
However, I grew up in Louisiana and didn't really have a baseball team growing up. SO when I moved to SoCal and lived 10 mins from Anaheim Stadium, I became an Angels fan (For the record this was in the late 90s when the Angels weren't that good).
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:18 pm to H-Town Tiger
quote:
Its funny to hear Laker fans that are not from LA deny they are bandwagoners because they always rooted for the Lakers. Why did you root for LAL and not say the Blazers or Kings?
Because the Blazers or Kings were not on TV, except when they played the Lakers or Celtics?
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:19 pm to SPEEDY
quote:
Just because New Orleans suddenly got a team does mean my 20+ years of rooting for a team would just go away
Yes, if you have no connection to LA other than you thought it was cool to pull for them as a kid.
Not saying you should stop pulling for the Lakers in gerneral (and, for the record, I'm not really trying to make "rules" - just trying to explain what I think being a fan means, and trying to get others' perspectives), but if they're playing your hometown's pro team in the playoffs and you show up in a Lakers jersey to cheer for them instead, it seems rather odd to me.
Posted on 4/26/11 at 1:19 pm to SPEEDY
quote:
Because the Blazers or Kings were not on TV
This. TV plays a huge role when there is no local team. When I became i Flyers fan in the 90s, it was for 2 reasons, I'd seen them on TV a few times and I got NHL '97 (I think that was the year) for Christmas and Eric Lindros was on the cover, I've been a fan ever since. If I moved to Dallas or Atlanta I'd stil be a Flyers fan.
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