Rooting for more than 1 team

[Stormtrooper]

As someone who considers themselves a die hard sports fan, I have 1 team in each league that I live and die with (Jets, Yankees, Rangers, Notre Dame Football). 99.999% of fans are the same. However, there are the .001% of fans who consider themselves fans of more then 1 team. As a New Yorker, I have heard countless people say the are fans of both the Mets and the Yankees. I hate this, but if they aren't die hard fans, it can just come off as rooting for ones home city, which makes it at least somewhat tolerable.

However, I have heard of people who claim to live and die with 2 teams, in the same league, that have nothing to do with each other. This gets me pissed off more then anything else. I would rather someone root for my teams arch nemesis then be a die hard fan of more then 1 team. What do these people do when their 2 teams they live and die with are playing each other?

So what are your thoughts on this? Do people who claim to live and die with more then 1 team anger you? Or is it just me?

 

[thepalaceprince]

I agree I never got the whole ther my 2nd team mentality. To me its jus like playing two spots at the blackjack table all they are trying to do is double their chances for success and I hate it. Pick a team and root for them its not that damn hard! To me being a fan is a commitment and a scrifice and by having multiple teams your cheapening the sacrifice that real fans make.

 

[TwistofRKO]

I totally agree with you. I don't subscribe to any second teams. The only acceptable form if this is a very loose variation in which you have secondary invested rooting interests based on individual players you really like. Some would place that in the same general category, but I definitely do not.

Overall, I don't root for any other teams, but there have been rare occasions in which I pulled for a team due to a favorite college player (Grossman in Chicago, Tebow in Denver) or former favorites (Dawkins in Denver, McNabb in Washington). McNabb, for obvious reasons being an Eagles fan will only get my rooting interests for individual performance. The others were just a slight elevation of the generic non-interested game "who do i like more/who do i hate", giving me a reason to watch the game.

Anything past this I would have no respect for your fanhood.

 

[LamaNamaneumi]

I have what would be considered two teams. Ever since 1991 I have loved The Buffalo Bills, even now that they are shit they are still my team. Unless the move to Toronto I don't see this changing any time soon.

Next I got the Detroit Lions. Before I like The Bills I liked The Lions, but only because they were from my home town. Growing up in Arizona I did not have many chances to watch The Lions except on Thanksgiving. Now that I live in Michigan again I feel the need to cheer for The Lions, Not because they are my favorite team, but because the are my home team.

 

[Slyfox696]

I don't understand, why can't I love two teams? Why can't I 6 hours to watch a Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game, and on the way home, listen to Mizzou play Texas, and hang on every snap (well, until Texas absolutely killed Mizzou)? Of course I can love both, and I do, and there's nothing wrong with that.

And if they play each other? Well, you just watch for the fun of the game. Not every game in sports has to be about team pride. Sometimes it's okay to watch just for enjoyment.

 

[Stormtrooper]

I don't understand, why can't I love two teams? Why can't I 6 hours to watch a Notre Dame Fighting Irish football game, and on the way home, listen to Mizzou play Texas, and hang on every snap (well, until Texas absolutely killed Mizzou)? Of course I can love both, and I do, and there's nothing wrong with that.

And if they play each other? Well, you just watch for the fun of the game. Not every game in sports has to be about team pride. Sometimes it's okay to watch just for enjoyment.

1. Do you consider yourself a die hard fan of both teams, or do you just love football and want to follow both games. I love football, and have literally spend all day from noon-2 AM watching games, but I have 1 team I consider myself a fan of.

2. I watch games for enjoyment all the time, every time I watch a game in which my team (or a hated team) isn't playing. As a Yankee fan, I will watch the Cubs or White Sox when they are on WGN America. Or I may watch the ESPN Sunday Night game if there is nothing on. Those games are all about enjoyment, not rooting interest. In Football I'm the same way, I will watch Notre Dame, then watch whatever game is on before/after.

 

[Slyfox696]

1. Do you consider yourself a die hard fan of both teams, or do you just love football and want to follow both games. I love football, and have literally spend all day from noon-2 AM watching games, but I have 1 team I consider myself a fan of.

I love both teams, and follow both teams with a close eye during the season. Now I don't get so crazy about it I know the third string walk-on kicker, but I follow the teams very closely, at least when I'm not working.

The fact is that it's very possible to love more than 1 team in the same "league" so to speak.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Well as for baseball, which I know Trooper is pissed about because of a bar room thread, I enjoy watching alot of teams other than the Cardinals play baseball. I am a die hard Cardinals fan, but when it comes to the American League the team I like the most is the Oakland Athletics, I don't know why but I always find myself cheering for them. I don't know why but I have a connection with the A's and root for them every chance I get.

Slyfox, you have some great taste in college football.

 

[TwistofRKO]

Every game that doesn't feature my team is simply done so for enjoyment. If it works for you, go crazy. That would never work for me. I feel too attached to my teams. The alternative would be like having two girlfriends. It wouldn't be as satisfying. Of course, we may never win the Super Bowl, but if the Eagles did, I'd feel much more emotional, and receive much more gratification than if I liked the Colts too, so I can have a good back-up plan in case it never worked out.

I'm not going to argue with anyone, it just wouldn't suit me at all.

 

[Theo Mays]

I see no problems with loving teams. No team surpasses my love for the Vikings, Phillies, Flyers, and Penn State Football. But there are other teams that I root for simply because of players and such, but when they play my teams I don't care about them. For one I root for the Chargers, because I've always been a fan of their team even before LT. Same can be said about the Bengals. I always support the bad teams, because I one day want to see them succeed. Again however if they played the Vikes I hoped for them to get absolutely killed. Baseball I don't really care for other teams like I do the Phillies. I just got back into hockey and I enjoy watching teams like the Canucks, Blackhawks, Sharks, etc... to go with my Fly Guys. I love sports and enjoy watching them just for the enjoyment factor. There are teams that I root for, just because of players and then there are my teams that I root for no matter what the situation.

 

[Ferbian]

I'm guessing this applies to all sports, at least I'll apply it that way.

I'm the type that could easily root for two teams, all depending on the match that it's paired with, back when I was a proper football fan, I had many different "favorite teams" in different national leagues, and in the same leagues.

For example I was a Liverpool fan, but I was also a fan of Arsenal, all depending on the matchups (Lee is gonna kill me when he reads this.. I know it) but in the end I would always cheer for my favorite of the two, so lets say Liverpool and Arsenal met, I would be cheering for Liverpool (Lee is gonna kill me even more now)

In the end, I'll gladly root for different teams, different national teams as well during European soccer cups (European championship cup) or World cups.

And in the end, I'm completely open to people cheering for more than one team, I'm not gonna call anybody idiotic because he loves two teams from one league due to the fact that one team he just loves as a general thing, and the other perhaps has his favorite player in the world, and I've never judged anybody having a favorite team, only partially in fun manners if someone loves the rivals of my favorite team (I had a classmate who was a huge A.C Milan fan, I used to be a Juventus fan for example..)

 

[BooCocky]

I think of it this way. I love only one team but I will cheer for a select few. In MLB I have a soft spot for the Braves. But I am a die-hard Pirates fan. Nothing will come in between me and my love for Pirates baseball. In the NFL I love the Steelers and I am a fan of the 49'ers. Once again nothing will come in between me and my Steelers but liking SF will give me another reason to watch the NFL when the Steelers are on a bye. I have no problem like more than one team but I can only love one. Also I take liking more than one team, as liking the sport as a whole. Not just a fan of your hometown team.

 

[Lee]

For example I was a Liverpool fan, but I was also a fan of Arsenal, all depending on the matchups (Lee is gonna kill me when he reads this.. I know it) but in the end I would always cheer for my favorite of the two, so lets say Liverpool and Arsenal met, I would be cheering for Liverpool (Lee is gonna kill me even more now)

Why's that? I'm a Geordie...

I support two teams, they're in different leagues in different countries, one is Newcastle United and the other is Glasgow Rangers. However what I also do is adopt a team every season in the premiership, generally Newcastle don't do too well so it's always good to have another team to support when you're not playing or whatever, that being said Newcastle will always be #1 for me, I'm born and bred there and write for their fanzine.

I honestly don't see WHY there should be a problem in supporting two teams, it's actually pretty logical and maximises your fun in a sport, I mean come on how many people will have another country they'll be supporting in the world cup? Exactly the same.

 

[Ferbian]

Why's that? I'm a Geordie...

I believe I've read numerous times that you've said something in soccer related threads saying "at least it's not Liverpool" or "at least Liverpool got their ass kicked" in those directions, either way I've sensed some kind of anti Liverpool thing from this forum.

In order to make this a relevant reply and non spam, I'm gonna add that I find it to be entertaining reading some of the stuff people write in a thread like this, the small facts of life that someone enjoys one team over another, and when they do write which team they support, I find it entertaining to realize that it's one of the rivals for some of my favorite or former favorite teams.

For example Lee, when I was a regular soccer watcher and follower, I was a Celtics fan, due to a large part of Henrik Larsson, and yeah well partially only due to Henrik Larsson, who I considered to be an immense talent, my love for Celtic slowly died alongside the fact that he got purchased by Barcelona and started a brief period of being very underused, which caused me to start thinking "why in the world would they purchase him, to barely use him?" either way, it just proves that it's easy to love a team, but to follow the talent that makes you love the team, and not to stay loyal, while you choose to stay loyal to another team.

You could easily draw wrestling into this, cheering for numerous guys that you consider to be great ones, but there'll always be one you think is superior, and if they're drafted you will be following that specific show with more anticipation rather than the other show.

 

[The People's Peep]

well soccer/football is different. There are hundreds of leagues around the world and a few are equally as big. I know that Spain, England, Italy, and Germany have the biggest leagues. Each of them is separate, not counting the Europa/Champions League, so its ok to have more than one team in that sport. With other sports like baseball, we have 30 teams in one league and they all compete for the same championship. Rooting for two teams is like saying you want the two teams to split the championship. In soccer/football, there are dozens of cups and championships.

Im not saying you cant root for more than one team. Im a big Jets fan in american football, but if im watching the Giants play, I'll be rooting for them. all im saying is that you cant have two favorites. When someone asks me what team i root for, i say the jets. not the jets and giants.

 

[Megatron]

well soccer/football is different. There are hundreds of leagues around the world and a few are equally as big. I know that Spain, England, Italy, and Germany have the biggest leagues. Each of them is separate, not counting the Europa/Champions League, so its ok to have more than one team in that sport. With other sports like baseball, we have 30 teams in one league and they all compete for the same championship. Rooting for two teams is like saying you want the two teams to split the championship. In soccer/football, there are dozens of cups and championships.

Im not saying you cant root for more than one team. Im a big Jets fan in american football, but if im watching the Giants play, I'll be rooting for them. all im saying is that you cant have two favorites. When someone asks me what team i root for, i say the jets. not the jets and giants.

No, that's not even close. I'll always want a Detroit team to win the Championship, but if they don't my other team winning is awesome too. I'm a fan of both the Detroit Lions and New England Patriots, but if the Lions ever somehow made it to the Super Bowl, I'll be damned if we don't win. Same with the Pistons and Nuggets in the NBA. It's alright to be a fan of more then one team.

 

[TwistofRKO]

I see no problems with loving teams. No team surpasses my love for the Vikings, Phillies, Flyers, and Penn State Football. But there are other teams that I root for simply because of players and such, but when they play my teams I don't care about them. For one I root for the Chargers, because I've always been a fan of their team even before LT. Same can be said about the Bengals. I always support the bad teams, because I one day want to see them succeed. Again however if they played the Vikes I hoped for them to get absolutely killed. Baseball I don't really care for other teams like I do the Phillies. I just got back into hockey and I enjoy watching teams like the Canucks, Blackhawks, Sharks, etc... to go with my Fly Guys. I love sports and enjoy watching them just for the enjoyment factor. There are teams that I root for, just because of players and then there are my teams that I root for no matter what the situation.

I hear what you're saying, but I don't think that's really what we're talking about. Obviously you can still have rooting interests in a game without your favorite team present. The way I read the thread, while I can definitely be wrong, was more of having 2 favorite teams.

Although I do root based more on who I don't like in such games, rather than actually cheering for one team. Its just usually how it works itself out.

 

[The People's Peep]

No, that's not even close. I'll always want a Detroit team to win the Championship, but if they don't my other team winning is awesome too. I'm a fan of both the Detroit Lions and New England Patriots, but if the Lions ever somehow made it to the Super Bowl, I'll be damned if we don't win. Same with the Pistons and Nuggets in the NBA. It's alright to be a fan of more then one team.

As a sports fan, in any game we watch if it has our favorite team or not, we have a preference for who we want to win. If your favorite team doesnt make the playoffs, then you most likely have someone else you want to win. By rooting for another team, we stay interested without our team being included.

You said if the lions make the playoffs, you want them to win. You have one team you root for, one that you really care about. When the lions arent playing in the game you are watching, its ok to root for one of the teams that is playing. by rooting for the patriots in the playoff, you stay interested in whats going on in the playoffs.

Its really a situational thing. When both teams are still "alive" in the game, you shouldnt root for two teams. You should have one favorite team. When that favorite team isnt playing in either the playoffs or in the game you are currently watching, then go ahead and root for another team.

 

[Theo Mays]

I hear what you're saying, but I don't think that's really what we're talking about. Obviously you can still have rooting interests in a game without your favorite team present. The way I read the thread, while I can definitely be wrong, was more of having 2 favorite teams.

Although I do root based more on who I don't like in such games, rather than actually cheering for one team. Its just usually how it works itself out.

I was just going by the title of "rooting for one team". But I think everyone is under the consensus that most people roll with one favorite team. I can see the exceptions being with college sports, as there are just so many teams. Like I know people that have a favorite college team, yet they go to a different college and hold a loyalty with them as well. I think in pro sports most people have their favorite team, that they will support no matter what, and when their team is out they always have teams they'd like to see win.

 

[Stormtrooper]

The way I read the thread, while I can definitely be wrong, was more of having 2 favorite teams.

Although I do root based more on who I don't like in such games, rather than actually cheering for one team. Its just usually how it works itself out.

I was just going by the title of "rooting for one team". But I think everyone is under the consensus that most people roll with one favorite team. I can see the exceptions being with college sports, as there are just so many teams. Like I know people that have a favorite college team, yet they go to a different college and hold a loyalty with them as well. I think in pro sports most people have their favorite team, that they will support no matter what, and when their team is out they always have teams they'd like to see win.

I should have made it clearer in the title. I was thinking the idea of having multiple "Favorite" teams. And I agree Theo about college. I didn't have that problem, since I went to a D3 school, and am a Notre Dame fan. As far as the pro thing, that makes sense, and to some extent I do that. When the Jets get eliminated from the NFL Playoffs, I tend to root for a team with a good story (New Orleans this year). Or I root against my hated teams.

I just can't stand hearing about people who claim to have 2 equally favorite teams.

 

[Super Hans]

You are either a die hard fan or not.

Eg. Im a die hard glasgow rangers fan,i also support chelsea(who play in a differnet laegue) if the 2 meet i will unequivocally(?) support rangers.You have 1 team in each sport/country.If you support 2 teams that play each other more than once every 5 years,then you aint a fan in my eyes.I could not justify to myself backing 2 teams to win the same league if i was a true fan.

 

[PsychoBlack]

Its ok to a certain point. if you love a sport and know its ins and outs than you need to have just one team that you root for, my teams are Bulls Cubs Bears Florida State football and Memphis basketball. But i dont know very much about hockey so i have two teams the blackhawks and the canucks the reason i root for the blackhawks is because there my hometown team, my reasoning for the canucks is kind of odd but i just really like there colors, now i dont admit to being a die hard fan to either of these teams but i root for both of them and refuse to watch there current playoff series so i dont have to root against either so i guess that makes me fan enough

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

Its ok to a certain point. if you love a sport and know its ins and outs than you need to have just one team that you root for, my teams are Bulls Cubs Bears Florida State football and Memphis basketball. But i dont know very much about hockey so i have two teams the blackhawks and the canucks the reason i root for the blackhawks is because there my hometown team, my reasoning for the canucks is kind of odd but i just really like there colors, now i dont admit to being a die hard fan to either of these teams but i root for both of them and refuse to watch there current playoff series so i dont have to root against either so i guess that makes me fan enough

Oh great another Cubs fan, don't worry I'll be gentle. I'll try to keep all my fandom to a minimum and try to keep this civilized.

I'm ok with having an alternate team to root for, but if you have both teams in the playoffs and they are playing each other you can't watch? Really? I understand the reason for the Blackhawks thats how every fan should be, loving their hometown team, but you like the Canucks because of the pretty colors? I see you admit that you are not a die hard fan of the teams but why would you post in this thread which is about die hard fans then?

Anyway in your case, well anyone that has a passion for two teams, if they are playing each other in the playoffs I'm not leaving the TV. It's ok to have two teams you enjoy as long as you have your home team you love, without that I can't call myself a fan of the sport.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

The way I see it is like this. I can have my Die-Hard Fan Favorite teams. Then I can have my secondary teams in which I enjoy watching, and rooting for, because they may have selective Players I'm a fan of.

Football: Carolina (die-hard team)
Secondary: Take this year, for example. I'm a Jake Delhomme fan. So I'll be rooting for the Cleveland Browns as long as he's their starter. (until they play Carolina) I'm not by any means a Cleveland fan - but I'm a Jake Delhomme fan, so I'll root for them to win 15 out of their 16 games.

Basketball: San Antonio
Secondary: Phoenix, Boston - I enjoy watching Steve Nash for the Suns. Something about their games feels like an arcade game. They have a fast motion type of play and I even enjoy watching them play the Spurs (except currently, bastards) because on average - their games are never dull.

Meanwhile, for the Celtics, I love Garnett, Paul Pierce & Ray Allen. Its similar to the excitement I hold for watching Duncan, Parker & Ginobili.

Now then, as far as College Football goes. This is where everything takes a swerve.

Being from Iowa, I enjoy the Hawkeyes and pretty much loathe the Cyclones. Yet at the same time, I will watch almost ANY college game with a top Player on its roster. (so practically any game available to me) While at the same time not get upset if they play Iowa, and beat Iowa.

Now I'm assuming you may wonder why I wouldn't be upset if they beat my favorite College team. Here's why..

I'm more of a Pro Sports type of guy than I am College. So on that note, I realize that my favorite Pro team won't always select players from just ONE school. Therefore, I watch all of the top names and make my own impressions and judgments on them, so IF my Pro team should take them - I'll know whether to like them, or hope we ditch them as quickly as possible.

 

[ThePeoplesChampion]

I dont know how to describe mine...first off the Bears are the only team i root for (of coarse unless another team winning helps my bears.)....college ive always said i have 2 favorite teams....the Michigan Wolverines and whoever is playing Notre Lame...(i hate Notre Dame that much!) but ive always had an interest in Wisconsin as well seeing as my Grandfather went to school there but whenever they play i always root for Michigan.