Is it OK to be a fan of teams from different schools?

[Fungo Squiggly]

You're no real fan. A real fan would come to the spring game even if he lived 2 states aw...

Umm...

A real fan would go to the team's bowl g..

ummm...

Would see Ohio State play in every big ten stadi....

Fuck you, bb73.

That's all.

Pffft. I bet he's never taken an overnight bus in for the Spring Game. Fuck him indeed.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

[quote='BusNative;167093;7]I really don't give a [censored] what my alma mater does in sports...

Go Bucks.[/quote]

What's you alma mater?

I think it depends. If you grew up a Buckeye fan and ended up going to Chicago, there's no conflict. If you grew up an Ohio State fan and went to Wisconsin, how could you not root for the school where you (hopefully) four best years of your life and were (hopefully) propelled into your current career/life. Some things must fall by the wayside such as my high school fandom for Washington.

If there's any on-field conflict (or potential for) then undergrad alma mater takes precedence over grad school alma mater.

 

[Nutriaitch]

Ok-theoretical question for you-or anyone else on the board. How do expansion teams fit in for pro fandom?

what if a team moves?

I no longer follow the NBA, but when I was younger, I was a Knicks fan.
Mainly because they were on TV a lot, and weren't the Bulls or Pacers.

Back then, we didn't have an NBA team.
My dad liked the Jazz because he would go to their games when they were still in New Orleans.

Now, we got the Hornets. Is it wrong for me to want the Hornets to be successful? Not sure who I would pull for when the Knicks play the Hornets.

 

[BB73]

Pffft. I bet he's never taken an overnight bus in for the Spring Game. Fuck him indeed.

In a snowstorm. Uphill both ways.

 

[Bill Lucas]

what if a team moves?

Fuck the Ravens.

 

[Mike80]

Now, we got the Hornets. Is it wrong for me to want the Hornets to be successful? Not sure who I would pull for when the Knicks play the Hornets.

No I don't think so. Especially if you wanted them to do well when they were horrible.

I am in a similar situation with the Wings and Blue Jackets. I have been a Wings fan essentially as long as I've been watching hockey (which was the mid-80s) due to my affinity for red teams as well as due to all the Wings fan in my family.

Then I moved to Columbus and two years later the CBJ were born. While it is very nice to have NHL-level hockey in town and I do want the CBJ to be successful for a multitude of reasons, whenever they play the Red Wings I want the Wings to win 10-0 every time

I guess I'm of the opinion that unless you make a clean break from your previous favorite team, go with who got ya here. In my case, the Red Wings and Orioles along with Ohio State and the Browns. IN your case, the Knicks.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

True, but given both his age and how he has described his support of Duke, it's pretty obvious that he's only for Dook because they are good. Very convenient that he likes Duke, don't you think?

That's like all of a sudden becoming a Yankees fan in 1996 or a Red Wings fan in 1994-ish. Or a Bulls fan in 1990. Yes I do realize it's slightly different with professional sports teams, but I think the point remains.

Maybe we're all condemning his decision of Duke because of the success Duke has had over the span of his lifetime, but his own statements haven't exactly helped him. I think what will define his fandom is how ardent a fan of Duke's he is when CRY-zewski finally retires or goes on to fail in the NBA and whoever replaces him at Duke can't keep the momentum going.

listen turncoat, no one wants to hear about your allegiances...

 

[jimotis4heisman]

No I don't think so. Especially if you wanted them to do well when they were horrible.

I am in a similar situation with the Wings and Blue Jackets. I have been a Wings fan essentially as long as I've been watching hockey (which was the mid-80s) due to my affinity for red teams as well as due to all the Wings fan in my family.

Then I moved to Columbus and two years later the CBJ were born. While it is very nice to have NHL-level hockey in town and I do want the CBJ to be successful for a multitude of reasons, whenever they play the Red Wings I want the Wings to win 10-0 every time

I guess I'm of the opinion that unless you make a clean break from your previous favorite team, go with who got ya here. In my case, the Red Wings and Orioles along with Ohio State and the Browns. IN your case, the Knicks.

 

[Mike80]

listen turncoat, no one wants to hear about your allegiances...

fail :p

 

[jimotis4heisman]

fail :p

 

[Mike80]

I don't know how posting MySpace pictures from Best Buckeye's profile has anything to do with me being a Wings fan

 

[jimotis4heisman]

I don't know how posting MySpace pictures from Best Buckeye's profile has anything to do with me being a Wings fan

benedict arnold....

 

[Mike80]

benedict arnold....

Oh, is that who it's supposed to be?? Fooled me I tell ya

 

[BuckeyeSoldier]

I am very late but I will chime in regardless.

I have rooted against tOSU one time in my life. My first cousin was playing for an opposing basketball team. Even then I had to have a discussion with my dad about which team we should be rooting for.

I have gone to VCU so I root for them to do well on the rare event I hear about them playing in something (LOVED THE UPSET OF DUKE!)

I have gone to OU so I root for the bobcats a little bit more than normal.

I have gone to GWU so I'll root for them against the average run of the mill team.

I have gone to tOSU and they were and are MY Team. In every sport, even if its one I've never seen played.

In college I root for a hierarchy of teams.

1.The Ohio State University
2.Big10*
3.Schools I've attended
4.Ohio teams
5.underdogs or teams that are playing teams I dont like.

In pro sports I root for Cinncinatti teams and the Cavs since there isnt a cincinatti basketball team.



Rob, what are your favorite pro teams if you dont mind me asking?

 

[TheRob8801]

Thanks to those of you willing to post something worth responding to...

To everyone else who is ready to throw me off the boat...you're welcome to do that and after I say this I'll shut up about the situation.

...the whole point of you being 20 years old (really you are 19 and won't turn 20 until the end of this year)

I don't know where you're getting your information from. I really am 20, though it's not that big of a difference from 19, my birthday is in February...

...doesn't matter either way

...is that in your entire life, Duke has been one of the perennial powers in college basketball. That simply reeks of being a bandwagon fan. No biggie, just accept it for what it is.

Sure thing.

For the time being I'll accept that to you I'm a "bandwagon fan", whatever you think that means.

I do have a question though...

...what sort of tie to a program is acceptable to you...in order to NOT be a bandwagon fan?

In 25 years, you will notice folks who are bandwagon fans. Usually they are much younger, easily influenced by who they see on TV, and simply cheer for the team that usually wins.

If this is your definition of a "bandwagon fan" I'm 100% on board...

...anyone that roots for a team based solely upon their success IS by my definition a "bandwagon fan". What you don't seem to be willing to accept is that my tie to Duke has nothing to do with their success.

If it truly was tied solely to their success, I would have ran away from the team the moment they started to become another average school.

I haven't and never will.

...but I always hope my team (LSU) does well in all sports.

I hope Ohio State does well in all sports. By your statement that makes the Buckeye athletic department "my team"...

No way in hell I could ever utter a statement like the one you did (If LSU played team x in sport y, I'm pulling for team x.)

Well, there's the difference between you and I...I don't find those two statements to be mutually exclusive.

Yes, it's pretty obvious that TheRob is a bandwagoner...

"pretty obvious" infers that there is an actual fact involved.

As great as it might make you feel to believe that it is FACT that your perspective is correct it doesn't make it true.

i guess it's just an amazing coincidence then that you're not a virginia fan but instead a fan of one of the winningest programs of all time. imagine that.

The funniest thing is that if I were a Virginia fan it wouldn't be nearly as much of an issue to most folks. However, the fact that I've associated myself with a BASKETBALL team that everyone naturally hates...one that has accumulated a successful reputation over the years...is grounds for "Bandwagonism"

The point you seem to be missing is that with college sports you're not following teams, you're following schools. You can't pick and choose different schools for each sport, especially when you take the better one for each sport, that's practically the definition of bandwagoning.

This I agree with 100%

I follow The Ohio State University in every athletic program that interests me, including football, basketball (men's AND women's), baseball and anything else I catch wind of.

I follow the Duke Blue Devils basketball team.

You get ONE school as your #1

So far so good...

...and they trump all others in ALL sports

Here's where we disagree...

Ohio State is my #1 and only SCHOOL...

I have no interest in any other university's athletic program outside of Ohio State...

The Duke Blue Devils are my #1 basketball TEAM

I have no interest in any other Duke athletics outside of basketball...

...though you are allowed second- and third-place teams depending on your family or geographical or academic ties to them.

The only exceptions IMO are for multiple alma maters, which can be like 1A and 1B, but a favorite team is like a wife: can you really love two women equally?

Okay, let's play with this scenario a little bit...

Say in my situation, I met Ohio State (Woman A) and Duke (Woman B) at the same time...I was introduced by a friend to both of them at the same party...

I fell in love with Ohio State (Woman A) because I loved everything about her, who she was, what she stood for, and the types of people she associated with...

HOWEVER, I became really good friends with Duke (Woman B). We hang out we have similar interests but it's not really a love affair...BUT I find out that she is an excellent painter, something I'm extremely interested in, and I find that I enjoy her paintings far more than I do those of Ohio State (Woman A). NOT because she's a better painter but because I like her paintings more...

I marry Ohio State (Woman A) and root for her in everything that she does...including painting...because I love her, stand by her and view her as #1 in my heart as a person...

HOWEVER, my good friend Duke (Woman B) enters an art competition with my wife Ohio State (Woman A). Of course I'm going to hope that both of them do well, but I can't help that I enjoy my good friend Duke (Woman B)'s paintings much better than my wife Ohio State (Woman A)'s.

THEREFORE.

In the art competition, I root for Duke (Woman B) to finish first and Ohio State (Woman A) to finish a close second...but if that were to be reversed I would still be ecstatic.

My friend who is fans of Ohio State football, Duke basketball, and Red Sox baseball became a fan of the Red Sox in 2004, at least so far as I can tell. Previous to that, he was a huge fan of the Marlins (back in the 90s), except for way back in the 70s and 80s when we were growing up, when he was a fan of the Cincinnati Reds.

I know it's referring to the MLB...not the NCAA...but the point was made that this guy was a Red Sox fan because of their success around 2004 and was therefore a "bandwagon fan"...I was born in 1990, in Atlanta, GA. I've been a Braves fan all of my life. Needless to say the Atlanta Braves have been one of if not THE most successful team since 1990 in all of professional sports.

Does that make me a bandwagon fan...simply because they are successful?

No, it doesn't.

Now if I said I root for a team other than the Hawks and Falcons in the NBA and NFL would that make my allegiance to the Braves any less, simply because they are all from the city of Atlanta, where I was born and raised?

No, it doesn't.

And I assume that all of you would agree.

Now Duke ... as far as I can tell, he became a fan of Duke basketball in 1995 when Coach K College Basketball was released for the SEGA Genesis. He became more serious about his role as a Duke fan when he moved out of his moms house and split an apartment with two other dudes, one of whom was a North Carolina basketball fan (who also, coincidentally, was born and raised in Ohio and had no allegiance to UNC whatsoever).

It's really, really sad. Seriously. Don't be like these people.

Now here's where the line gets blurry...

IF this person only liked Duke basketball because of a video game...I would consider him something less than a fan...possibly even a "bandwagon" fan...but if he grew into his allegiance and truly followed Duke basketball the way you and I follow Ohio State football...in depth, without wavering, through thick and thin...who's to question his fandom?

To me a "bandwagon fan" doesn't really have a tie to a team...and would be okay if they were not good...they would just dissociate themselves from them in that circumstance...

How do you just turn it on and off based upon sport?

I don't...not entirely...

...but apparently that's a foreign concept to a lot of y'all

When it comes to Ohio State I am a fan of all things that I watch/follow/am interested in...and would root for them to crush everybody in everything that they do EXCEPT basketball...

I have a list of certain schools that I like and don't like in football and basketball, but I'd root for Ohio State to absolutely plunger rape them in any sport. If you're a true fan of a school--alumni or non-alum--then you root for the institution in all sports and in things other than athletics. Otherwise, you really are a bandwagon fan/t-shirt alum etc. As noted above, the only exception is for multiple alma maters.

Maybe the problem is that some of y'all think that I don't root for Ohio State in anything outside of football...and don't root for Ohio State in basketball...

That simply isn't true...

Ideally for me Ohio State wins every NC they can outside of basketball, where I'd love for them to play Duke in the title game and lose by 1 in triple OT.

I guess I'd say that people who are raised to root for Duke in basketball and Ohio State in football have front runners as parents, but it's not totally their fault for liking the two teams.

However if you grow up and choose to like Duke in basketball and Ohio State in football you might be a front runner yourself.

I don't really know what a "frontrunner" is, but I can assume that it's similar to a "bandwagon fan"...we've all got differing views on what that is...but I'll roll with it...

I have a friend who likes the Red Sox (he liked them before they were good), Ohio State, the Packers, and the Houston Rockets. I guess he just randomly chose those teams when he was little, and I would say that's okay.

So in YOUR opinion it's okay to like random teams as long as they're totally random and there's no true tie to any of them...just as long as you don't like them because they're good...

I suppose that would be okay as well...but not having in tangible tie to a team can be fishy. Not saying that this person wouldn't be a legitimate fan, but it would require a much different type of fandom.

If you liked Ohio State in football and say Maryland or something in basketball I'd be cool with that.

That's a big question mark to me...why is being a Maryland fan any better than being a Duke fan?

There's a difference between being a fan and a mere well-wisher.

Not necessarily part of the same discussion but I want to point out that I agree with this entirely...

I consider a FAN to be someone who has some knowledge of the team/school they're associating themselves with. Someone who can have an in depth discussion on any given topic about a specific team.

Fandom, if you will, is more about interest and dedication than it is about allegiance.

Allegiance is more of a personal endeavor.

I'm a FAN of Ohio State football, Duke basketball, and Braves baseball...

...my Allegiance is with the Ohio State university.

True, but given both his age and how he has described his support of Duke, it's pretty obvious that he's only for Dook because they are good. Very convenient that he likes Duke, don't you think?

Here's that "obvious" thing again...

...if I were to make those sort of inferences about your posts, I'd say it's OBVIOUS that based upon your use of the spelling "Dook" and the fact that you're so adamant about making my fandom about something less "worthy" than your's that you've simply got something against Duke as a whole...

I don't blame you, their like the Yankees in baseball...or even our Buckeyes in football...people love to hate them based upon their success...

Maybe we're all condemning his decision of Duke because of the success Duke has had over the span of his lifetime, but his own statements haven't exactly helped him. I think what will define his fandom is how ardent a fan of Duke's he is when CRY-zewski finally retires or goes on to fail in the NBA and whoever replaces him at Duke can't keep the momentum going.

It's great when someone validates my argument for me...

I will be a Duke Blue Devils basketball fan for the rest of my life...no matter how pathetic they may or may not end up. The fact that you've got this blatant bias against them doesn't help your position any...

I'm not trying to offend you at all, but don't you think that makes your dad a bandwagon fan?

No.

Clearly I don't know anything more about your family than what you've shared

And that's why...

Maybe we've got a differing view on what makes a "bandwagon fan"...

...but my dad has been following Duke since he lived and worked in NC back in the 80's...his best friend still lives in Chapel Hill and is an adamant UNC fan...anyone who has a passive bind to a school wouldn't take the time to follow it the way my dad does...

When I lived with my parents their entire television set-up was based upon whether or not they could get as many Ohio State football games and Duke basketball games as possible...

My dad has bookshelves full of VHS tapes and notebooks full of handwritten statistics from the 1997 season and further. He tapes every game he can get on TV and replays them as soon as he can to handwrite every statistic. It's more reliable than the statistics you'd get online and sometimes on TV.

When he's bored, he'll go back and grab a random set of tapes and watch some Duke basketball games from random years at random times...

Does he have any tangible tie to Duke?

Not in the slightest...

...but do I find that his fandom is "bandwagon"?

Absolutely not...no "bandwagon" fan would follow their team as in depth as just described...

Now me on the other hand...

I don't have as much free time as he does...being retired gives you an added edge...but I could easily find myself doing the same thing...

...but your all caps examples accentuate the fact that since they are so invested in Ohio State, that they would naturally be Ohio State fans through and through.

They are...

I'm guessing this move to NC was somewhere between 1985-1992, when Duke was really becoming a player on the national stage?

Early 80's he moved to Atlanta with my mom in 87.

If they loved the sport of basketball, I'm pretty sure Ohio State had a team at that time and they could have very easily continued to root for them, regardless of location.

Your sarcasm is duly noted, and he did...and still does...

Hopefully you don't take any of these responses as people telling you who you should root for.

I'm pretty sure that many of them are...

...but don't worry, I've got no reason to do anything about it.

Being born and raised in central Ohio, I know that I see things differently than those of you who have lived in different parts of the country. However, if I were an Ohio State fan all the way, until I moved to, say, Spokane Washington, and became a die-hard Gonzaga fan, I wouldn't expect people in central Ohio to take me very seriously.

...if I moved elsewhere and suddenly became a fan of another team, I wouldn't expect anyone to take me seriously either...

POINT BEING:

I don't like the idea that I'll be viewed as less of a fan than any of you guys...but there's nothing I can do about it...and it's not going to change the way I root for my Buckeyes...

...so God-willing I won't be tempted to say anything else on the matter in this thread...



With that said...