How'd You Pick Your Favorite Sports Teams?

[djkent01]

I'd really like to hear how others picked their favorite sports teams. I think about it all the time when I wonder how anyone could possibly like the Hawks or Cowboys - and then I think of myself and I realize they probably have a story. As for me, I didn't pick a single team - they all picked me. Here's my story:

ISU Cyclones: I was 11 years old and my brother was an ISU freshman. He was so mean to us I still don't know why he did it - but he took my younger brother and I to an ISU football game. Johnny Majors was the coach and we played at Clyde Williams. I'd never even been to a HS game before and was enthralled with the environment. At some point in the first half the students did a cheer and it included a swear word. I don't remember the word but I remember going "ummmmm.... THIS IS SO COOL!!!" It was irreverent and I loved it. BUT THEN... Luther Blue ran the second half kickoff back for a touchdown. The crowd went wild. I WAS IN!!! From that day forward I listened to Pete Taylor on every radio broadcast of football and basketball games.

Green Bay Packers: I was very young and the family had Thanksgiving at an aunt's farmhouse. I had 33 first cousins on my dad's side and we were packed in. The family was huge Packer fans and we were all jammed into the living room - woodburning stove and a little B&W TV - watching them play the Lions. I have no recollection of the outcome of the game, but I do remember the screaming and yelling and comradery. No looking back from there.

LA Dodgers: I was 10 and had just gotten drafted into the majors in little league - to the Dodgers. So I started following. At the time the Dodgers had Garvey, Lopes, Russell, Cey, Yeager, Baker, Smith, etc. They were very good and I've followed since. Don't care so much anymore, but still follow a bit and they're still my favorite.

Boston Celtics: When we were kids we gave each other sports nicknames of famous players. They named me "The Gun" - John Havlicek, a Boston Celtic. So of course, I started following. Along the way I was treated to some great runs and great players, namely Larry Bird. But more than anything I liked the hard nosed way they played. Unfortunately, now they have Marcus Smart which makes it very hard to root for them.

Secondary teams came and went, usually tied into my base sports teams or family - Cubs, Royals, Chiefs, Broncos, and now the Pacers and Bulls. But my first choices are where my heart is at.

How about you guys???

 

[NATEizKING]

ISU my dad is alum, my parents didn't watch football though so I don't recall anything pre-Seneca other than the Davis brothers.

USMNT because I am an American.

Seattle Sounders because Xbox and black/neon green results in the best jersey of any sport anywhere.

I don't have any NFL or NBA team, just cheer for former Cyclones. Sundays are for sleeping IMO. I do like the St. Louis Blues, but don't really follow until playoffs, if at all.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

My dad didn't watch sports so we weren't really brought into it. Super Bowl IV was on TV so my brother picked the Chiefs to root for and I picked the Vikings. Thus the curse began.

 

[chuckd4735]

ISU: Went to College there, mainly. Grew up in Dubuque as a Hawk fan, was a Freshman in 2002. Went to Iowa City, and got crapped on for being an ISU student, was an easy switch at that point.

Bulls: Dad was a huge NBA/Jordan fan, and the Bulls did their 2 3-peats when I was 7-15.

Cubs: After the Bulls dismantled after the 98 Finals, Sosa and McGwire were on fire, and baseball got really fun for me. The Cubs were ALWAYS on TV in Dubuque, and it was a fun season.

Bears: Bears used to have training camp in Platteville, Wisconsin, and would go up every year to watch them.

Blackhawks: Simple...since I was a fan of all Chicago teams, I claimed the Blackhawks as well. Not a huge hockey fan, but I keep tabs.

Secondary teams: Now that I live in KC, I follow the Royals and Chiefs pretty hard because it is all that get talekd about down here. Ill root for them, but if the ever play the Bears or Cubs, Im not.

 

[Cy4Lifer]

Cyclones: Grew up in UNI family. Planned to attend there, but changed mind at last minute due to what I thought was going to be my major, and chose ISU. Went to my first Cyclone football game, (vs. Iowa). Seating was general admission. Roommate and I camped out overnight at south entrance in a tent. We were 2nd in line. A large group of Frat guys were camped in front of us. About 5:00 am, a loud scream, followed by a couple of Frat brothers belly flopping onto our tent yelling, "It's game day...wake up!" When gates opened, we all scrambled for the "best seats". A beautiful September day, and we beat the Hawkeyes! Hooked for life!

Cardinals: About 6 years old. Had two neighbor brothers. One was a Cardinal fan, one was a Cub fan. I liked the Cardinal brother better, thus I am a Cardinal fan. Plus, it didn't hurt that guys like Gibson and Brock were playing, and the fact that my family took a couple of vacations to St. Louis, with Cardinal games being one of the highlights.

Vikings: Prior to middle school, I attended a school that did not have high school football, they played fall baseball instead. So, I really didn't follow football that much. At my new school, I was introduced into playing football at school recesses. I loved it. When we all played, all the other boys would pretend to be NFL players. This was in the 70's, so the Vikings were having some of their best years (and I must add most disappointing SB losses), but nonetheless, I was either "Fran the Man", Sammy White, or one of the "Purple People Eaters". Stuck with them ever since, with the dream of the elusive Super Bowl always there.

NBA: No specific team. I usually just cheer for any team with former Cyclones playing on them. Most remembered were the Utah Jazz teams with Hornacek. Now, I am a Pacers fan.

 

[CloneinWDSM]

Cubs - They were always on WGN when I was a kid so I always watched them and the Braves. Was a big Mark Grace fan as I grew up playing 1st base when I was younger


Chiefs - Not sure why I liked them. Maybe because they were close to Iowa and they would be on CBS.


ISU - No idea either. I remember being super young and watching some games on the Phillips 66 big 8 games on Saturday. Not sure if that is what started it or not.

I used to be a big bulls fan growing up as well when MJ and Pippen were there but I think that is because they were on TV and I used to be obsessed with their intro video.


We didn't have a lot of tv channels growing up so whatever team was on the most, it seems I gravitated towards.

 

[Farnsworth]

Cubs: I spent a lot of time with my grandpa growing up and he was a die hard Cubs fan. I remember spending weeks in the summer with him and we'd watch every game. Then started watching them on WGN all the time.

ISU: Growing up I watch next to nothing when it came to college sports, so I never had a rooting interest. Both my parents hate sports, so when I watched anything it would be pro sports (used to be a huge nba fan). I really didn't know anything about Iowa State until I took my college visit there in 2001. Ending up going to school there and became a die hard. Now I watch about 95% college sports, 5% professional, only exception would be the Cubs.

Spurs: My aunt was a nurse with the Navy and lived in San Antonio for 20 years. We'd visit her almost every year and she was a huge sports fan. She actually knew David Robinson from his Navy days. She'd buy me a lot of a Spurs stuff and got me an autographed "twin towers" poster autographed by Robinson and Duncan.

 

[Farnsworth]

I used to be a big bulls fan growing up as well when MJ and Pippen were there but I think that is because they were on TV and I used to be obsessed with their intro video.

I hated the bulls growing up because all my friends loved them, I always hated the super popular, always winning, teams. My all time favorite NBA team was the 95-96 Orlando Magic (lilpennyjr was my first online screen-name when I was like 14). I hated the bulls so much that I'd trade any of my bulls trading cards for crap in return. I'd trade a Jordan for like a Dennis Scott.

 

[Al_4_State]

ISU: Dad and uncle were alums. Mom was an Iowa alum. Grew up rooting for both, but always had a soft spot for the underdog and leaned Cyclone over Hawkeye. Decided to go to ISU and never looked back.

Vikings: Closest NFL team as a kid.

Blackhawks: Closest NHL team as a kid.

I root for the Twins and Wolves (sort of) on the same basis. All my sports rooting interests are based on who the closest team was at the time I started following sports, or where I had n actual connection.

 

[Cyched]

Cyclones: Was raised by 2 ISU alums, so not much leeway here .We had season FB and BB tickets when I was growing up, so I was essentially raised in the Jack and Hilton. My fandom is embedded pretty deep.

Packers: Was a huge Brett Favre fan growing up. Did my best to watch whenever the Packers were on, which ultimately morphed into becoming a fan of the team as well.

Cubs: Having the I Cubs in town is about as strong of a connection as you can get without any pro teams in Iowa. It was always a blast watching guys like Kerry Wood and Mark Prior come up through DSM, and made it easier to cheer for Chicago.

 

[CycloneErik]

Cubs were on WGN, and I loved watching as much as I could. I didn't know the history then, but it's really wild every time I learn more of it.

Cyclone basketball won me over while Johnny was here (but I thought Iowa and Tom Davis were great to watch, too).

I was a Raiders fan when I started watching the NFL, simply because they won the Super Bowl the year before, and the colors were cool. It's deep thinking here.

I liked the Celtics for the same reason, but Jordan really took over my interest for some odd reason. Maybe that whole "he was really good" thing.

 

[Triggermv]

Cyclones: Grandma, parents, sister, great-uncle and some cousins all went to ISU, so I was pretty much bred a Cyclone. I then later went to ISU myself. Been a die-hard basketball fan since I remember with the first team I remember being the Hoiberg - Meyer combo team. However, I didn't really strongly get into ISU football until college.

USMNT: I'm an American and I've grown to love the experience of watching the World Cup, almost similar to watching the Olympics.

Bears and Cubs: My mom's side of the family all grew up about an hour outside of Chicago and are all big anything Chicago fans, so the Bears and Cubs were also bred into me. The interesting things is that I always kind of hated the Bulls simply because I hated Jordan. Didn't mind the rest of the team and still watched nearly all their games during their glory years.

 

[NenoFone]

Bears: my dad's team, earliest sports memory 1963 championship.
A's: Des Moines' triple A team used to be the farm club of the A's, many of the greats from the early 70's dynasty played in Des Moines.
Spurs: I used to spend a lot of time in S.A. still think it is a great city.
Capitols: Used to like North Stars, didn't really have a favorite for years, but mainly because of Ovechkin.
Chelsea: randomly chosen team that a) I like their colors b) at least has a chance to win c) my brother likes Arsenal, so rivalry.
Formula One: McLaren, used to be Benetton.

 

[BoxsterCy]

TV was the influence when I was a kid to a certain extent. My parents were not big sports fans at all. My dad not at all and for some reason my mother was a fan of Al Kaline. Okay, now that I have reminded people how old here we go:

Yankees: Watching the Game of the Week on a little black and white TV. Broadcasters were Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese. Yanks were on a lot. Dizzy loved Mickey Mantle "He runs like a deer!" I became a big Mantle fan and Yankee fan. I still have a Boy Scout scrapbook filled with newspaper clipping of any boxscore I could grab where he homered. In the dark days of CBS ownership I stayed a fan of the last place Yankees and Mel Stottlemyre was my fav.

Packers: Again, not a lot of TV exposure to other teams. Packers were regional and with Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke etc they were my guys. Not as much of a fan today as I was when I watched Kramer throw "THE BLOCK" but come playoff time I still get some throwback fan interest when I see those classic jerseys (oooh, in color on a really big TV!).

NBA: In the wayback it was the Celtics with Havlicek and our Hawkeye boy Don Nelson. Later became a Laker fan (Jerry West). Have not given a **** about the NBA since Magic and Bird time.

Cyclones: Grew up in NE Iowa listening to the Hawks on the radio. Mike Cilek, the reserve QB, should be starting! Was the era of Hawks totally sucking record wise but having some entertaining and good players like Podolak etc. Cyclones and Hawks were never on TV, it was a radio thing. Didn't see my first Cyclone game until my freshman year. We were not good but we were starting to recruit good players under Johnny Majors and team was doing crazy gimmick trick plays etc and were fun to watch and the corner turned quickly to us being pretty good. We were also not very good in hoops but watch us in the Old Armory was a gas and I was hooked. We didn't have good records but there was some Armory Magic when we played there. Even used to go to the freshman games, back when we had those and freshmen were not eligible. Eric Heft was the star of that last freshman team I remember from the Armory days..

Soccer: Just kidding, **** soccer.

 

[cyhiphopp]

Cyclones: My uncle and my older brother went to ISU before me, so that helped, but I didn't really grow up rooting for Iowa or ISU. I actually rooted for both a bit before I went to Ames. I became a full ISU fan soon after. Then in 2000, when I went with the marching band to Kinnick stadium, I realized how horrible Iowa fans really were. The student section chucked full cans of beer at us. Luckily no one was hurt. I've hated Iowa fans ever since, outside a chosen few.

Cubs: Growing up in Des Moines helped. Went to quite a few I Cubs games as a kid. Then started watching Cubs games on WGN. I really started to love the Cubbies in 98 during the Sosa/McGwire homerun chase. Even though people say steroids ruined baseball, that season brought a LOT of fans back to the game. I lived with the ups and downs of the Cubs over the following years. Basically, how much I loved baseball depended on how much horrible Cubs baseball I could watch in a season. Now I think I've earned the payoff of them being good for once.

Steelers: By birth, I should be a Vikings fan, as my dad grew up in Minnesota and has always been a purple guy. And truthfully I've always rooted for the Vikes. Prior to this year with the Cubs finally winning it all, being an ISU, Cubs, and Vikings fan might have been more than I could take. I was in middle school when I really started to like NFL football. Soon after I started watching Steelers games when they were on. Bill Cowher was just starting to coach the team and I really liked the 3-4 defense. Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene were awesome and they started something great in Pittsburgh. It took a few years before the team was actually pretty good. And even though the offense choked against the hated Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX, I was hooked on the team. Jerome Bettis was the man and I've enjoyed 4 Super Bowl appearances and 2 wins. I've learned a lot about the Steel Curtain dynasty of the 70s as well and I really love the organization and the fact that they've had 3 head coaches since 1969.

As for Hockey and NBA, I really enjoyed watching the Redwings in the 90s, but hockey in general has fallen off for me since then. I really liked KG and the T'Wolves, but I haven't really enjoyed the NBA in a while either.

 

[jbindm]

Indianapolis Colts - My dad was a Bert Jones fan back when they were still in Baltimore. When they moved to Indy in '84 he stayed with them, and since he was a fan I was a fan. It finally started to pay off with the arrival of Peyton Manning in '98.

Indiana Pacers - I tend to root for the underdog, and the Pacers were always the 'dog in the East with MJ and Pippen in their primes. But I loved those mid 90's through early 2000's teams. Always knocking on the door but they never could quite break through.

Chicago Cubs - Just because they were always on tv in Iowa thanks to WGN.

Cyclones - My first clear memory as a sports fan is watching Lafester drop 54 on the Hawks. I watched it on this ancient television at my great grandmother's house. ISU fan ever since.

 

[Buster28]

Iowa State: The Cyclones were never really on my radar as a kid. Granted, they never did a lot to earn my attention either during that time (early 80s). Everything was Iowa, Iowa, Iowa. So I get why so many in this state have always been Iowa fans - honestly, it's just easier when a program has a history of winning and gets more media attention. By the time I got to ISU, I was a fan and followed several different sports. I still liked Iowa for a while after I got my degree, but I dropped my fandom of them when they basically fired Tom Davis, yet allowed him to linger for one last season. Since then, it's been all ISU.

California: Generally, I found that if you're a college fan (and it's a minority because of all the pro sports) in northern California, you choose between following Stanford and Cal. I chose Cal because they always kind of seemed like that underdog you felt needed your support more than the other. I'd go to the occasional football game in Berkely and saw a couple basketball games at the Oakland Coliseum (before they expanded Haas Pavillion. They're still my "other" college team that I follow and watch on tv when I can find them.

Giants: In 1989, I got a job at a music/video store in Santa Rosa and we had a Ticketmaster outlet in the store. One of the perks was that we were able to go to some venues in person to see what the places were like for when we had to help ticket buyers in the stores. A group of us went to a Giants game that summer (and, at Candlestick Park, froze our a$$es off). It was my first baseball game and I loved it. Went to at least one other game that year, which was also the year of the 'Earthquake World Series' vs Oakland. It was such a fun season when both Bay Area teams ended up battling for the title! I could never afford to go much when I lived there, but try to go back for a couple games a season (I'd rather fly to see them at AT&T Park than go see them on the road someplace closer).

A's: I never saw the Athletics play in person when I lived in California. A lot of people give you crap if you try to follow both the A's and Giants. I latched onto the Giants, first, so that was it for a long time. For the last ten years or so, I've paid a lot more attention to Oakland and have gone to quite a few games at the Coliseum. I watch them when the Giants are not playing and sometimes flip back and forth when they're both on. Sometimes.

I should add that I mostly hated sports of most kinds as a kid. I would watch college basketball games with my dad, but that was about the extent of paying much attention. My P.E. teacher in school was someone who made me really hate pretty much anything that had to do with athletics. I couldn't stand him and by association, most of what he made us do. I didn't begin to really like or appreciate athletics in any way until a couple years after I was out of high school and away from his crappy P.E. classes. I don't think that guy would believe someone if they told him how much of my life is involved with athletics now. Kind of strange, but it's proof that people definitely change as they grow up.

 

[Desiigner]

ISU- I've lived in Ames my whole live and have been going to games since I was like 5.

 

[cyfanatic13]

The holy trinity of suckitude (until this year) Cyclones, Cubs, Vikings. My dad and brothers pretty much influenced all of those. I'm starting to like the T-Wolves now just cause I've been to a game and I think they're going to be pretty good in a few years if they keep all their pieces.

 

[cyhiphopp]

The holy trinity of suckitude (until this year) Cyclones, Cubs, Vikings. My dad and brothers pretty much influenced all of those. I'm starting to like the T-Wolves now just cause I've been to a game and I think they're going to be pretty good in a few years if they keep all their pieces.

I'd have been in your boat if I'd have followed my dad with the Vikings.

I hate to say it, but I think the T-Wolves will lose their talent to free agency. Minneapolis is just not a destination for signing or keeping big talent. I guess all it takes is one part of the core to stay and influence the others to stay, but I'm afraid it wont happen, again.