Question on ethics, as a sports fan

[swordpath]

So, I'm moving to a new city with a professional football and baseball team. Am I allowed to like these teams, or will I be some sort of sellout if I do?

Serious thread.

 

[Moiety]

Fandom is about history right? I might I'm only a FCPorto fan because there was a time when I was young that I used to like them. So I liked them year 1, year 2, year 3...eventually they became "my" team. History.

One doesn't just feel like supporting another team does he?

Or are you not already a fan of a NFL and a MLB team?






It's draining to talk about sports for long...so if you'll allow me...I'm gonna go find my cocoon now...

 

[Quinlan]

It's morally outrageous to switch allegiance because you moved somewhere new, but if you had no allegiance to begin with then that's a different story.

 

[Epiphany]

So, I'm moving to a new city with a professional football and baseball team. Am I allowed to like these teams, or will I be some sort of sellout if I do?

Serious thread.

You are allowed to like any team you want for any reason. I understand why people like teams from their hometown/state. I guess it's along the same lines as supporting your school team. I like baseball and hockey, but my state doesn't have a professional team in either one of those sports, except a few minor league teams. I find the concept of "selling out" a bit bizarre. What are reasons that people like particular teams? Location/individual players/coaches/tradition. Teams change players and coaches frequently and sometimes they relocate. What is the anchoring quality that makes a person dedicated to one particular team? It differs from person to person. Since there are no hockey teams in my region, I choose my favorite teams based on jerseys, which are subject to change as well. I'm not going to wear a jersey if I don't like the way it looks. To me, liking a team for their jersey makes just as much sense as liking them because of particular players or a winning streak which will change from season to season.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

So, I'm moving to a new city with a professional football and baseball team. Am I allowed to like these teams, or will I be some sort of sellout if I do?

Serious thread.

I wrote a blog post about this a while back. This is going to sound overly pedantic and invested in the subject, but hey...I'm a sports fan and these are the rules generally accepted by people I encounter. It's also just sports, so take it with tongue in cheek. The most important thing is that you can't switch except under the conditions listed below. You also can't be a sports bigamist - that is, you can't have more than one favorite team in a sport. I hope you find this enlightening!

Acceptable Reasons To Choose Your Favorite Team

* You grew up in the team's home city.
* You live in the team's home city now.
* The family member or other loved one who introduced you to sports is a fan of the team.
* You are a fan of a particular player on the team in question because they attended the same college as you. Keep in mind before making a final decision that you will be stuck with this team after that player retires.

Unacceptable Reasons To Choose Your Favorite Team

* You like the team's uniforms or colors.
* You like the animal that the team is named after (especially cats.)
* You are attracted to one or more of the players.
* The team is a consistent winner and you like being associated with winners.

Acceptable Reasons To Switch Teams

* Your team moves to another city.
* You move to another city. However, once you switch you can never be a fan of your previous favorite team again. If you move from Detroit to Dallas and you adopt the Cowboys, and the Lions win the Super Bowl the next year, you are screwed. Just like in Highlander, there can be only one. If you abandon your hometown team under this rule, your family also reserves the right to disown you.
* The man or woman who made you a fan of your team cheats on you.
* Your favorite team is the Cleveland Browns.

 

[Kingfisher]

It's morally outrageous to switch allegiance because you moved somewhere new, but if you had no allegiance to begin with then that's a different story.

haha,
you are absolutely goddamn right.


i am a Eagles fan, so when i moved to Texas i took a lot of pride and satisfaction in publicly hating the cowboys in a big way... haha
but i definitely still watched tons of cowboy games with friends... if they were watching the cowboys, shit, just go with it. crack a beer and have a good time!!

 

[Epiphany]

I find it highly amusing that there are "rules" for being a sports fan. :yim_rolling_on_the_ The sports Nazis hath declared thou shalt not like a team because of their jersey.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I find it highly amusing that there are "rules" for being a sports fan. :yim_rolling_on_the_ The sports Nazis hath declared thou shalt not like a team because of their jersey.

Heil!

The thing is, liking a jersey or liking the mascot or whatever are things that tend to be ephemeral. Where you grew up or family associations tend to be permanent. And there's nothing worse than being a front runner or switching allegiances. Even the most casual of sports fans agree on that. That's like the being the guy that shows up to help you move at 4pm when everyone else has been busting their ass all day, and then helps you drink your beer.

 

[swordpath]

So, according to FM's guidelines, I'm safe...

First off, I should say, I'm not a huge sports buff. I enjoy watching them a lot, but I don't get into all the stats and technicalities so much.

I'm from the bay area (though haven't lived there in some time). Early on, I adopted all the bay area teams. The Sharks will always be my hockey team, and hockey is the sport I enjoy the most. -- Baseball I don't watch, but love going to games. I used to go to Oakland A's games with my grandpa, so that team will always be special to me for that reason. Football - I called the Raiders my team, but never cared about 'em... and Christ, have they sucked for some years now.

 

[Epiphany]

Heil!

The thing is, liking a jersey or liking the mascot or whatever are things that tend to be ephemeral. Where you grew up or family associations tend to be permanent. And there's nothing worse than being a front runner or switching allegiances. Even the most casual of sports fans agree on that. That's like the being the guy that shows up to help you move at 4pm when everyone else has been busting their ass all day, and then helps you drink your beer.

In hockey, I think jerseys/logos tend to change more often than other sports. There is also a lot more creativity that goes into the design of hockey jerseys so that's why I mentioned uniforms. It seems to me like the colors and logos in baseball, basketball, football are more consistent; although it might be because I pay less attention to them. I agree that people who switch allegiances due to a team's statistics or popularity are not true "fans." But I highly doubt that uniforms are completely irrelevant to most fans. If a team changed their colors to pink and brown, I'm sure their diehard fanbase would dwindle considerably.

I get annoyed by people from my city who worship our football team simply because they garner a lot of popularity and are a winning team. People who obviously know very little about football are donning team jerseys. I find that sort of fandom more annoying than a person who is truly a fan of a particular sport and randomly chooses a favorite team for whatever reason, be it jerseys, players, whatever...and sticks with that team.

You are going to have true fans and temporary fans who feed off of the hype, whether it's a sport, movie, book series, or band. I don't think a fan is defined by where they live, what members of their family share their interest, etc... A fan is defined by how dedicated they are to their particular passion because they like it themselves. I think it's ridiculous when people tell others that they aren't true fans of something because they like it for different reasons (except for popularity...that irks me).

 

[Aquarelle]

It's morally outrageous to switch allegiance because you moved somewhere new, but if you had no allegiance to begin with then that's a different story.

This is absolutely baffling to me...

In high school, for example, I would think that if you go to X high school for 2 years, but then your family moves and you go to Y high school for your last 2 years, you're not expected to cheer for X if you play them! Why is it different for adults and state/hometown teams?

Admittedly I'm not a sports fan, so maybe I just don't get it.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

This is absolutely baffling to me...

In high school, for example, I would think that if you go to X high school for 2 years, but then your family moves and you go to Y high school for your last 2 years, you're not expected to cheer for X if you play them! Why is it different for adults and state/hometown teams?

Admittedly I'm not a sports fan, so maybe I just don't get it.

Well, I think you raise a very different situation than Quinlan does. If you are an actual student at a school, then I think your allegiances lie there, of course. But in pro sports like Quinlan is referring to, you have no direct connection to the team...the only connection is one you make yourself. In other words, you can't help where you go to high school, but your choice of pro team is entirely in your hands. So the motivations for switching allegiances are different.

 

[Aquarelle]

Well, I think you raise a very different situation than Quinlan does. If you are an actual student at a school, then I think your allegiances lie there, of course. But in pro sports like Quinlan is referring to, you have no direct connection to the team...the only connection is one you make yourself. In other words, you can't help where you go to high school, but your choice of pro team is entirely in your hands. So the motivations for switching allegiances are different.

Hmm... well I guess yeah, there is a difference between going to school at a particular school and living in a particular state/city... but still, I don't really get why moving to a different state is apparently a questionable motive for swearing allegiance to a different team.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

Hmm... well I guess yeah, there is a difference between going to school at a particular school and living in a particular state/city... but still, I don't really get why moving to a different state is apparently a questionable motive for swearing allegiance to a different team.

Well, with full disclosure that I'm aware this is a weird subculture that I'm sure looks very silly from the outside...

It's about how invested you are. If you can just switch like that, you can't be very invested. To me it would be like picking a new best friend. If someone is really your best friend, you wouldn't be able to just up and pick someone you don't know very well to be your new best friend. You have feelings invested there that you can't just turn off...and if you could, people would look at you funny.

For instance, I grew up in the Philadelphia area but I've lived in Los Angeles for 13 years. It wouldn't even occur to me to root for Los Angeles teams because it feels unnatural. It would be throwing away years and years of time and attention invested in the Philadelphia teams. Besides, if you suddenly decide to switch teams and your new team wins a championship fairly soon after, it wouldn't be even a fraction as satisfying as if a team you've been rooting for your whole life won.

 

[Jaguar]

 

[Aquarelle]

Well, with full disclosure that I'm aware this is a weird subculture that I'm sure looks very silly from the outside...

It's about how invested you are. If you can just switch like that, you can't be very invested. To me it would be like picking a new best friend. If someone is really your best friend, you wouldn't be able to just up and pick someone you don't know very well to be your new best friend. You have feelings invested there that you can't just turn off...and if you could, people would look at you funny.

For instance, I grew up in the Philadelphia area but I've lived in Los Angeles for 13 years. It wouldn't even occur to me to root for Los Angeles teams because it feels unnatural. It would be throwing away years and years of time and attention invested in the Philadelphia teams. Besides, if you suddenly decide to switch teams and your new team wins a championship fairly soon after, it wouldn't be even a fraction as satisfying as if a team you've been rooting for your whole life won.

That makes sense. I suppose you have to be a sports fan to really get it, but I think I vaguely get it.

 

[rav3n]

Cheer for both. That's what I did!

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

Cheer for both. That's what I did!

Sports bigamist! :footballreferee:

 

[Fidelia]

Is it permissible to cheer for any other teams once yours is out of the final rounds? For example, for Stanley Cup playoffs or finals, if your team is no longer part of the competition, is it okay to root for anyone else? If so, is it okay to keep switching allegiances because they aren't really your team anyway, or do you choose a secondary team to be loyal to?

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

Is it permissible to cheer for any other teams once yours is out of the final rounds? For example, for Stanley Cup playoffs or finals, if your team is no longer part of the competition, is it okay to root for anyone else? If so, is it okay to keep switching allegiances because they aren't really your team anyway, or do you choose a secondary team to be loyal to?

Yes. I still enjoy the game even if my team isn't in it, and it's not nearly as much fun to watch sitting on a fence. So I usually contrive some reason to have a rooting interest in the remainder of the playoffs. I also think it's fine to have a secondary team you have a fondness for as long as there is never any question about your favorite. Kind of like you can have opposite sex friends when you're married but you can't sleep with them

Somehow I seem to have appointed myself the arbiter of this sort of thing. I'm too much of a pedant for this!