Someone please explain to me a fan's loyalty to an NFL team......

[Railin Jemmye]

...or any pro team for that matter.

I've been trying to find some pro teams to root for, but at the end of the day I really don't give a ****. I don't have anything attached to the outcome of a pro game, except for sheer entertainment. Sure, I may want an MSU guy to win, but still no loyalty to a team in TEAM sports.

So why do fans root so hard for pro teams? I've read many times that the Cowboys dominate the Texas radio, not UT, A&M, Tech, Oklahoma or anyone else. Why? What tie to these people have to Jerry Jones' organization? At least with the college, fans went to school there or live in the state. And, they are non-profits. The Cowboys for example, are a business. Fans do nothing but make money for Jerry Jones. The only reason they want to win is to make more money. What has a Cowboys fan won if they win the Super Bowl? City pride over, say, Baltimore? People they will never see? And even then, the Cowboys could conceivably move to a different city altogether. Are Baltimore fans of the Colts (organization) or Ravens (city)? It's a big mystery to me.

I just see no reason for me to care about who wins in professional sports. It's literally all about the entertainment is watching the best athletes. Mutt's thread about the Cowboys reminded me of this, it's a question I've been curious about for a long time. You Saints fans out there....maybe you can answer it better. Only answer I can come up with is that it's city pride....and the team is somewhat of an economic engine for the city. But still, they can move at any time.

 

[Dawgsnsaints]

That's an easy one for me...it's a childhood thing with me...my Dad was huge Saints fan and had no allegience to any college team as he had not attended college...I grew up with the Saints and have now passed it along to my children we are Saint/Dogs and share the passion equally.

...or any pro team for that matter.

I've been trying to find some pro teams to root for, but at the end of the day I really don't give a ****. I don't have anything attached to the outcome of a pro game, except for sheer entertainment. Sure, I may want an MSU guy to win, but still no loyalty to a team in TEAM sports.

So why do fans root so hard for pro teams? I've read many times that the Cowboys dominate the Texas radio, not UT, A&M, Tech, Oklahoma or anyone else. Why? What tie to these people have to Jerry Jones' organization? At least with the college, fans went to school there or live in the state. And, they are non-profits. The Cowboys for example, are a business. Fans do nothing but make money for Jerry Jones. The only reason they want to win is to make more money. What has a Cowboys fan won if they win the Super Bowl? City pride over, say, Baltimore? People they will never see? And even then, the Cowboys could conceivably move to a different city altogether. Are Baltimore fans of the Colts (organization) or Ravens (city)? It's a big mystery to me.

I just see no reason for me to care about who wins in professional sports. It's literally all about the entertainment is watching the best athletes. Mutt's thread about the Cowboys reminded me of this, it's a question I've been curious about for a long time. You Saints fans out there....maybe you can answer it better. Only answer I can come up with is that it's city pride....and the team is somewhat of an economic engine for the city. But still, they can move at any time.

 

[gtowndawg]

For me, it's quite simple....

I'm a Miss. State fan and Atlanta Braves fan because my Dad was a Miss. State and Atlanta Braves fan. They are the only two teams that I really care about because it's the only thing I've ever known. I would assume my boys will be the same because they don't see my watching a particular NFL team or even the Griz really. I enjoy them as entertainment, but I don't spend more than 2 minutes thinking about them when I'm not there watching. To me it's hard to form a bond with a team like that once you get older. It just is.

...or any pro team for that matter.

I've been trying to find some pro teams to root for, but at the end of the day I really don't give a ****. I don't have anything attached to the outcome of a pro game, except for sheer entertainment. Sure, I may want an MSU guy to win, but still no loyalty to a team in TEAM sports.

So why do fans root so hard for pro teams? I've read many times that the Cowboys dominate the Texas radio, not UT, A&M, Tech, Oklahoma or anyone else. Why? What tie to these people have to Jerry Jones' organization? At least with the college, fans went to school there or live in the state. And, they are non-profits. The Cowboys for example, are a business. Fans do nothing but make money for Jerry Jones. The only reason they want to win is to make more money. What has a Cowboys fan won if they win the Super Bowl? City pride over, say, Baltimore? People they will never see? And even then, the Cowboys could conceivably move to a different city altogether. Are Baltimore fans of the Colts (organization) or Ravens (city)? It's a big mystery to me.

I just see no reason for me to care about who wins in professional sports. It's literally all about the entertainment is watching the best athletes. Mutt's thread about the Cowboys reminded me of this, it's a question I've been curious about for a long time. You Saints fans out there....maybe you can answer it better. Only answer I can come up with is that it's city pride....and the team is somewhat of an economic engine for the city. But still, they can move at any time.

 

[tenureplan]

I used to be an avid Braves and Saints fan but years of fantasy sports and having to pull against them at times has definitely lessened that.

 

[Railin Jemmye]

OK then, well how did your dad's become huge fans of the Saints/Braves? Did they feel like they were somehow a 'part' of those teams, much like I do with MSU?

I agree with the childhood thing, but you still don't really have a 'tie' to the teams. Don't take this as me interrogating you all, that's not the case.

 

[FirstPoetsThenSunDoggy]

I feel exactly the same. Love the craft and art of the pros but couldn't actually give two ***** who wins. But Go Dawgs will be among my last utterances.

No doubt the quality of the pro game is superior, but the Mississippi State Bulldogs are my one and only team.

 

[FISHDAWG]

it's easier to follow when you know the players ... pick a team with your

favorite bulldog on it and spend a little time getting to know the other players and sooner or later the interest will come ... I'm basically a Falcons fan now but my interest in other teams changes somewhat as the players do

 

[BiscuitEater]

Simple ... when D.D. Lewis became a Cowboy, so did I. After Landry was crapped on, am much less passionate

 

[dogfan96]

When I first started to understand football, John Elway and Dan Marino were two favorite players. So I have always been a Dolphins and Broncos fan.. Dolphins not as much anymore because of the way they forced Marino into retirement in favor of Jay Fiedler.. but I still like to see them do well.
In the NBA, I have favorite players moreso than a favorite team. Whatever team my favorite players are on, those are the teams I follow.

 

[gtowndawg]

Very interesting you say that....

that is the one reason I will not play fantasy baseball. I want to pull for the Braves for no other reason except the pure enjoyment of them winning. No outside influence on making me be "ok" with a loss because it could help my fantasy team.

I think fantasy football could actually hurt the NFL down the road because of the same thing. People will less and less become fans of a team as opposed to just their fantasy players.

 

[Will James]

I agree with you Goat.

I pull for the Braves because they have been on TV my whole life but mostly my rooting interest in pro sports is Fantasy related. Over the past few season's I have watched less and less NFL. The safety penalties every game have further turned me away. NBA is only good for playoffs.

 

[Negative Waves]

I've found college football to be more of a white-collar game, and NFL to be

more blue-collared. This makes sense because those in managerial positions are more likely to have gone to college. At my office, all of us engineers primarily talk about SEC football while the techs primarily discuss NFL games. I'm with you on pro sports, and I hardly if ever watch any of them. I have no ties to any of the teams, and if I watch them, I root for the State grads. With college sports, school pride is on the line. With the pros, I guess city pride is what's at stake. I love going to a State baseball game, but absolutely despise going to a Mississippi Braves game.

...or any pro team for that matter.

I've been trying to find some pro teams to root for, but at the end of the day I really don't give a ****. I don't have anything attached to the outcome of a pro game, except for sheer entertainment. Sure, I may want an MSU guy to win, but still no loyalty to a team in TEAM sports.

So why do fans root so hard for pro teams? I've read many times that the Cowboys dominate the Texas radio, not UT, A&M, Tech, Oklahoma or anyone else. Why? What tie to these people have to Jerry Jones' organization? At least with the college, fans went to school there or live in the state. And, they are non-profits. The Cowboys for example, are a business. Fans do nothing but make money for Jerry Jones. The only reason they want to win is to make more money. What has a Cowboys fan won if they win the Super Bowl? City pride over, say, Baltimore? People they will never see? And even then, the Cowboys could conceivably move to a different city altogether. Are Baltimore fans of the Colts (organization) or Ravens (city)? It's a big mystery to me.

I just see no reason for me to care about who wins in professional sports. It's literally all about the entertainment is watching the best athletes. Mutt's thread about the Cowboys reminded me of this, it's a question I've been curious about for a long time. You Saints fans out there....maybe you can answer it better. Only answer I can come up with is that it's city pride....and the team is somewhat of an economic engine for the city. But still, they can move at any time.

 

[gtowndawg]

Excellent question. And I can answer it....

When my Dad was 14 they moved from Ohio, to West Point so my grandfather could work at the B&W plant (this was like in the early 60's). Being in West Point, they naturally became State fans and my Dad and Uncle ended up going to State (my grandfather was a huge sports fan and became a Bulldog Club member in the 70's). Again, it was just based on their move to West Point 50 years ago.

As for the Braves, my Dad was an Indians fan growing up (because of Ohio) but when the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta he started going to Braves games because it was the only team in the South that he could go to. Again, it was just a regional thing. So he was a big Braves fan by the time I made it around.

 

[dawgstudent]

Braves also obviously aren't heavy bunters.

 

[Will James]

Braves also obviously aren't heavy bunters.

14th in the NL in bunting last year! Over 162 games they had 53 sac bunts. Cohen and co. had 67 while playing 100 less games

 

[esplanade91]

The white collar vs. blue collar debate might be the case in the southeast but it is hardly like that anywhere else in the country that actually has a pro team.

I casually wore Saints stuff and knew names like McAllister and Horn but wasn't a big Saints fan until after Katrina (around 15 years old) when I got really into Fantasy Football. Since I can remember there hasn't been an MSU player on their squad, at least never more than practice squad. The reason I love the NFL so much is there is ONE league and every single team plays each other and the measuring stick is reasonable. Everybody has a pro team, not everyone has a D1 BCS football team to cheer for.

If you want a QB, you pony up the dough, scout him out of college, or trade for him. Free agency and the trade deadline are almost as fun as games for me. Unless you're a Jacksonville Jaguars or the Arizona Cardinals fan you never have to suffer through a Tyson Lee performance, because the worst players in the NFL are still good. There's not much disparity.

It's apples and oranges to college football. Two completely different animals and you can't stack them up against each other and say one is better. I'm sorry you didn't grow up with or ever adopt a team to care about. I can't explain to you the joy and excitement I get from watching the Saints every week. The most fun I've ever had in my life was watching and celebrating the Saints Super Bowl win.

*So what if Benson makes money from me being a fan? Everyone except the players make money from college sports. Everyone.

**For the most part, students of a particular school are and always will be fans, but as a current student I will tell you that a large % of MSU students are Alabama, Auburn, and Tennessee football fans. I see at least one guy wearing an Auburn hat (in undergrad classes) every day and its never the same guy it seems. A significant amount of my friends wore UT gear for the UT game. An even bigger % of students are Memphis basketball fans, even last year and the year before when MSU was better. So not having a specific tie to an NFL team isn't necessarily a good argument.

 

[dogmatic]

It's not all that different if you look at it from a bird's eye view of both. Why is anyone a fan of any college team for that matter? I'm a State fan because I grew up in a State household, went to school at State and enjoy remembering good times associated with State games, some of which even involved a win. I've also taken crap from fans of other schools about being a State fan, which is sort of a fire that welds all of the other experiences together to create an us-against-them shell.

None of that is anything an NFL fan couldn't experience though. Sure, they didn't go to school at Steelers University, but sitting in calculus class didn't make me a football fan. I enjoy watching football, I enjoy the gameday experience, and I enjoy the family-and-friends throughline being a State fan creates for me. NFL fans get the same thing.

Cowboys fans do nothing but make money for Jerry Jones, sure. We pay our coaches millions of dollars. Who do you think State fans make money for? Further, on the heels of recruiting season, how many of our players do what they do because they love MSU? College and NFL games are both products. The consumer picks the one that fits him best.

 

[Will James]

The white collar vs. blue collar debate might be the case in the southeast but it is hardly like that anywhere else in the country that actually has a pro team.

I casually wore Saints stuff and knew names like McAllister and Horn but wasn't a big Saints fan until after Katrina (around 15 years old) when I got really into Fantasy Football. Since I can remember there hasn't been an MSU player on their squad, at least never more than practice squad. The reason I love the NFL so much is there is ONE league and every single team plays each other and the measuring stick is reasonable. Everybody has a pro team, not everyone has a D1 BCS football team to cheer for.

If you want a QB, you pony up the dough, scout him out of college, or trade for him. Free agency and the trade deadline are almost as fun as games for me. Unless you're a Jacksonville Jaguars or the Arizona Cardinals fan you never have to suffer through a Tyson Lee performance, because the worst players in the NFL are still good. There's not much disparity.

It's apples and oranges to college football. Two completely different animals and you can't stack them up against each other and say one is better. I'm sorry you didn't grow up with or ever adopt a team to care about. I can't explain to you the joy and excitement I get from watching the Saints every week. The most fun I've ever had in my life was watching and celebrating the Saints Super Bowl win.

*So what if Benson makes money from me being a fan? Everyone except the players make money from college sports. Everyone.

I don't particularly think the NFL system puts emphasis on the regular season. Losses don't matter. Look at a 7-9 Seahawk team making the playoffs a few years back or the Ravens this year. The playoffs are cool but anybody can wind up winning. The college system needs 4 teams to get in but to do that you have to absolutely earn your spot. Every week is life or death, every matchup has meaning. You are competiting for 2 now, 4 in the future spots out of 120 teams. The NFL is 12 spots of 32. You often see better matchups in earlier rounds of the playoffs than the Super Bowl. Seriously, the Ravens? The Ravens are champs? They went 10-6 and fired their OC before the playoffs. That to me is a joke. I want it to mean something and the regular season, SEC Champ game, and BCS tournament will have more at stake than the NFL season.

 

[Railin Jemmye]

Cowboys fans do nothing but make money for Jerry Jones, sure. We pay our coaches millions of dollars. Who do you think State fans make money for?

Themselves? You know, getting a degree and getting educated so you can succeed in life.

 

[Railin Jemmye]

I can't explain to you the joy and excitement I get from watching the Saints every week. The most fun I've ever had in my life was watching and celebrating the Saints Super Bowl win.

Why not?

 

[Railin Jemmye]

I'm still not seeing any hardcore loyalty to a 'team'.

 

[Railin Jemmye]

This is all I can come up with too, coupled with city pride. Also explains why so many of our 'grandads' watched the NFL. Depends on whoever's winning too, with the sidewalk folks with no loyalty whatsoever to anything.

 

[Spidey.sixpack]

The NFL and MLB are just entertainment to me. I picked teams about 12 years ago and have called myself a "fan" of them ever since. I just enjoy watching NFL though.

 

[maroonmania]

...or any pro team for that matter.

I've been trying to find some pro teams to root for, but at the end of the day I really don't give a ****. I don't have anything attached to the outcome of a pro game, except for sheer entertainment. Sure, I may want an MSU guy to win, but still no loyalty to a team in TEAM sports.

So why do fans root so hard for pro teams? I've read many times that the Cowboys dominate the Texas radio, not UT, A&M, Tech, Oklahoma or anyone else. Why? What tie to these people have to Jerry Jones' organization? At least with the college, fans went to school there or live in the state. And, they are non-profits. The Cowboys for example, are a business. Fans do nothing but make money for Jerry Jones. The only reason they want to win is to make more money. What has a Cowboys fan won if they win the Super Bowl? City pride over, say, Baltimore? People they will never see? And even then, the Cowboys could conceivably move to a different city altogether. Are Baltimore fans of the Colts (organization) or Ravens (city)? It's a big mystery to me.

I just see no reason for me to care about who wins in professional sports. It's literally all about the entertainment is watching the best athletes. Mutt's thread about the Cowboys reminded me of this, it's a question I've been curious about for a long time. You Saints fans out there....maybe you can answer it better. Only answer I can come up with is that it's city pride....and the team is somewhat of an economic engine for the city. But still, they can move at any time.

I sort of feel the same way. When you don't grow up in an NFL city or even a state with an NFL team its sort of the who cares attitude. I mean when I was little kid I loved the Vikings because Tarkenton was my favorite player and then I sort of kept up with the Saints because I was force fed them every week on television. But after going to college and developing a real connection with my college team I just don't get that into any pro sports that much. I mean I enjoy watching them, don't get me wrong, but I have no real hard core loyalty to any of them or ANY desire to spend money on them.

 

[missouridawg]

...or any pro team for that matter.

I've been trying to find some pro teams to root for, but at the end of the day I really don't give a ****. I don't have anything attached to the outcome of a pro game, except for sheer entertainment. Sure, I may want an MSU guy to win, but still no loyalty to a team in TEAM sports.

So why do fans root so hard for pro teams? I've read many times that the Cowboys dominate the Texas radio, not UT, A&M, Tech, Oklahoma or anyone else. Why? What tie to these people have to Jerry Jones' organization? At least with the college, fans went to school there or live in the state. And, they are non-profits. The Cowboys for example, are a business. Fans do nothing but make money for Jerry Jones. The only reason they want to win is to make more money. What has a Cowboys fan won if they win the Super Bowl? City pride over, say, Baltimore? People they will never see? And even then, the Cowboys could conceivably move to a different city altogether. Are Baltimore fans of the Colts (organization) or Ravens (city)? It's a big mystery to me.

I just see no reason for me to care about who wins in professional sports. It's literally all about the entertainment is watching the best athletes. Mutt's thread about the Cowboys reminded me of this, it's a question I've been curious about for a long time. You Saints fans out there....maybe you can answer it better. Only answer I can come up with is that it's city pride....and the team is somewhat of an economic engine for the city. But still, they can move at any time.

It's because you're from Mississippi... which, obviously, doesn't have any pro teams in its state and doesn't have a good identfiable pro-team to root for. For baseball, WGN, TBS, and Memphis Chicks/Redbirds/KMOX have provided a split population on teams to root for. For football/basketball... a lot of people identify with Atlanta and New Orleans. To a lesser extent, some from MS identify with former college players (I knew some guys who followed Roy Oswalt because they grew up near him and becames Astros fans.... same with the Jackson Generals who used to be affiliated with the Astros).

For me, growing up in Missouri, the Cardinals were force fed to you. Mizzou basketball, under Norm Stewart, was a big attraction as well. I've kept my Cardinals allegiance as I've grown older, but MSU has obviously replaced Mizzou as my college interest. I do still, however, root for Mizzou in all college sports assuming they aren't playing us.

 

[Dawg@Vandy]

For me, growing up in a small town, I think my pro sports teams just were based on who I became a fan of as a kid.

I liked football at an earlier age than baseball. The first Superbowl that I remember watching was the 49ers and Broncos. My buddies and I would play football at recess and I always wanted to be John Elway and my buddy wanted to be Joe Montana. To this day, he is a big 49ers fan and I am a big Broncos fan. Even living in Nashville for over 5 years hasn't changed this. I like the Titans and hope they do well (they don't), but I am not emotionally invested in them like I am the Broncos.

My love for baseball didn't start until I started playing little league a year or so later. Again the first World Series was the 91 Braves - Twins series. I became a fan of Tom Glavine and Ron Gant. Still a Braves fan today.

Had I been born a year earlier, I may be a Reds and Bengals fan?

 

[Beaver.sixpack]

It's because you're from Mississippi... which, obviously, doesn't have any pro teams in its state and doesn't have a good identfiable pro-team to root for. For baseball, WGN, TBS, and Memphis Chicks/Redbirds/KMOX have provided a split population on teams to root for. For football/basketball... a lot of people identify with Atlanta and New Orleans. To a lesser extent, some from MS identify with former college players (I knew some guys who followed Roy Oswalt because they grew up near him and becames Astros fans.... same with the Jackson Generals who used to be affiliated with the Astros).

For me, growing up in Missouri, the Cardinals were force fed to you. Mizzou basketball, under Norm Steward, was a big attraction as well. I've kept my Cardinals allegiance as I've grown older, but MSU has obviously replaced Mizzou as my college interest. I do still, however, root for Mizzou in all college sports assuming they aren't playing us.

Exactly. I grew up in Atlanta. So all I saw on TV, heard on the radio, and read in the newspaper was Braves, Falcons, and Hawks. Obviously lots of UGA/GT coverage too, but I quickly learned to despise them (especially UGA) since my parents were UT grads.

It basically comes down to where you live/where your parents lived. If you grow up close to a city, then it's easy to latch on to the pro teams there and gain loyalty. If you don't, then you basically have to choose a team that you see on TV more often than not, or has players you like to watch. If you follow players, retirement and free agency ruin the chance of you having loyalty to a single team. If you only follow what the TV shows you, then you are likely to watch them if they are good, but then watch something else or a better team when "your" team is bad.

 

[dogfan96]

I don't particularly think the NFL system puts emphasis on the regular season. Losses don't matter. Look at a 7-9 Seahawk team making the playoffs a few years back or the Ravens this year. The playoffs are cool but anybody can wind up winning. The college system needs 4 teams to get in but to do that you have to absolutely earn your spot. Every week is life or death, every matchup has meaning. You are competiting for 2 now, 4 in the future spots out of 120 teams. The NFL is 12 spots of 32. You often see better matchups in earlier rounds of the playoffs than the Super Bowl. Seriously, the Ravens? The Ravens are champs? They went 10-6 and fired their OC before the playoffs. That to me is a joke. I want it to mean something and the regular season, SEC Champ game, and BCS tournament will have more at stake than the NFL season.

Sure it does.. 6 regular season games determine if you're gonna make the playoffs. The BCS is a popularity contest. A bunch of teams with the same record will be left out of the BCS "tournament" and some team with that same record will arbitrarily get in just because somebody voted for them and not another team. In the NFL, teams within a division play almost an identical schedule so it's way more fair.
The Ravens get to be called champs because they beat the teams who finished ahead of them on their respective home fields and they beat the best the NFC had to offer on a neutral field.

 

[dawgs.sixpack]

i think it's about where you grow up. if you grow up in a pro sports area, then you grow up cheering and attached to those teams.

i grew up kinda cheering for the braves and cubs in baseball simply because in MS, they were on tv every day when i'd be out of school in the summers. i wasn't a die hard fan of either though, and as i grew older, i just became more of a general baseball fan. now that i've been living in DC since 2008, i am a pretty big nats fan. being the team was still pretty new to town when i moved here, it's been pretty fun growing with the team and going to games over the years. i definitely think that helps instead fo say moving to NYC and deciding i'd become a yankees or mets fan since they have longstanding ties to the city predating my arrival by decades.

with the NFL, i grew up cheering for the saints (proximity), packers (favre), and 49ers (rice). wasn't a die hard of any of them, and still not. i have teams i seem to general prefer to win over others, but i'm not going to get fired up over it. i'm definitely still just more of a general fan of the NFL.

NBA, i really don't care about any team. i like some players more than others. i guess if anything i kinda like the blazers because i lived with some die hard blazers fans for a few years and they watched nearly every game, and i've been to a few blazers games, but i don't follow them really, i'd just like to see them win.

 

[patdog]

years of fantasy sports and having to pull against them at times has definitely lessened that.

I will never understand the attraction of fantasy sports. And certainly not enough to less a fan's interst in the teams he is a fan of. I have no problem cheering my *** off for MSU in a game I've picked them to lose in my football pool.

 

[dawgs.sixpack]

I will never understand the attraction of fantasy sports. And certainly not enough to less a fan's interst in the teams he is a fan of. I have no problem cheering my *** off for MSU in a game I've picked them to lose in my football pool.

i think he was saying he was never really a die hard fan to begin with. more of a casual fan just ot have someone to cheer for.

 

[was21]

Basically two kinds: (1)The ones who didn't attend college or attended college without a big time team; (2) those who attended a college with a football team that was big time and then they moved geographically far away to a city with an NFL and became a fan of that NFL team for various reasons. I could personally not care less about the NFL.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

I like watching sports. Watching sports is more fun when you have a rooting interest. That's pretty much it.

 

[Ishmael]

It's because you're from Mississippi... which, obviously, doesn't have any pro teams in its state and doesn't have a good identfiable pro-team to root for.

This sums it up nicely. If you had grown up in the northeast and gone to college without a big-time sports program, you'd probably be asking people to explain a fan's loyalty to a school's sports teams.

 

[HammerOfTheDogs]

For me, being a Cowboy fan began when Calvin Hill and Roger Staubach were rookies. I would've been a fan of them even before all the "America's Team" hype of the late 1970's. I began rooting for the Saints in the late 1980's when I lived on the Coast and coverage on all the coast stations was Saints Wall to Wall, and they started winning. However, when the Cowboys began their Dynasty run in the early 1990's, I jumped back on the bandwagon.

I also like the Green Bay Packers (Dad and step-mom have season tickets, and have tailgated at Lambeau Field), plus will root for a team if there's a particular player I like.

The only team I absolutely despise is the Oakland Raiders. They were dirty cheaters when they won, and now they're pitiful losers...and Tommy Kelly is on the team.

As for baseball, I used to root for the Braves until Ted turner married Jane Fonda. Now I root for the Boston Red Sox. Why? I remember the 1975 World Series and Carlton Fisk's 12th inning home run, and the frustration of losing the 1986 WS, and it all coming to an end in 2004.

 

[Toby Nash]

That's it for me as well. Every Sunday when I was a kid was church, roast beef, and watching the Saints game with my dad. My kids have gotten the same treatment, and they're huge Saints fans now too.

 

[RocketDawg]

Ever noticed the Alabama fanbase? Not exactly white collar. ** But I agree with you in principal ... and it's a matter of where you grow up. Big cities could not care less about college FB in general ... it's all about the NFL.

 

[Coast Dawg]

I'm still not seeing any hardcore loyalty to a 'team'.

not sure if this will really explain being "hardcore" but the first time I went to a Saints game I was 6 years old (1980). I don't remember the game as much as I remember the atmosphere and how huge the dome was. That's when me being a "fan" began... wearing Saints shirts, caps, etc... Continued to go to Saints games as I got older and many years they were horrible. Still liked the team because that is the games I had the opportunity to attend. I remember liking other teams that were winners but still liked the Saints more (would root for the Saints when they would play these winning teams that I liked too). Childhood friends would make fun of us "Saints fans" because the Saints sucked. Then Mora came and started winning! Our horrible Saints were now transformed into something to be proud of as a kid. Going into the teenage years and being able to drive to games... was now able to attend games with friends. Through high school and college was able to attend many games because a scalped ticket on Poydras right at kickoff could be bought for $5-$10. Katrina hit and took our home games away. We got a glimpse into what it would be like with no New Orleans Saints and it sucked! When the Saints announced they were returning to a renovated dome, I bought my first season tickets (January-2006). Signed Brees in March, drafted Bush in April and next thing you know there is a 50,000 person waiting list for season tickets.

I realize Benson holds all the power and the money but the connection with the team that takes the field (no matter who the players are or where they came from) is pretty deep and began 32 years ago after sitting through a lot of ****** football. ****** football or not, it was "our" football team that only a handfull of cities in this country can say the same thing...

Funny thing is sooo many of the guys that always gave me **** for being a Saints fan growing up now claim to be "die-hards that always loved the Saints".

 

[Railin Jemmye]

Let me clarify further......

I am, for all intents and purposes, a Saints fan. Saints are actually the only pro team I've ever seen in person. I want to care more, but I just don't. I got the coverage as a kid, I knew Bobby Hebert, etc. But they won the Super Bowl and I was just like, eh whatever.

The players.....they are all drafted.....they have no ties to the cities either, unless they get involved and do charity work, or somehow just happen to play for the city where they were from. Even the franchise type guys usually move on......Montana, Manning, Rice.....so you really can't latch onto a TEAM through a player. In college, the players CHOOSE to go to YOUR school, so if nothing else, you do have that tie to them. This is something that is not the case in the pros.

Keep in mind this is about a team. As in, you cheer for them no matter the personnel.

 

[Center Z]

The Saints were nearby and on TV a lot when I was little. I just developed an interest in them. It stuck with me and I still root for them.