# Can you root for your conference rivals? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 15, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762 "2010-11-15T19:12:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/1 "2010-11-15T19:12:45Z")
Oregon’s football team is on pace to play for the national title. As a Washington Huskies fan, that has me conflicted. Usually I root for other Pac-10 teams to win nonconference games because that improves the Pac-10’s national rep (which should help the Huskies in recruiting and poll placement). The problem is that Oregon is a traditional rival, and thus I want to root for them to lose in the title game. Can you root for a team in your own conference? Does it make a difference if they’re your traditional rival? Or do you say you can never root for a conference rival? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/2 "2010-11-15T19:24:20Z")
I can and often do. I generally despise Auburn, but this year they’re the SEC’s best shot at claiming another consecutive SEC/BCS championship, so I’ll be pulling for them. I have preferences within the SEC, but I root for any SEC team against any non-SEC team. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/3 "2010-11-15T19:32:47Z")
Yes I do all the time. I love ACC Basketball and I root for an all-ACC Final Four. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/4 "2010-11-15T19:38:17Z")
I will root for teams in my conference (or division, or whatever) _unless_ they are traditional rivals (Cubs, for example). In that case the most crushing and/or comical loss possible is preferred. ---
**Author:** ![TheFifthYear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@TheFifthYear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFifthYear)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/5 "2010-11-15T20:01:59Z")
I always cheer for Big Ten teams against non-conference opponents. Sometimes it’s harder than others, but I always manage. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/6 "2010-11-15T21:04:57Z")
I can root for the Bills. Well up until such a time as they become good. Also can root for **anyone** playing against the Yankees. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/7 "2010-11-15T21:34:43Z")
My SEC born-and-bred brother-in-law says no. However, in my Big Ten born-and-bred family (we had Badger season tickets in my family from the 1970s until the first year of the Alverez era), we always rooted for “our” teams in bowl games. No matter how much we hated Woody Hayes or Bo Schembechler or Hayden Fry, we always wanted them to beat the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl (and we were usually disappointed). My Georgia Bulldog fan brother-in-law had hard time getting his head around this when he joined the family. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/8 "2010-11-15T21:44:10Z")
I always root for Pac-10 teams in out-of-conference games, except for USC. Even (hell, especially) when they played for the BCS title I want to see them lose and lose big. In basketball, same thing. Go Pac-10, except for USC (traditional rival) and Arizona (overrated and coasting on their good run in the 1990s - and yes I’m well aware that my Bruins are still coasting on their 4-decades-old reputation from the Wooden era) ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/9 "2010-11-15T22:23:46Z")
Absolutely not. I will never hope that Michigan or Ohio St win. When they play each other, I pray both somehow find a way to lose. This, regardless of circumstance. Illinois, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/10 "2010-11-15T22:25:47Z")
Bama fan here. I rooted for LSU and Florida in the BCS championships, because they’re SEC. I will not be rooting for Auburn…not because I’m a Bama fan, but because I think they’re probably dirty, and I don’t want anything to do with them. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/11 "2010-11-15T22:39:51Z")
Nope, can’t do it. The ways of A&M and UT are anathema to me. Not quite as hated are Oklahoma and OSU, but it’s just a matter of degree. Can’t support any of them, no way, no how. Go Red Raiders! ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/12 "2010-11-15T22:42:33Z")
I generally root for Florida’s fellow SEC members in bowl games and what not. One unfortunate example happened in the 1998 season when Tennessee played Florida St. in the national championship game. Those are two of Florida’s biggest rivals. I ended up rooting for Tennessee in that game because of their conference affiliation. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/13 "2010-11-15T22:42:35Z")
When it’s my hometown Browns vs. the Steelers, I will emphatically and unambiguously root for the Browns. However, most of my family comes from western PA, so if the Steelers are playing anyone other than the Browns, I will equally emphatically and unambiguously root for the Steelers. Among other things, this gives me a team to root for that actually has a chance of winning anything. On the other hand, though, a sense of rivalry does drive me to rooting against the Broncos. The Browns-Broncos rivalry maybe isn’t as strong as the Browns-Steelers, but it’s not counterbalanced by any familial connections, either. And if we’re talking colleges, I went to Villanova, and could never bring myself to ever root for either Georgetown nor Allen Iverson, in any regard. I don’t know what I would do if Kerry Kittles and Allen Iverson ever ended up on the same team. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/14 "2010-11-15T22:48:15Z")
I really only follow baseball. I am a lifelong Giants fan. I cannot under any circumstances root for the Dodgers. Period. If a team is your team’s arch-rival, it is heresy to root for them. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/15 "2010-11-15T22:56:10Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I really only follow baseball. I am a lifelong Giants fan. I cannot under any circumstances root for the Dodgers. Period. If a team is your team’s arch-rival, it is heresy to root for them. My fandom is not defined by someone else. It’s defined by me, and is whatever I say it is. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/16 "2010-11-15T23:01:49Z")
I’m a bad example because, while I live in Texas, I didn’t go to school here. I’ve lived in Austin long enought to have embraced the Longhorns, but I don’t hate their rivals the way my wife and her family do. And, working in the tech world, I have a lot of co-workers and acquaintances from A & M. So, I root for the Horns, but am happy to see the Aggies, Bears and Red Raiders do well. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/17 "2010-11-15T23:10:51Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Oregon’s football team is on pace to play for the national title. As a Washington Huskies fan, that has me conflicted. Usually I root for other Pac-10 teams to win nonconference games because that improves the Pac-10’s national rep (which should help the Huskies in recruiting and poll placement). The problem is that Oregon is a traditional rival, and thus I want to root for them to lose in the title game. Can you root for a team in your own conference? Does it make a difference if they’re your traditional rival? Or do you say you can never root for a conference rival? As a UGA fan, I can root for everybody except Florida. However, if even FL is playing for the National Championship, I will root for the SEC and hope for a lot of injuries. … I keed, I keed. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/18 "2010-11-15T23:22:23Z")
Hell no. No more than I could root for cancer. That being said, not every team in the conference(Big 10) is a rival. OSU, PSU, MSU, Notre Dame I can never root for(Nebraska will join that quickly)The middle of the conference I will only root for against the evil 4. I’ll root for Northwestern though, They are so cute the way they try so hard 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/19 "2010-11-15T23:25:25Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I really only follow baseball. I am a lifelong Giants fan. I cannot under any circumstances root for the Dodgers. Period. If a team is your team’s arch-rival, it is heresy to root for them. AMEN!!! As a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation, I CAN NOT root for the Empire! The only time I did was the 2001 WS (more rooting for the city than the team) ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762/20 "2010-11-16T00:57:19Z")
I am a Stanford man, but I will back Cal against USC. I will now root for Oregon to go to the National Champ game so that Stanford can play in the Rose Bowl (and I know that the Bayesian decision tree is more complicated than that, though I don’t know where the decision points all are). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-root-for-your-conference-rivals/560762.md?page=2)