I don’t mean something like “I like the Bulls and I like the White Sox but I like the Bulls better.”
I’ll give you an example of what I’m looking for. My favourite team is the Montreal Canadiens. Has been since 1987 or so, and I’ll always cheer for them no matter what.
But I also have a soft spot for the Washington Capitals for almost the same length of time. I thought the star-spangled uniforms were cool (YMMV) and the 1995-2007 sweater, seen here was spiffy too. Anyways, I always cheer for the Caps, unless they’re playing against Montreal, or their success has an adverse effect on Montreal’s place in the standings. (If they’re competing for the final playoff spot, for example)
My baseball team is the Tigers. I adopted the Expos until they went belly-up. I started following the Red Sox a little bit until they turned Yankees-lite.
I follow the Lions, but they’re pretty much useless in the regular season. I tend to follow the Ravens and Steelers, with more attention paid to the Ravens.
The Pistons are for basketball. I don’t really follow anyone else.
As a fan of the Giants, I hated the crosstown rival Jets. Until my favorite coach of all time took the helm, Bill Parcells. Having led my beloved Giants to their first two Superbowl victories, I have been a fan of his teams ever since. I even developed a bit of a soft spot for the hated division rival Cowboys when he was there.
So when Parcells went to the Jets, my hatred and disdain for them evaporated overnight, and I’ve remained a secondary fan of them ever since. (Around 13 years or so.)
I have a whole hierarchy like this. In baseball, I root for Cleveland, then Philadelphia, then Pittsburgh, then Cincinnati, then Milwaukee. In football, it’s Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Green Bay.
Cleveland gets top billing because that’s where I’m from, and I’m enough of an idealist to consider it important to root for one’s home town. Pittsburgh is where most of my family’s from, and I went to college in Philadelphia, so they’re next on the list (the home team of where I am now would go somewhere around here, too, but there’s basically no professional sports in Montana). Cincinnati is like the home-town factor, except it’s home-state. Milwaukee is out of gratitude for all those years when they meant that there was actually someone the Indians could beat, and Green Bay is because I really respect the dedication of that town, and the whole fan-owned-franchise thing.
I like the Brewers because of the Major League connection with the Indians, and then when they “took us in” when our early season was snowed out a few years back. I was sad to see them go to the NL but now I have a “NL team.”
I’m a Buckeye through and through, but my business partner is a Bulldog (UGA) to his bones, so I consider UGA my other NCAA football team. Mostly 'cuz he buys me gear to wear
In football, I’m a diehard Packer fan. But, I also like the Steelers and Seahawks (except for when they play the Packers, of course). I used to be a 49ers fan, in the Walsh/Montana era, but I really don’t care that much about them anymore.
In baseball, I’m a Brewers fan, though I also like the White Sox (in part because my wife’s family are all Sox fans).
The Yankees are my favorite baseball team, but I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the Minnesota Twins. Twins catcher Earl Battey was the first ballplayer who ever gave me his autograph, and Harmon Killebrew was one of my idols. So, I gladly root for the Twins whenever they’re not playing the Yankees.
The Giants are my favorite NFL team, and that will never change. But there are LOTS of teams and players I’ve rooted for. My “secondary favorite” NFL teams have changed a lot over time. As a kid, I loved the Mad Bomber, Daryle Lamonica, and the wide open passing style of the Raiders (and the AFL in general). Today, I don’t like the Raiders at all. My current “secondary favorite” teams are generally the teams with wide open, high scoring offenses (this year’s Super Bowl had two of my “secondary favorites”). I generally don’t like ball control or defensive struggles (which means that, if I hadn’t grown up in New York, the Giants are NOT the type of team I should be rooting for!).
In college football… even though I didn’t go to Notre Dame, nobody in my family went to Notre Dame, and nobody I ever knew went to Notre Dame, I grew up in an Irish Catholic family, which means they’ve always FELT like my team. They’ll always be my #1 favorites. But I like a lot of other teams. Penn State is #2, and after all my years in Austin, the Longhorns have worked their way into my heart (I NEVER thought I’d say that after the 1970 Cotton Bowl).
In Australia the tradition is to have the team you follow as your favorite team and the team that is playing the most hated team as your second team to cheer for.
…Des Hasler, the Manly coach, who admitted the adage of fans having two teams - their own and the team playing Manly - still rang true, but with one exception … unless you’re playing Melbourne in a grand final. “I still think Manly will always be the side people love to hate,” Hasler said. “It’s a part of rugby league folklore. But I think we’ll have a good support out there.”
I grew up in St Louis so the Cardinals are my favorite baseball team. But living in the Kansas City area now, I consider the Royals my second favorite and will root for them unless they are playing the Cards in interleague play.
And I still say we got robbed in the '85 World Series!
Oh, I have some bottom-of-the-list teams, too. In football, I’ll always root against Denver (for all those years they kept the Browns out of the Superbowl), Baltimore (for stealing our team, of course), and Atlanta (because it’s Atlanta), while in baseball, I’ll also always root against Atlanta (see above). When the Indians played Atlanta in the World Serious, Cleveland’s tickets all sold out some time that February, from conditional tickets. Atlanta was still selling tickets at the gate on the days of the games. A city that can’t even sell out a world championship doesn’t deserve to have a team.
I can’t enjoy watching a game if I’m not cheering for one of the teams, so if none of those teams are playing, I have to pick a favorite somehow at the start, but that’s always spur-of-the-moment, and can vary from game to game. Factors include geography (I favor the Midwest, and oppose the South and Texas), odds (I prefer the underdog), personal connection to any of the players (from my alma mater, say), and who everyone else in the room is rooting for (if there’s a clear majority, I tend to go with them).
I’m an Oakland A’s fan. Prior to 1988 I used to also pull for the Dodgers. After that, I’ll usually just pull for another AL West team as long as it isn’t against the A’s.
In football, it’s the 49’ers and then whoever plays the Raiders or Cowboys. I’m pretty big into fantasy football which has pretty much killed following a team in favor of individual players.
In basketball, I follow the Kings and to a lesser extent the Warriors. I’m apparently into European players and perennial bottom dwellers.
