Which football team should I cheer for?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Rick Q brought this up not long ago.

Which sports teams do you root for…?

There can be lots of ways to pick a team. Among them…

  1. Regional (Yea, I’m rooting for the Bengals)
  2. Popularity (Bandwaggoning will get you pretty far. NOT!)
  3. Hi Opal
  4. Quality of play (oh yea, that’ll change)
  5. Team colours (For this reason alone, you gotta love the NBAs Suns)
  6. Get on others nerves (part of the reason this girl is a 49er fan living in Ohio)

But whatever team you do pick, STAY LOYAL!!! (I almost made the mistake of being talked into dumping my Yanks a couple of years ago be a plethora of loyal Indians fans. but, I held my ground)No matter how badly they are doing, no matter how idiotic the coaching, no matter how stupid the owners, no matter how hard the schedule, lame the QB, or bad the Defence.:smack:

Once you’re a fan baby, you’re a fan for life!! Now, onto Ring 6

22

takes note of everything that’s been said

The problem with me rooting for a team nearby is that I live in Oregon. We don’t have a football team in this state. I could root for the Seahawks, I suppose, but I don’t think they’re in the playoffs, and they’ve never seemed like a compelling team.

Back in the day when I was small, my dad and my brother rooted for the 49ers a lot. This was back in the day of Jerry Rice and Ricky Waters – good players. But I watched the 49er game the other day and didn’t really fancy cheering for them, since they mostly seemed like jerks who made stupid penalties.

23

Hear hear! I remember seeing other games where eagle fans were pelting opposing team players with snowballs (sometimes with hard objects in the center) from the stands.

And it still steams me when I think about the wild and lengthy fan applause and cheering that occurred in the Philadelphia stadium when Michael Irvin went down with a potentially crippling neck injury several years back. Disgusting.

And don’t get me started on the days of Buddy Ryan, Satan’s right-hand man.

24

I agree that you should in the long run pick a local team and stay with them. I have a mistrust of anyone who does not root for the home team. Those people are to be avoided. There is something wrong with them. We all know someone like that - grew up in Giants territory & rooted for the Seahawks - what gives?
For this post-season, you might root for Atlanta because lots of people, including me, are secretly rooting for Michael Vick to blow the doors off of every other player.
Eagles = evil
Tampa Bay - Tiki Barber’s twin bother plays for them (that’s a good thing), but they DO have Warren Sapp (that’s a bad thing)
Steelers - one of my favorite AFC teams (I’m a Giants fan - pity me)

25

Okay, I have to clear up some of these misperceptions about the Eagles. First of all. Yes we have a court in our stadium. But correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t there a couple other stadiums that have courts? And just because you don’t have a court doesn’t mean that you don’t need or couldn’t use a court.

Second, we aren’t evil. Everyone else is. We have some of the most fervert fans in the country. And we have a lot of them. You have to realize in that big of a sample, your going to get some bad eggs. Most of us will just give opposing fans a dirty look or two…and maybe a comment or two that they are meant to overhear :wink: Any sensible Philadelphian, however, won’t get violent with someone for liking the other team.

As for our team. We are the embodiment of teamwork. We don’t have a single showboat on our team. Our qb went down, our team rallied behind the backup. He went down and our team rallied around his backup.

As for Vet stadium, sure it’s a dump, but it’s our dump and we’ve had a lot of good (and bad) times there so even though we’re very very happy to get a new stadium, we always hold a place in our collective hearts for our old stadium.

Oh and your right, Buddy Ryan is evil. We couldn’t ask for a better coach than Reid though.

26

Yeah, you’re right. foxfiregrrl. You certainly have a problem here. They way I see it, you have three real choices. Seattle, Oakland and San Francisco.

Seattle is compelling, but only in the way that a horrible car wreck is compelling. (Which is to be contrasted with Cinci - they aren’t compelling, they are horrible and everyone averts their eyes).

San Francisco won a lot in the 80s, and you may look like a front-runner. But you have a good story since your family was cheering for them growing up. If I were you, this is the team I would cheer for. Personal history, interesting team, things to celebrate and to be offended by…good all around package.

Then, there’s Oakland. Another team where you may look like a front-runner. Plus, people will think you are a vicious thug. And their owner is a horrible person. But you have to love Rich Gannon, Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. I don’t know that the positives overcome Davis. Ick.

Anyway, watch the games this weekend. I recommend San Francisco. But Oakland is also in the playoffs so you can judge. I think those are your only real two options…except for the Seahawks. But they have horrid uniforms and you’ll just be asking for pain.

27

No no no. The Eagles and their fans have been horribly misrepresented and as such foxfiregrrl should root for them because everyone in the world is against them.

The booing of Santa Claus? He was a drunk wearing an awful suit and making a public embarassment of himself. The fans were booing the guy for representing Santa in such a horrible way.

The batteries? It was a stadium giveaway but none of the fans needed them so they were just trying to return them. (Who use D batteries anymore?)

The Micheal Irvin injury? He’s a Cowboy and as such becomes Public Enemy #1 to all Philadelphians. We HATE the Cowboys. No excuses here.

The snowballs? The city (they maintain the Vet) did a poor job of cleaning up the snow so the fans decided to help out. By coincidence the Giants team was standing in the snow drop-off zone.

The court in the stadium? A falsity. It was just a fight between 2 fans but one of them had a black trenchcoat and a hammer. People mistook him for a judge.

Everything else about the rat-infested, leaky, dilapidated, raunchy, smelly Veterans Stadium and it’s hard, unforgiving, rut-filled, blow your knees out turf is true. Brings a tear to my eye just thinking of the old place. Boy I’ll miss it. :frowning:

For hometown heroes AJ Feely (3rd QB) was born in Ontario, OR and attended Oregon University. Jeff Thomason (2nd TE) also attend Oregon.

If you want someone new to win the Super Bowl the Eagles have never won the SB and have only played in it once (1980, lost to the Raiders)

Don’t listen to those Bucs & Giants fans, they’re just upset about the recent history between them and the Eagles.

28

While Vick is an amazing QB, I need more time before I’ll jump on that bandwagon. Btw what is Kordell Stewart up to these days?

Now Mcnabb, after playing an entire game on a busted ankle, has my respect for life.

Anyhoo, GO JETS!

Btw just read the Pennington’s stepfather is suffering from Leukemia, so expect the media to tear jerk it.

Sigh…

29

If you developed a loyalty to a certain team because that’s where you grew up, it is acceptable to maintain that loyalty even if you are now removed from the area.

I think it is also acceptable to maintain loyalty to a team the moves away from your town (e.g., Rams, Cardinals).

If you have never been to a place in your life, and you have no connection there, your loyalty is questionble as being based upon frivolities such as uniform color or a pretty logo. This is often considered unacceptable.

30

Regarding false and ill-conceived loyalties - don’t be like my friend Roger.
Roger grew up in Asia. His family is Chinese. When he was in high school in Tokyo, the name of his football team was The Cowboys. That’s right - the Cowboys - you can guess the horror that is coming. Now that he lives in America, his favorite team is, how can I say it, The Cowboys. And he lives in San Francisco. He has never lived in Texas, never been to a game in Dallas, and he roots for the Cowboys. And he lives in the home of the Niners AND the Raiders. He can never go into the grocery store and say to the clerk 'How ‘bout those Cowboys!’ He can never say at work on Monday morning ‘Could you believe the last play of that game yesterday?’
The worst is Roger now has a daughter and he is raising her to be a Cowboys fan. That’s just wrong. I have told him when she gets to kindergarden all the other children will throw rocks at her. I have told him now is the time to switch to a local team, for the sake of his child. No one would blame him. He doesn’t listen.

31

Since foxfiregrrl lives in Oregon she can choose to root for whichever team she pleases. There is no real local loyalty/disloyalty issue to deal with. If you don’t have a satellite dish, however, you may pick a favorite team and then find out you never get to see them. So there is some compelling case for the west coast teams. Still, I’d say watch the games this weekend and just see which teams you end up cheering for. It could be because of their style of play, an emotional comeback you get caught up in, the color of their jerseys or just because you find one of the players attractive. At this point any of those is about as valid as any other reason you might have, as long as it’s important to you. Just don’t cheer for the Cowboys and nobody gets hurt. :wink: I think the Seahawks could actually be a decent team next year with the way they finished up, although it’s a bit tough to tell right now. And it’s probably also a good idea to avoid the Bengals, Lions, Bears and Cardinals over the long haul. Nothing but heartache is usually visited upon the fans of those clubs.

32

Ok, I really don’t care who you cheer for, but I’m going to offer you a sound bit of advise.
Unless you like pain, don’t cheer for the Raiders.
The Raiders are good team…but the Raiders do something better than anybody in the entire NFL. They always, always, find ways to fuck themselves over. Maybe it’s losing to a team they should have beat (The Seahawks.) Maybe it’s not being able to count. (I thought the 4th down was the 3rd down! Give me another chance!)
Whatever the case may be, they like to destroy themselves. I suggest you avoid that trainwreck completely.
Avoid the Chiefs too. That way will always lead to bitter disillusionment. (You know, like losing to the Wildcard team when they’re playing at home.)

33

Boy I hope you’re right :smiley:

I think I’ll print out your post and read it to the assembled on Sunday. Thanks.

34

Root for my favorite team, the Colts. Jesus, Mithra and Allah know they need all they help they can get.

35

Oh, please. He survived, didn’t he? At least they didn’t throw any batteries at him.

:cue music:

Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory.
Fight Eagles fight, score a touchdown 1,2,3.
Hit em’ low, hit em’ high, and watch our Eagles fly.
Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory!
EAGLE*S - Eagles!

36

Neurotik – You make a pretty compelling argument for me personally cheering for the 49ers. Maybe if they don’t make as many stupid fouls this weekend, I’ll give them a chance.

But I can say one thing, I’m really looking forward to watching ALL these teams play this weekend, now that I know a little more about what the fans like and dislike about them. Thanks!

37

Just to be clear, I don’t hate the Raiders because the always manage to fuck themselves. I hate the Raiders because they’re the Raiders.

38

I’m rooting for the Jets. I’m a Giants fan, but they blew it last week. As such, I have to pick another team.

I’m not the type of guy who feels that because he likes one NY team he has to hate the other. Besides, they’re not even NY teams; they play in New Jersey :wink:

I like the Jets for a few reasons:

Their coach Herm Edwards reminds me of Bill Parcells, a no-nonsense guy who knows his stuff. Despite the team’s adversity throughout the season (quarterback change, injured star running back, team turmoil, odious defense against the run early on, horrible starting record) he got them into the playoffs and past the Colts.

Chad Pennington is a future star at quarterback. He doesn’t have a strong arm, but neither did Joe Montana, and that didn’t stop him from being a star. Pennington, like Montana, makes good decisions and is very accurate, and as a result Pennington the highest quarterback rating in the NFL this year. Another similarity: like Montana’s 49ers, Pennington’s Jets use the West Coast Offense, with a good number of the team’s offensive plays involving short passes, just like the short pass Richie Anderson ran for a 56-yard touchdown against the Colts. Sure, there’s no Jerry Rice on the team, but Laveranues (pronounced “La-vern-e-us” :rolleyes: ) Coles is a good long distance guy (1200+ receiving yards this year) and WR’s Wayne Chrebet and Santana Moss and RB Curtis Martin are great at catching and running, ideal for the West Coast Offense.

Curtis Martin, in my opinion, is the most valuable player of any sports franchise in New York. He was injured during the start of the season (although he played through it unspectacularly), and the team started out 1-4. As the season progressed his health improved, and they finished 8-3. This guy has had a rough season, but he still managed to amass 1,000 rushing yards. 1,000 yards isn’t as big a milestone as it once was, but he has done it every year for his 8-year career, an accomplishment second only to Barry Sanders amassing 1,000+ yards in each of his first 10 seasons.

I still worry about the team’s defense, especially against the run, but the defense has improved, and after seeing them dismantle the Colts 41-0, I have high hopes that they can stymie the Raiders’ high powered passing attack and limit their run.

If the Jets lose, I don’t know who to root for the rest of the way. Maybe I’ll just not root for anyone and figure out how my Giants can improve their special teams :stuck_out_tongue: