# Your team has been knocked out of the championships. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 29, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-team-has-been-knocked-out-of-the-championships/648748 "2013-01-29T22:20:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-team-has-been-knocked-out-of-the-championships/648748/21 "2013-01-31T17:39:36Z")
The team that beat us should win. Unless that team is the Patriots. Then they can suck it. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-team-has-been-knocked-out-of-the-championships/648748/22 "2013-01-31T17:51:46Z")
I usually root for teams in my state or in the same conference or division. The obvious exception being the SF Giants. it’ll be a cold day in hell before I root for those basterds. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-team-has-been-knocked-out-of-the-championships/648748/23 "2013-01-31T19:25:25Z")
My rooting interest is fairly complicated by all the possible permutations but in general I root against whichever fan base has enjoyed the most success. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-team-has-been-knocked-out-of-the-championships/648748/24 "2013-02-01T01:17:47Z")
I’m a Clevelander. And the team who usually knocks the Browns out of the playoffs is the Browns, so the question is kind of moot. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-team-has-been-knocked-out-of-the-championships/648748/25 "2013-02-01T05:03:37Z")
Ordinarily I might want to see the Ravens lose for knocking out my Broncos, but since they then knocked out the Pats it is hard to hold a grudge. So I guess I don’t care, but will still be rooting for the 49ers if only because I think they are the better team. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-team-has-been-knocked-out-of-the-championships/648748/26 "2013-02-01T20:39:39Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > So I guess I don’t care, but will still be rooting for the 49ers if only because I think they are the better team. Aha, there is another element. For me, the default sympathy in a don’t-care situation is the underdog. If I knew or thought that team X was “clearly better” than team Y in a one game matchup, and had no particular reason to root for either X or Y, I’d be rooting for Y all the way. Who takes joy in rooting for Goliath? (Other than all those fans of the Yankees, Cowboys, Lakers, etc., etc. :)) In this case I do have a tie-breaker though, having lived in Baltimore for 2 years starting the year after the Ravens came into existence. Under other circumstances I would root for the 49ers over another team I had no connection with, as I have many friends in SF and it would be my easy #1 choice of where to relocate if I were forced to leave NYC, but… Go Ravens! (But I’d be pretty much just as happy, really, to see the 49ers win!) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-team-has-been-knocked-out-of-the-championships/648748.md?page=1)