That Moment You Became a Fan of Your Favorite Teams

[ytserush]

1972 -- New York Islanders. I'm not sure why. A friend of mine  who lived a few house away at the time liked the Islanders so I thought it was a good idea. (I'm SO glad it wasn't the Rangers, although I might have become aware of them first).  As soon as I found out about their philosphy I was hooked (and rewarded..and TESTED!)

1981 - Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils.  Islanders traded Chico Resch to the Rockies and I had co-favorite teams. For a while the Rockies kind of became the Islanders West. Beating the Rangers 3-2 in their second-ever game and the Medowlands was SWEET!

I always used to hope for scoreless ties when the Islanders and Devils met.  Now, I usually root for whoever needs the points more.

The 1988 playoffs were quite the trip for me.

[Dark Castle]

Buffalo Bills.  For the past few years I hadn't followed football and I got back into it this past year.  I'd always liked the Bills, not like my parents favorite teams but always liked them.  And I decided to branch off from my parents so they became my team.  I still root for Chiefs, Cowboys and Colts, as I liked the Colts because of Manning but the reason why I like the Bills so much is as simple as these things.
1.  Logo, it's awesome
2. Colors, they're awesome
3. Fitzpatrick, smart quarterback, and awesome beard.
4. Location, location location.

[blackngold29]

I live near Pittsburgh, so when you're about four minutes old they hand you a Terrible Towel and you're set.


I like the Pirates because it'll be that much cooler when they win it all. I literally have no memory of them being a good team.

For the Pens I have memories of watching them try and fail in the playoffs every year in the mid-90s. Obviously they're a lot bigger now than they were thn.

[tjanuranus]

Jan. 1987 - The DRIVE! When i was 5 years old my dad was watching this playoff game on TV with some of his friends over. Ever since I saw that game i've been a life long Denver Broncos fan. I haven't missed a Broncos game on TV in over a decade.

2005 - NY Mets. My dad has been a life long mets fan and i was never into baseball much even though he used to take me to the games. Then in 2005 i started watching the mets casually with my dad on TV and before I knew it i was watching every game. Been a mets fan ever since.

1998 - The 76ers. Being from south jersey basically led to this decision. My grandfather loves basketball and we kind of bonded over it. Since My favorite football team was so far away I wanted a team to follow that I could actually see in person whenever I wanted. So my grandfather and I both started following the sixers back then.

[kári]

How I feel about sports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjC38Z4T6zc

[Zantera]

Football/Soccer - Manchester United
Icehockey - Pittsburgh Penguins

I got into Man United around the season 97/98, I was around 6-7 years old back then, but I loved their logo and some of the players like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to name a few. They became my team, and they have been since.

As for Pittsburgh, I got into them during the late 90's as well, mostly because of Mario Lemieux.
No matter what people say, I still think Mario is the best hockey-player ever, and it was just a joy to watch him on ice.
It wasn't easy to suffer through the hard years Pittsburgh had during the 00's, but that made me even more happy when they got to win the Stanley Cup.

[Zydar]

I got into Man United around the season 97/98, I was around 6-7 years old back then, but I loved their logo and some of the players like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes to name a few. They became my team, and they have been since.

Pretty much the same for me, except it was after they won the treble (CL, PL, and the FA cup) in 1999. I was 18.

I'm also a fan of the game bandy (pretty much a sport only played in Sweden, Russia, and Finland). I'm from a region in Sweden were there is 3 teams who all play in the top division (Edsbyn, Bollnäs, and Broberg). I grew up in Edsbyn which has been my favourite team ever since my dad took me to my first game when I was around 13. Although I now live and work in the city where Broberg is from, I still root for Edsbyn (which causes some controversy here at work!).

[John94]

Football (Soccer) - I became a fan of Liverpool FC when I was a toddler more or less. My family all support them and they are a local team for me so I guess I went with the flow and attracting to red shirts!

[tjanuranus]

How I feel about sports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjC38Z4T6zc

that's how i feel about soccer.

[Dr. DTVT]

I grew up near Pittsburgh, so the Steelers, Pirates, and Pitt basketball were all givens.  My best friend's dad was a Penn State alumnus and took me to games, where as my dad was neutral in the whole Pitt/Penn State debate (remember when people actually cared about that rivalry?) so I became a Penn State fan, and the 1987 Fiesta Bowl solidified that for life.

But, I don't like the Pens.  I used to.  I even know the exact moment I stopped liking them.  In game 4 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals, the Pens were about to sweep the Blackhawks.  One of the Blackhawks players, I believe it was Chelios, decided to go after Jagr.  The two events after that were what ended it for me and the Pens.  Jagr turtled, and none of his teammates came to his defense.  At the time I had defacto season tickets to my city's ECHL team, the Johnstown Chiefs.  That never would have happened to that team, so I decided I was going to hate the Pens.  So I went with the Detroit Red Wings.  I don't know why honestly.  They weren't a good team at that point, but had the makings on one.  I watched them beat Pittsburgh 4-2 that year.  Or maybe because it was the one team that I could use in NHL 92 for Sega Genesis that would allow me to compete against all my friends using the Pens (we didn't play with line changes, so I had Yserman and Federov on the top line).  So I was a Red Wing fan long before the bandwagon started.

I'm a Knicks fan because of the 90s.  I hated Jordan and company, so I went with a physical team that could compete with them.  Ewing, Oakley, Mason, LJ, Starks, Ward, Childs...loved them all.  I even own the Patrick Ewing DVD.  I've stuck with them, but I haven't followed the NBA much since I started grad school.

And Virginia Tech.  If you can't figure that one out, give yourself a concussion.  It won't do any damage at this point.