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Out of state fans: how did it happen?


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I know we have a few people here that are fans of teams that don't play in their state. Real Deal is a Laker fan in Kansas, IllWill is a Knick fan in Philly, and I still have no clue what team Nitro follows lol.

 

I used to be a Laker fan, but started hating them after they traded Shaq. I liked the Warriors for awhile, but they fell out of favor with me after trading Randolph and giving $80M to Lee. plus, the color and logo changes - not cool. besides that, I've never really liked the Clippers or Kings, either, so I had to go out of state. I chose Miami because they were able to get Wade and Bosh, two of my favorite players, and I was always a fan of Miami since they traded for Shaq anyway.

 

so out of state fans - how did this happen?

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Born and raised in central NJ most of my life... Dad is old/oldschool, so he liked all the original NY teams: Knicks, Yankees, Giants, Rangers. I just grew into it. Lived in Philly for about a year when I was 22, moved back home for a year at 23, and back out to Philly this August at 24. So I haven't been here long :lol:

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I was born and raised in Reno, NV my entire life. My uncle strongly followed the Lakers when he moved to America in 1985 or 1986 partly because they were locally broadcasted so much more than any other team. Anyways, the Lakers really grew on me and I was hooked on them at a really early age. I've followed them since I was in 4th or 5th grade, so I've been a fan since I was like 8 or 9 years old. I actually have a really old poster of Kobe from his rookie season (crazy fro and all) in my room which I bought at the book fair lol.

 

My obsession with the Lakers has just got out of hand over time. I'll have to take some pictures of my room one of these days, its completely covered in purple and gold. A whole bunch of Laker posters, and magazine covers.

Edited by Confidence
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I know we have a few people here that are fans of teams that don't play in their state. Real Deal is a Laker fan in Kansas, IllWill is a Knick fan in Philly, and I still have no clue what team Nitro follows lol.

 

By default, I'm a Nets fan at heart because I was born and raised in NJ, and have been to probably over 100 Nets games in my lifetime. I've been to games when they were awful in the '90's, been to playoff games when they were great in the early-mid '00's, and now go to games when they play teams like the Heat and Lakers. I'll always have a soft spot for them.

 

But, in reality, I'm a homer of individual players. In the last 2 years of his tenure with the Magic, and all of his time with the Rockets, I would watch almost every single game McGrady would play. When that happens, I kind of grow an attatchment to the entire team. In the last few years (since the 2006 Finals), I've been that way with D-Wade, and now that the new Big 3 has formed, I feel compelled to watch every single Heat game I can. Because of this, I've grown fascinated with the team, and root for them because I want the best for Wade. In the 2 games which Wade didn't play this year, I either didn't watch the game or found it a little hard to enjoy watching the team.

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It's mainly because of a player that plays on that team. For instance, I really liked Tracy McGrady, I even have a TMac Magic jersey. When he was traded to Houston (who had another player I really liked in Yao) I grew to love the Rockets a lot. The Yao/TMac combo was one of my favorite duos and I loved watching Rockets games. They were fun to watch. I still like Houston, mainly because of Brooks, Yao, Battier, and Martin.

 

With the Wizards, I fell in love with Gilbert back during 07 and loved everything he did (still one of my favorite players in the league). I guess it's mainly the player for me when I like a team except when it comes to Houston (I think I'll always like them and they'll always be in my top 3). Right now, I've really been following the Timberwolves due to Kevin Love (fellow Oregonian and graduated in the same year as I did from high school, 2007). Plus, they also have Telfair and I still really like Telfair (though I know he'll be traded soon due to Johnny Flynn returning and Ridnour being a better back up).

 

But I'll always be a Blazers fan first.

Edited by Dr. Feelgood
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I used to live in Vegas and I followed JR Rider his whole career at UNLV. So when he got drafted to the wolves I followed them then he got traded to the blazers and I just kinda fell in love with them. Him, plus prime sheed, Pippen, healthy sabonis plus mighty mouse. Still my favorite blazer team.

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I was born into a football family, and the only person who actually liked basketball was my cousin. The Kings had just left Kansas City (I was almost two years old), and there were no other teams in the area as I was growing up. I watched my first game, a Bulls/Sixers game, back when I was 6 or 7 (1990), and my two guys were Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan.

 

Barkley went to Phoenix, so I decided to follow a team and became a "die-hard" Suns fan. I knew every player that ever played for them, from Barkley and KJ to Oliver Miller and Joe Kleine. It was ridiculous.

 

In 1995, my cousin had tapes of Kobe Bryant, playing in HS. I watched them, and started trying to imitate him on the court. Watched them quite a bit, actually. This was when I was in 6th grade, before he was drafted. I told myself I was going to root for the team that drafted him, no matter what...ditch Phoenix, Charles, Jordan, everyone else.

 

The Hornets took him, and for that split second, I was a Hornets fan...lol. LA ended up getting him, and that was where it started...no Shaq, a 53-win season, no reason to like them other than Bryant (and Shaq came to LA a week later).

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I guess I'll use this thread to explain why I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan, My mother is from Toledo, Ohio. My father is from Bronx, NY. They met in Texas though, my mom's family lived out there and I forget how my dad got down there, but they met in Texas. In 1981 my older brother was born. He became a fan of 1 team and1 team only, the Dallas Cowboys, my parents have 0 interest in sports. My dad will watch games, but he only roots for the home teams mostly. My mother likes the Raiders (my 2nd favorite football team) but she's not much of fan. Anyways, my family moved to upstate NY in 1986, my sister was born in Utica 87, then in 1990 they moved to downstate NY, where I was born. As a kid I had little to no interest in sports. Except for one team - the Dallas Cowboys, it was the only thing anyone in our house watched and my brother would tell of all the Cowboys players and I became a Cowboys fan from birth. Didn't even know/play baseball until the late 90's. Wasn't really a basketball fan either until have the 2000's. That is why I am a Cowboys fan from NY. :)

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I don't know how anyone can be emotionally invested/attached to an out of state team unless they were born there. It's why I've never been a huge football fan, I just can't become emotionally invested in some random team.

I don't get why people say that. There are 28 states in the US that don't have an NBA team. The league would cease to exist if you remove those people from their team's fanbase.

 

Some people are born in Los Angeles, and are raised being a Lakers fan. They don't even get to make up their minds. Maybe we should consider some of those fans puppets? They can't decide for themselves, right?

 

There's too much thinking when it comes to this mess. If people are following the team, and have proven to do it through the best and the worst, that's all that matters. It shouldn't matter where you were born, or why you started to follow that team in the first place. There are Lakers fans, born in Los Angeles, with bedrooms that are lined in purple and gold, have been to many games, and they STILL would get swept away in a debate with me, over anything Lakers. They can present themselves as the bigger fan, but there's more to it than that.

 

Kansas doesn't have a pro football, basketball or baseball team. The Chiefs and Royals are in Missouri, and so were the Kings. It takes me five minutes to drive into Oklahoma, from where I'm at...but the state didn't have a professional team to root for until the Sonics were sold just a few years ago. I'm emotionally attached to sports, so I'm naturally going to find teams and players I'm emotionally attached to, whether I live in Kansas, Montana, or Honduras. If I didn't choose to do that, there would be no reason for me to watch professional sports.

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Not only am I emotionally invested, but I'm probably moreso than a lot of Cowboys fans who live in Dallas. Because of the fact I live so far away I have to go out of my way to get closer to my Cowboys. Have to go through all the sporting good stores who sell the NY crap. Luckily for me I love a popular team and can still find Cowboys stuff here. However I don't think distance from my team has affected me one bit.

Edited by fish7718
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Hey I'm not sitting here judging anyone (it seems like I struck a nerve unintentionally), I can tell the difference between a frontrunner and a fan. I just don't understand it personally, I guess it's just me, I feel obligated to cheer for the Leafs/Raptors, but that obligation makes me feel like the day when these teams finally do start winning, it will really be that much sweeter, as a fan.

 

I don't care if people choose their team. I don't think I really chose the teams I cheer for, but if other people do that's fine. I just find it annoying, as do most, people that are somehow Laker, Yankee and Patriot fans, or something stupid like that. As long as you support your team unconditionally long-term, I'm not saying [expletive].

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I don't know how anyone can be emotionally invested/attached to an out of state team unless they were born there. It's why I've never been a huge football fan, I just can't become emotionally invested in some random team.

So if you don't have a hometown team you're not allowed to be a fan of any team?

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I've always liked the Celtics somewhat because I'm a huge fan of Pierce, but I really became a big fan of them when Garnett (my favorite player at the time) got traded there.

 

I guess that's considered bandwagoning. -_-

 

But hey, I need to have fun watching basketball every now and then (or sports for that matter) since I live in DC. Yeah I'm officially a depressed sports fan.

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Toronto hasn't had a playoff team move past the first round of the playoffs (and has won a combined 3 playoff games I think it is) since 03-04, yes, approaching a decade with no change in the foreseeable future lol. Toronto fans have a lot more to be depressed about my friend. At least you have John Wall and the Capitals.

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Toronto hasn't had a playoff team move past the first round of the playoffs (and has won a combined 3 playoff games I think it is) since 03-04, yes, approaching a decade with no change in the foreseeable future lol. Toronto fans have a lot more to be depressed about my friend. At least you have John Wall and the Capitals.

I hardly watch hockey though. I'm a football and basketball type guy, and both have disappointed me way too much, especially the Redskins.

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I'm from Chicago, live in Dallas, however I'm a die-hard Eagles/Mavs fan. For the Mavs, i've lived in Dallas since I was about 7.. i already liked the bulls.. but when I had moved Jordan just left.. and the Bulls were sorta on the downlow for a while.. it was hard to watch them from here also. So I turned my attention to the Mavs.. they had Dirk, Finley, and Nash.. all 3 just forming. Been following ever since, however, I still do like the Bulls. For the Eagles, I was never into football until i moved to Dallas where the Cowboys are highly acclaimed. But before I EVER watched the Cowboys i caught a glimpse of the Eagles and Donovan McNabb.. after that I was just attached to them. I didn't even know they were the Cowboys' rival.. I to this day don't like the Cowboys.. love the Eagles.

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