So What Makes Your Team YOUR Team?

The summer before I entered Jr. High school, my parents made a vacation trip back to New England. They brought me back a Red Sox t-shirt with the great logo on the front and some iron-on letters so I could put my name on the back.

So I wear this shirt to my first day at the big Jr. High school, with hundreds of new kids plus the much older and cooler 8th graders.

I entered my first class and sat down in the middle of the room. I was having trouble recognizing many of the students who filed in behind me and class was about two minutes old when I realized, I was sitting in the WRONG room.

No problem, I'll just quietly get up and slide out of the room, completely unnoticed and unrecognized.

But no, I have to trip over my desk and fall on the floor. Then slink out of the room with my last name proudly (?) printed on the back of my Red Sox shirt for all to see!

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"But no, I have to trip over my desk and fall on the floor."

Oh c'mon papi...quit holding back and being so modest. You can tell us. Your famous uncle...



Just WIN baby!

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Nice thread topic - good to get away from the bickering that usually takes place in the winter doldrums.

My favorite team is the Chicago Cubs and I grew up in West Virginia which is basically NOWHERE near Chicago or Illinois for that matter.

This was the early to mid 80s when I was growing up and we would get several of the Reds games because that was the closest team to us. Everyone around me was a Reds fan because they were "our" team since they were local.....although it took about an 9 hour drive to get there back then.

Then one day I turned on the TV and we had two new channels - TBS and WGN. Well the Braves were HORRIBLE at the time and the Cubs were having some success (please try not to snicker but compared to the Braves then they were). So I would watch them on TV and loved how Harry Carrey and Steve Stone broadcasted the games. So to be different from everyone I took on the Cubs as my team.

This was when Sandberg was in his prime, Dawson still had a few good years left, Dunston and Grace were coming up although I did like Leon Durham. Catching went from Jody Davis to Damon Berryhill to Joe Girardi. The revolving door at third base after Ron Cey until Steve Buechele. Greg Maddux was early in his career learning from Rick Sutcliffe. I remember turning on WGN to watch the first night game but it got rained out.

When I was a kid I used to take three showers a day in the summer. I got up and went outside to ride bikes with my buddies or I would throw a baseball against the wall of the house. I learned to catch it because behind me was a hill and we didn't cut the grass / weeds down there. I was terrified if I had to get my ball I was going to get bitten by a snake. I would come inside for lunch but mom made me shower before I came in. I ate lunch and turned on WGN to watch the game since they showed almost every game back then. After the game I went back outside to throw the ball against the house more until dad got home from work. Took a shower so I could come back inside to eat supper. Then after dinner I went back out and either threw against the house or dad would throw with me until his elbow started hurting him. Looking back at it now I'm amazed how much it hurt him physically to throw with me. He was an underground coal miner and it physically beat him up over the years but he would still throw with me when I asked. Then I took my final shower and came inside to watch TV with the family.

Looking back on it either my mom was a neat freak or I was one dirty little kid back then. Probably a little of both.

quote:

I have so many great memories as a child of Yaz, Rice, Evans, Lynn, Fisk, Boggs, Clemens, Oil Can, Stanley, Remy, Eck.

BiggerPapi,

We must have been seperated at birth. I'm also a child of the early 70s Red Sox (Yes, I was a "Sox Watcher"....remember those ads?). I grew up in mostly MA & CT and went to college in RI. My wife is from Maine. I would add to that player list; Bill Lee (certifiably nuts!) and Tommy Harper (he could fly!). My favorite player was Dwight Evans, but I've always been in awe of Jim Rice. God, Rice could rake it. I'm so glad to see Rice make the HOF. Evans had a great career but he is just short of HOF. Always been a Sox fan, but I have to tell you they are really "irritating" me at the moment. They had a good thing going, and now they think they are smart enough to make it better. History would tell me they are not. Owners are more concerned about car racing and freakig s-o-c-c-e-r? They are not giving me that boost of confidence that they will be competitive in years to come.

Twenty three years ago, my wife and I moved to Virginia. A few years ago the Washington Nationals came into existence. It is somehwat close, and easy to see games. The new ballpark is unbelievealbe, and they are signing talent. My family loves to go to games, and it is affordable to do so. I'm hanging onto that Red Sox heritage but I have to admit that the Nationals are more interesting at the moment. They are young, hungry, and talented. The Red Sox are just talented.

1) Boston Red Sox - Love that Dirty Water! Love that dirty water!
1A) Washington Nationals - Got to love the Presidents race! Presidents Race

I am a member of Cardinal Nation. No doubt about it and never a thought about rooting for someone else. Growing up, I was going to be the next Tom Pagnozzi. I wore #19 and sported a red Cardinals cap everywhere I went (the old mesh hats). I even wore my hat to church, but mom would make me take it off and leave it in the car. I have pictures of myself at Busch Stadium with Luis Alicea and my dad. The high school team played before a Cardinals game one year and I got to get out of school to go with my dad. I got to run around the field during pre-game and then sat in the front row behind the backstop during the high school game. We were on the field for pre-game activities and the usher told us to be careful because they throw hard and it hurts!

Our whole family is die-hard Cardinal fans. My uncle lives out in the Poconos and has satellite simply so he can get his Cardinal baseball. My sister used to have a room in her apartment dedicated to Cardinal baseball. Our living room is full of Cardinal stuff and other sports photos and jerseys, etc.

Now my mom actually works as an usher for the Cardinals and has done so for almost 15 years. She has seen numerous division championships, playoff series, an NL pennant, a World Series loss (04), and now two World Series Championships (06, 11). She also saw history unfold in 1998 with Big Mac.

I've always really liked catchers and the Cardinals have had a few good ones in my time Pagnozzi, Matheny, and Molina have 10 Gold Gloves in 22 years! I always tried to model my catching after them.. unfortunately it didn't always work very well

I have considered trying to get a job in baseball, but it would likely have to be with another team. I'm not sure I could do it

I bleed Cardinal Red. Red Means Go. Baseball like it oughta be. Cardinal Nation. Best Fans in Baseball. Baseball Heaven.

yhe year was 1951 the the say hey kid came to the polo grounds. that was it for me I became the sole NY GIANT fan in a huge fAmily of NY YANKEE Lovers

A cousin played for the Mets back in the late 1960s early 70s. I can't remember actually seeing him play, (I was just a tiny little baby! ;-) ) but he did have a ginormous World Series ring! He played for the Cubs before that. They remain my favorite teams.

I'm a Diamondbacks fan and always will be. They were one of my very first regular season games, my first post season game, and my first world series game.

I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and we were hundreds of miles from a team for most of my childhood. We did listen to the Rangers once they became an option, and went to a few games. Although I loved baseball, I wouldn't describe myself as a true Rangers fan. I was a generic baseball fan, and was the scorekeeper for my high school team.

I moved to Houston in the 1980s, and started following the Astros. The Astrodome was a dump of a venue, but still something to cheer for. I'd be there with 14000 other fans.

I became a serious Astros fan when I was laid up in bed when pregnant with my son in 1994. I watched every game on TV, and as soon as the doc let me out of bed, I was at a game, just a few days before the strike. Shane Reynolds and his wife had their first the same week my son was born, and my husband tracked them down in the hospital and got an autograph. I later met Shane and his wife (wonderful people) and apologized.

The more I watched, the bigger fan I became of Craig Biggio, and the game in general.

I saw the last game played in the Astrodome, and the first game at Enron Field. I was at the only WS game in Houston, and Craig Biggio's last game. When we moved to Ct in 2008 I subscribed to MLB.Com so I could follow the Astros from here.

I am struggling with the move to the AL. I am one of those NL fans.

The Tigers. I grew up in metro Detroit and my granpa was a big baseball fan and my dad also. My dad worked for Tom Monahan(sp?) back in the early/mid 80's when he owned the Tigers so we got tickets to the 84 world series when I was 9. Been a fan since I was born but that really cemented it. Loved the players from back then. Lou Whitaker, Alan Tramell, Lance Parrish, Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris, etc..

The Cincinnati Reds are my team of choice and passion. I was 15 in 1975 when the Big Red Machine was in full go, but first remember loving the Reds in late 60's.

My grandparents took our entire family (30 plus) to last home game of every year- fan appreciation day. My Grandma's name was on the scoreboard as part of the "groups" of the day- Helen's Bunch. And we cheered wildly when it flashed up. My Grandfather taught me, and every cousin and sibling how to keep score while we were there. We each had a scorebook and he talked us thru it. We continue this to this day. My Grandpa has gone on to a better place, but my Grandma is still with us at 97 strong. In fact, she lives at retirement home where I work, and i get to see her daily (another great story for another time). We are now 75-90 strong at these games. Cousins (and thier families) drive up to 9 hours to attend. The my cousins, siblings, and I teach how to do a scorebook to all those that are young.

That is were I learned my passion for baseball. And I am thankful for that every day.

Born and raise on Cape Cod and first became aware of baseball in 1967, the "Impossible Dream" year. I still love Boomer and the cruch bunch and Tony C. holds a special place in my heart. My dad and grandfather already lived and died with the "Sawks" so I became 3rdGenerationNation. Found out a few years ago that one of my Great Grandfathers had also been a fan so I guess I should be 4thGen instead of my son. I always say that when you grow up in New England you have two religions; whatever church you belong to and the Soxs. I'm also a huge Pats fan, in fact my childrens' names and "John" and "Hannah"

The Reds were my team when I fell in love with baseball...during the Big Red Machine days. Listening to the games on the radio, late at night, lying in bed...Joe Nuxhall being the "homer" that he was...just loved it.

Can't forget it. Still a Reds fan even though its been nearly 30 years since I lived there.

quote:

Originally posted by TRhit:
yhe year was 1951 the the say hey kid came to the polo grounds. that was it for me I became the sole NY GIANT fan in a huge fAmily of NY YANKEE Lovers

Did you stick with the Giants when they moved to SF?

My dad was born in 1919. When he talked about baseball, he always talked about the old Phila A's players. For a long, long time, they were the better team in town. To many old timers here, the Phillies and the NL were considered second rate. When the A's went to Kansas City in the 50s, there was no longer a radio broadcast of games, only boxscores and re-caps. Most of the A's fans simply switched to the Phillies.

I'd say you have to be close to your 70s now, to remember the Phila A's. The Philadelphia Atletics Historical Society has a good website for people in Oakland to learn more about the A's, including why the elephant is part of the logo.

Of course, I grew up with the Phillies. I've stuck with them through thick and thin (a lot more thin, believe me). I also liked the A's as a kid because they wore white shoes and had the coolest uniforms, not because they originated here.

This is a good question. I'd like to hear some more from people who grew up far from cities with a major league team. Your were pretty much free to choose any team. Was it a local player? Was their a minor league affiliate near by? Or, what about other people who's team relocated? Do people from Montreal follow the Nationals?

I grew up in southeastern Virginia and became aware of professional sports teams in the mid-60's. I latched on to whatever was the best team at the time and have remained loyal to them ever since. Therefore, I am a Cardinals baseball fan, a Celtics basketball fan and a Packers football fan.

My favorites were Gibson, Flood and Brock in Baseball: Russell, Havlichek and Jones in Basketball and Starr, Dale and Kramer in football.

Although I have lived in Dallas for the past 25 years my loyalty for those teams has remained very strong, although I do like the Rangers very much.

I grew up in Southern California a Dodgers, Lakers, and LA Rams fan. As a young pre-teenager in the mid-70's, I spent time with my grandparents. My grandmother was a huge Dodgers fan, and she rarely missed a televised game. My grandfather was a California Angels fan, but was limited to catching the games on AM Radio (Grandma won that battle). I usually had the opportunity to catch a few games at Dodgers Stadium, and a few at Anaheim Stadium each year. However, our move from LA to North San Diego Couny in 1976 is probably the time I opened up and began to follow other teams. The Boys/Girls Club had a program that allowed kids in good standing to attend San Diego Padres games and sit in the outfield seats (Winfield Pavillion). I attended 8-10 Padre games each year during the 77-78 seasons. I remained a loyal Dodgers fan, but I didn't mind cheering for the Padres, unlike fans of the current generation. I also loved to hate the Reds, Phillies, and the Cards (early 80's) three teams the Dodgers had to beat each year for the NL pennant. In the American League, I cheered for the Angels in honor of my grandfather, and the fact they were relatively local. But I respected the lineups for the Yankees, Redsox, and Royals...and hated the Yankees (especially Reggie!) for their World Series victories in 77 and 78 over my team. Of course, the Dodgers finally beat the Bronx Bombers my sophomore year in HS, 1981. I've hung with the LAD through good times and bad, and now I'm looking forward to New Ownership.

My basketball team? I lived with my dad in Los Angeles in 1979-1980 (Earvin "Magic" Johnson's Rookie Year), and I've remained a Lakers Fan since.

Football? The LA Rams were my favorite team until that ....Lady, Georgia Frontierre moved them to St Louis in 1995. The Rams left the state of California, and the Raiders re-located back to Oakland. That season (one year removed from the Superbowl), me and a few of my buddies bought season tickets to the Chargers, and I've been on the Roller Coaster ride with the Bolts ever since....So, that's What Makes My Team(s) MY Team(s)!

Despite my avatar I am a Marlins fan, have been since their inception. Before their existence, we became Brave fans, that was my son's team, the one he wanted to play for when he grew up.

I grew up a yankee fan, as most of us in my generation did living right outside of NY.

Because I am a history buff, the problem with the Marlins is that they are not rich in history like other teams, NYY, Boston, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals. Which IMO adds to the mystique of those teams.

It's been fun being part of Cardinal nation and I have learned alot about what it is to be a diehard fan from the fans that we have met along the way. They are very serious about their team (see Bulldogs post).

From age 4-7 we lived in a suburb of Hartford CT. This is the age when boys typically become fans. The area was Red Sox and Yankee territory. I was more of a Mickey Mantle fan than fan of a team. All of my family is from MA and ME. My grandparents took me to my first game at Fenway Park to see Mickey Mantle play.

It makes me slightly guilty my daughter's first game was seeing the Marlins-Phillies at The Dump, err Vet. Both teams stunk. It was our town's night at the stadium. Even though my son's first game was at The Vet at least it was Kevin Brown (Dodgers) versus Curt Schilling. I'll never forget the first time my son walked up the ramp at Fenway when he was twelve. His eyes lit up like a little kid at Christmas.

At seven we moved to ME. The first pennant race I was aware was 1964. I was nine. I made LL that year. I was tuning into MLB. Living in ME was all about the Red Sox. We moved to the Boston area when I was thirteen. We went to a lot of Red Sox games from that point on.

I lived in Southern CA for twenty years. I followed the Angels as a second team. But when they won the World Series I didn't feel that excited. I was at the Sox-Angels game in '86 when Henderson hit the game winner off Donnie Moore.

I've had the MLB package to watch the Sox as long as Direct TV has had it until moving back to MA when my son (youngest) headed off to college.

My kids grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I never influenced their fan choices. They are fans of the Philadelphia teams. Err son and daughter, how that's Dream Team football thing working for you? NE 38 PHL 20

As a kid, outside of the Red Sox I loved watching Pete Rose play on the Game of the Week. I convinced my father to take me to NY to watch him play for a weekend. I admired how hard he played. I always figured if I played as hard as Pete Rose and practiced as hard as Yastrzemski (his work ethic was legendary) I would be ok as a player.

I never felt connected to any Philadelphia team even though I lived there eighteen years. There were a few players like Utley and Rolen I admired how they played the game. I had access to a luxury box through a friend. We went to a lot of Phillies games.

When we moved back to IL, we lived near Peoria. My parents really hated the city of Chicago so we became Cardinal fans. I was able to catch the end of Lou Brock's career, enjoyed a couple of World Series teams and came to believe that St. Louis has the best baseball fans in the country.

St. Louis is where I learned never to leave a game early. We never spent the night in St. Louis and had a 3-4 hour ride home after a game. One night, the Cardinals were getting beat rather badly and we left in the 7th inning or so to beat traffic. We listened to the rest of the game on the radio (KMOX I believe?) and as we were driving through East St. Louis, the Cardinals rallied and won the game.

To this day, I have never left a game early, no matter the score.

The Cardinals also always seem to have one of my favorite types of players...the small over acheiver like David Eckstein. Bo Hart looked like one of those players but I haven't seen him for a number of years.

Watch Reed Johnson in Chicago. He's one of those types. He'll dive headfirst into the brick wall for his team.

My dad was a professional baseball player - all minor leagues for several years. (Tigers)

He was a roommate of a guy named Bob Shaw. After some time Bob wound up with The NY Mets ( a relief pitcher) - so - whenever we would go to Mets games - he would hook us up bigtime.

Into the clubhouse after games - in the announcers booth with Kiner/Nelson/Murphy. I actualy has a running feud with Kiner for years over his treatment of Kenny Boswell on the air. Met Willie Mays - Berra - and the greatest Arthur Shamsky. And on and on. As a kid it was a blast.

Several players were really kind to me - especially Ken Boswell, Ed "The Glider" Charles and the late Tommie Agee.

I was an immediate Mets fan - even though I lived in the Bronx not far from Yankee Stadium. When my buddies got on my case about being a Mets fan - we fought. I won some and lost some and eventually the fights stopped. One time I even busted up my buddies nose with an autographed Ken Boswell baseball. I got him flush - and after that he stopped messing with me and my Metsies.

The friendships continued into my adult years - even went to a wedding with Tommie Agee and did business with him.

NY Mets - thats it for me until the day I die.

I just spent a few days at Walt Disney World, the ultimate place where people wear shirts to show off their allegiance. So I thought I'd do an unofficial poll.

LSU was the winner. Probably bandwagon people.
Auburn was a close second.
NO Saints were the big NFL winners.
UCF/USF were prevalent...probably locals.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays next. Definitely not locals.
Phillies were well represented.
Obviously, Red Sox and Yankees.
Many men wearing capri pants. Clearly socker fans.

Early 70's (pre-Steinbrenner) Yanks. Murcer, Munson, Horace Clarke, Ron Bloomberg, Celerino Sanchez. I lived and died with those teams. To show you how warped the NY-Boston thing really is... To this day, I think I would rather see the Red Sox lose than the Yankees win. How crazy is that?

No longer a Red Sox fan

quote:

Originally posted by HVbaseballDAD:
To this day, I think I would rather see the Red Sox lose than the Yankees win. How crazy is that?

It's not crazy at all. A few weeks ago, I had to explain the same thing to some (fair weather) Eagles fans who were discussing the NFC East playoff scenario.

"We need the Cowboys to beat the Giants and..."

"Whoa, hold on here. We never root for the Cowboys. Ever!"

Detroit Tigers. I will never forget when my grandfather took me to my first game in 1978. When I first walked in Tiger Stadium in the upper deck overlooking the first base line. The green field was amazing. Jack Billingham was the starter for the Tigers. The way the home plate umpire called strikes....raising his right hand and flipping his fingers up in the air. Steeeeeerike! I was 11.

In 1988 I was lucky enough to attend the last game before the All-Star game vs. Oakland. Walt Weiss' rookie year. (he hit a GS that game) A friend of mine wrote for a small paper in Boston and invited me to attend the game with press passes. Field access and everything. I stood around with a notepad and pen acting like I belong. Standing around the cage....Sparky walking right in front of me..etc. etc. Not a single friend saw me from the stands. Seats behind the plate...

I quit my summer job to go to this game...