Hating a Team Due to its Fans

[Bert]

Over in the UK Passes Duke as Most Hated Team thread in the College Basketball section, I commented on not understanding hating a team due to its fans. It just seems weird to me. The team does not have much it can do with its fans. I will say, there are some teams I disliked due to the coach or possibly the players. I could not stand UC when Huggins was there (sorry GT). Now that he is gone, really don't care either way. In the 80's I didn't like Univ of Miami's football team due to excessive showboating and they just seemed like punks. In pro teams, I sometimes may not like a team due to the owner. After Steinbrenner's passing, I still do not like the Yankees but not near as bad as when he was alive. I also like Torre so when he was fired, my dislike jumped again. Same with Marge Schott. Just did not like the Reds under her. Still not a Reds fan but my dislike does seem to be wearing off. I like laughing at the misfortune of the Bengals due to not being a fan of Mike Brown.

 

Does the fan base affect your view of a team?

[PigSkin Junkie]

Yes...see many many posts in the High School Football forum. Just one school, which is a shame.

 

Yes...Can't support teams with my $$ if I'm in danger of being beaten or stabbed once I leave the stadium. Packers' fans are known to travel well but there are some cities I would never visit. Technically I don't HATE the teams, but my view of them is lowered due to their fan base. Have seen my team in 12 different stadiums so far...will never be able to do them all, sadly.

[Randy Parker]

Does the fan base affect your view of a team?

 

In many cases, yes.

[75center]

Sometimes that's all you have to go by at the high school level.

[Hellbird]

Yes. I used to hate the Browns with a passion until I got to know some steeler fans. Can't stand the steelers and can honestly say it's because of their fans.

[PurplePride92]

Yes. I hated UK because of UK fans and that began when I was around 10 years old. BGP UK fans have actually helped me not hate UK like I used to because you guys are way more sensible than 18% of the UK fans I come across.

 

And Kevin Ware made me hate UL.

[gold sunrise]

Sometimes that's all you have to go by at the high school level.

 

Agree.

[BIG BLACK JACK]

Yes. I hated UK because of UK fans and that began when I was around 10 years old. BGP UK fans have actually helped me not hate UK like I used to because you guys are way more sensible than 81% of the UK fans I come across.

 

And Kevin Ware made me hate UL.

 

I fixed that for you. For those who think it's 18% must be talking about those fans who live out of state.

[GrizzlyAdams]

Yes. I hated UK because of UK fans and that began when I was around 10 years old. BGP UK fans have actually helped me not hate UK like I used to because you guys are way more sensible than 18% of the UK fans I come across.

 

And Smokey made me hate UL.

 

Fixed that for you :lol2:

[newarkcatholicfan]

Yes it can and does for me, as I posted in the college forum.

[spindoc]

Yes. I used to hate the Browns with a passion until I got to know some steeler fans. Can't stand the steelers and can honestly say it's because of their fans.

 

Yep, jerks.

[KentuckyJoe]

absolutely!!

[Bert]

Sounds like I am the only one, LOL.

 

Some people have said in the high school level, that is all you have to go by. I guess in those cases, I would be more likely to have a neutral opinion of a team regardless of the fans until I get to know more about the team. However, I do have to admit, for a long time, I didn't have strong feelings for Highlands. I liked that they represented KY against Elder and other OH teams but really didn't care either way after that. After joining BGP, I met Birdsfan and talk periodically to him and went shooting with RTS and Leatherneck and somewhat keep up with both of them. Since getting to know those three, I have come to like Highlands much more.

 

Oddly enough, fans may not make me dislike a team but they can cause me to like team, I guess it is a camaraderie thing, don't know.

[Bert]

Yes. I used to hate the Browns with a passion until I got to know some steeler fans. Can't stand the steelers and can honestly say it's because of their fans.

 

Oh yeah, the former Browns/now Ravens are another team I didn't like during the Art Modell years. Now that he has past and I can't help but like their coach, they are growing on me.

[Habib]

Yea. It might sound far-fetched, but there are certain mini-cultures that envelop the fans of teams. Of course every team will have its share of crazies and every team will have its share of knowledgeable, well-balanced folks. But, there's a cluster of those in the middle that end up defining that culture of being a fan of a particular team. I don't know if it's a combination of geography, history, size, tradition, or what. There's something there. I'd probably never pay the Chicago Cubs a bit of attention if it weren't for the years of absolutely repellent experiences I've had with their fans.