Why do you follow the team you follow

[The Stig]

I was wondering in regards to the NFL how everyone comes to follow the teams they do. Looking at the topics there seems a wide range of teams being followed and wondered how people choose. It is not like football where you are likely to support your local team or the one your family always have or god forbid a glory hunter

 

I follow the Packers and have done since i played madden on my old megadrive, I just saw this team from a place i have never heard of who were a bit shit in the game and wanted them to be champions. Since watching i have had the pleasures of Bret Favre winning a superbowl and now Arron Rogers being one of the GOAT's and doing what he does.

 

TLDR - what made you follow your team

[Brummie Clyde]

I follow the Bears. They were instrumental in setting up the NFL and have an amazing history (like Villa). 

It's a working class city like Brum too.

Also and most importantly; Linebackers are awesome and we've had loads of great ones.

[Antiochas III]

Dad did a "2 month tour" of D.C. in 90 with the Army.  Brought me back jammies, a football and a Redskins top.  My first game was witnessing the greatest ever Superbowl winning team (91 Redskins)in the history of the NFL although a little to young to remember it back then.   

 

It's been rather pish ever since though.

 

 

Really can't wait till November when Joe Gibbs gets his Football Life show, 3 Superbowls, 3 different QBs and 3 different starting RBs... 

[Torpar]

On my first ever trip to Florida in 95, after a week in Kissimmee seeing all the amusement parks etc, we spent the next week in Madeira Beach in the Tampa Bay. Buccaneers were the local team so been a fan ever since. Two years later we went to a Tampa Bay Mutiny game at the Houlihan's Stadium, so technically I've been to the Bucs old stadium. And been outside Raymond James Stadium to get a few photos in more recent years. I've seen the Buccaneers once in person, 2009 I saw them take a beating from the Patriots at Wembley. Deadly hurricanes excepted, the a very nice part of the world.

Since moving to Toronto I've become more of a Bills fan. Before I had cable I had a tiny tv with an antenna to pick up free to air channels. Even when the weather was awful I could pick up the Buffalo CBS,ABC and Fox channels so it was easy to follow them every week.

[IainMorton]

I've started to follow Carolina, for no other reason apart from I always play as them on Madden - again for no reason whatsoever. I always found American Football kinda boring when I didn't actually have a team to support and I wasn't that all fussed who won games, but now I find it a bit more entertaining and I've started to take a bit more interest in it as I have a team I want to win!

Edited September 17, 2017 by IainMorton

[invergowrie arab]

I support united and Scotland and thought i deserved some joy in life.

[AyrTroopMajor]

Watched the King of Queens, The Sopranos and Elf within the space of a day and all I seemed to see were people in NY Jets jerseys, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.

 

It's f****** crap.

[Bully Wee Villa]

Because my dad chose them. Decent fit with the Second City link and decent history/shite present.

[Nightmare]

Played Madden before I really knew anything about the sport, back in about 99/00, and I thought the Raiders logo and colour scheme was cool as f**k, as well as them being pretty good at the time.

15 years of misery later, the c***s are finally good again.

Edited September 18, 2017 by Nightmare

[RiG]

My Dad started watching the NFL when it was on Channel 4 in the late 80s / early 90s. I don't really remember much about it apart from one of the presenters was Gary Imlach and this cheesey looking guy and the opening C4 logo which preceded the programme:

 

Back then the 49ers were (one of) the best teams going and as a young child they were one of the few teams I saw with any regularity so I just started following them. Players like Rice, Montana and Craig were all obvious favourites but I always loved Ronnie Lott.  

[Homer Thompson]

Like others, I picked the Bears because at the time I started watching they had just won Superbowl XX and had some great players in their team like Singletary and Payton and a not so great player but oddly intriguing "The Fridge"

[RiG]

William "The Fridge" Perry! There's a blast from the past

[Homer Thompson]

1 minute ago, RiG said:

William "The Fridge" Perry! There's a blast from the past

I was about to say the same about Ronnie Lott  He was some player.

I had to look it up but the NFL started on Channel 4 in 1982  I didnt watch it that early, in fact, Im pretty sure Superbowl XX would have been among the first games I watched in 86.

That started years of only having highlights and tuning into Forces Radio for commentary on a Sunday night!

[IainMorton]

2 hours ago, Mr X said:

That started years of only having highlights and tuning into Forces Radio for commentary on a Sunday night!

Can't imagine listening to American Football on the radio would be much fun...  

[Bully Wee Villa]

Tried in. I found it very difficult to understand what was going on.

[Craig fae the Vale]

I follow the Saints because the first game I ever saw they had Deuce McAllister playing. And he was awesome.

And because I loved the Saints, that in turn led me to following LSU in college ball.

[King Kebab]

I have a lot of family living in Windsor, Ontario, which if you've never been is basically North Queensferry to Detroit's South Queensferry separated only by the Ambassador Bridge doing a solid impression of the the Forth Bridge, but smaller, it is that close!!!

Because of that close proximity I have always looked upon the Detroit Teams as "my" Teams and through regular visits to Aunty Ina and Uncle Dave over the years I have been lucky enough to have seen the Lions quite a few times, I've seen them both at the Pontiac Silverdome and at Ford Field (my Dad can go one better though and claims to have seen them when they played at The Tiger Stadium) and depending on what time of the year it was when we went across, I've also been to see the Tigers and the Red Wings. I've have never seen the Pistons yet, but to be honest I'm not that interested in Basketball, but in saying that, they're still the side I would root for!!!

I haven't been over for a few years now which is a bit crap as the one constant of my NFL supporting forays is that they, (the Lions) have been resolutely dung in all my years supporting them and I have only seen them win the once, in the flesh, and now that I haven't seen them live for a few years, they are like a whole new institution, with the playoffs now an expectation rather than a forlorn hope, I must give Aunty Ina a ring and rectify that soon!!!

And when the legendary Detroit Panthers return I'll also have a MLS side to follow, been putting off choosing a side for quite a while now waiting on Detroit regaining their rightful place at the North American Soccer Cashcow!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Homer Thompson]

55 minutes ago, IainMorton said:

Can't imagine listening to American Football on the radio would be much fun...  

No, not really  made worse by the fact that it was on LW (look it up) so the reception cut in and out all the time!

But, in the days before live games on Sky, NFL Gamepass and even the internet it was the only way we had to find out the scores on a Sunday night. Sometimes the papers would print the scores on Monday mornings but even that wasnt guaranteed.

[Torpar]

I seem to remember around the channel 4 era being handed a free NFL sticker album at a Pars game once. I think this was around the same time I had an Operation Desert storm sticker album, can't remember if I ever did manage to get a Hussein shiny or not

[cal234ey]

I've watched the NFL for 2/3 years without a team before deciding to pick one last year. I was watching redzone and decided the next team with a losing record in the previous season to score a TD would be my team. That landed me with the Chargers.