Are you a fan of your team or your city? (1 Viewer)

[CalBear]

Why is it okay for you to leave your city, presumably for better options in life, but it's not okay for your team?

It's okay for the team.

But when I move, I don't expect my old neighbors to pay my salary or buy stuff with my name on it.

But you expect your friends to still be your friends. You don't expect to pick up the tab for drinks or dinner but every now and again you do, and they remain your friends. If your friend moves to a different city for a better job they remain your friend. You even pay out of pocket to visit them from time to time and they remain your friend.

Again it seems like a silly thing to begrudge a team for.

Outside of possibly Green Bay, the team isn't your friend. It's a business that extorted a lot of money out of the city in exchange for location rights. When that business then decides to sail out of town because they managed to extort even more money out of some other city, and the people in your city are left to pay off the rest of the bonds that were used to fund the bribery, and the stadium that was sold as "revitalizing the neighborhood" now sits empty, frankly, you would be foolish to continue to root for them. Certainly you would be foolish to consider them a friend.

 

[Deamon]

So what do the Rams fans who voted "NO" do now? Do you actually try to find a different NFL team to be "your team" that you cheer for? I can't imagine being a big football fan without having a clear #1 team that you invest your energy into cheering for. Seems strange to hunt for a new team as a grown man

 

[Chaka]

Why is it okay for you to leave your city, presumably for better options in life, but it's not okay for your team?

It's okay for the team.

But when I move, I don't expect my old neighbors to pay my salary or buy stuff with my name on it.

But you expect your friends to still be your friends. You don't expect to pick up the tab for drinks or dinner but every now and again you do, and they remain your friends. If your friend moves to a different city for a better job they remain your friend. You even pay out of pocket to visit them from time to time and they remain your friend.

Again it seems like a silly thing to begrudge a team for.

Outside of possibly Green Bay, the team isn't your friend. It's a business that extorted a lot of money out of the city in exchange for location rights. When that business then decides to sail out of town because they managed to extort even more money out of some other city, and the people in your city are left to pay off the rest of the bonds that were used to fund the bribery, and the stadium that was sold as "revitalizing the neighborhood" now sits empty, frankly, you would be foolish to continue to root for them. Certainly you would be foolish to consider them a friend.

Then why root for a team at all?

Seems to me you should be angry at your city for caving to the team in the first place.

A business needs to be competitive to survive. Are the Raiders committing extortion? Do they offer no tangible benefit if they stay in Oakland? Do they offer no benefit to San Antonio? If that were the case we would have no sports teams in any city.

 

[FUBAR]

So what do the Rams fans who voted "NO" do now? Do you actually try to find a different NFL team to be "your team" that you cheer for? I can't imagine being a big football fan without having a clear #1 team that you invest your energy into cheering for. Seems strange to hunt for a new team as a grown man

Cheer for your ff team?

What do fans of non-playoff teams do? Usually pull for whichever team or players grab our interest.

 

[Deamon]

So what do the Rams fans who voted "NO" do now? Do you actually try to find a different NFL team to be "your team" that you cheer for? I can't imagine being a big football fan without having a clear #1 team that you invest your energy into cheering for. Seems strange to hunt for a new team as a grown man

Cheer for your ff team?

What do fans of non-playoff teams do? Usually pull for whichever team or players grab our interest.

Its one thing just for playoffs, its another for an entire season. I can't imagine being a big NFL fan and not having that one team that you follow and cheer for during the season. Just seems weird that thousands (dozens?) of people who cheer for the Rams all year suddenly have a much different outlook on the NFL or now have to try to decide on a new team to become a fan of.

 

[Run It Up]

I would, but the circumstances are important. I live in Missouri currently and I'm sure it would surprise no one, but its like 19:1 Chiefs vs Rams fans here - but they are dedicated fans.

I would not continue to support the Rams after being done by Kroenke like that. I have friends who are season ticket holders despite knowing more than likely the Rams were gonna move, but they had hoped they would stay, up until the last minute.

Different perspective I think if you don't live where your team is at the moment.

 

[Deamon]

I would, but the circumstances are important. I live in Missouri currently and I'm sure it would surprise no one, but its like 19:1 Chiefs vs Rams fans here - but they are dedicated fans.

I would not continue to support the Rams after being done by Kroenke like that. I have friends who are season ticket holders despite knowing more than likely the Rams were gonna move, but they had hoped they would stay, up until the last minute.

Different perspective I think if you don't live where your team is at the moment.

So do all those people likely become Chiefs fans?

 

[Run It Up]

I would, but the circumstances are important. I live in Missouri currently and I'm sure it would surprise no one, but its like 19:1 Chiefs vs Rams fans here - but they are dedicated fans.

I would not continue to support the Rams after being done by Kroenke like that. I have friends who are season ticket holders despite knowing more than likely the Rams were gonna move, but they had hoped they would stay, up until the last minute.

Different perspective I think if you don't live where your team is at the moment.

So do all those people likely become Chiefs fans?

Pretty split between staying Rams fans and following someone not the Chiefs.

Its a deep hatred. Probably because Chiefs are overwhelmingly more popular and their fans could give Philly a run for their money.

 

[FUBAR]

So what do the Rams fans who voted "NO" do now? Do you actually try to find a different NFL team to be "your team" that you cheer for? I can't imagine being a big football fan without having a clear #1 team that you invest your energy into cheering for. Seems strange to hunt for a new team as a grown man

Cheer for your ff team?What do fans of non-playoff teams do? Usually pull for whichever team or players grab our interest.

Its one thing just for playoffs, its another for an entire season. I can't imagine being a big NFL fan and not having that one team that you follow and cheer for during the season. Just seems weird that thousands (dozens?) of people who cheer for the Rams all year suddenly have a much different outlook on the NFL or now have to try to decide on a new team to become a fan of.

We differ on the one team thing. I'll cheer for the Titans, then panthers. Moving around the country changes your perspective, or at least it did mine.

 

[CalBear]

Why is it okay for you to leave your city, presumably for better options in life, but it's not okay for your team?

It's okay for the team.

But when I move, I don't expect my old neighbors to pay my salary or buy stuff with my name on it.

But you expect your friends to still be your friends. You don't expect to pick up the tab for drinks or dinner but every now and again you do, and they remain your friends. If your friend moves to a different city for a better job they remain your friend. You even pay out of pocket to visit them from time to time and they remain your friend.

Again it seems like a silly thing to begrudge a team for.

Outside of possibly Green Bay, the team isn't your friend. It's a business that extorted a lot of money out of the city in exchange for location rights. When that business then decides to sail out of town because they managed to extort even more money out of some other city, and the people in your city are left to pay off the rest of the bonds that were used to fund the bribery, and the stadium that was sold as "revitalizing the neighborhood" now sits empty, frankly, you would be foolish to continue to root for them. Certainly you would be foolish to consider them a friend.

Then why root for a team at all?

Seems to me you should be angry at your city for caving to the team in the first place.

A business needs to be competitive to survive. Are the Raiders committing extortion? Do they offer no tangible benefit if they stay in Oakland? Do they offer no benefit to San Antonio? If that were the case we would have no sports teams in any city.

Yes, the Raiders are committing extortion. Yes, any financial benefit they may offer Oakland or San Antonio are far less than the cost of influencing their location decision. What could Oakland do with the $150M we still owe on the Raider bonds? Guess we'll never know. The neighborhood is a disaster zone, the team is awful, and they've had to tarp off the Mount Davis seats that destroyed the stadium for baseball because they can't sell the tickets.

Why does it keep happening? Because you have billionaires who are accustomed to high-powered business deals negotiating with city council members. You or I could be a city council member. And city council members aren't incentivized to do critical analysis on the decisions they make. It's way easier to sell "I brought the Raiders back!" than "I kept the Raiders from coming back!" to your constituents. So the billionaires shop around until they find a stooge willing to sell their narrative and push through a deal that, for football stadiums, is pretty clearly a transfer of public money to billionaire businessmen. (Baseball, with 81+ games a season has at least a hope of a local financial impact).

So, I don't root for a pro team at all. (Note the avatar.) College sports have a lot of issues as well, especially college football, but college teams are place-based institutions. The Cal football team is connected to Berkeley in a way that the San Antonio Raiders or the Santa Clara 49ers can never be.

 

[BobbyLayne]

When you move from one city to another do you adopt the team(s) in your new city?

No.

 

[chauncey]

When you move from one city to another do you adopt the team(s) in your new city?

I adopted the Cardinals when I moved to AZ years ago, but still pull for the Panthers first and foremost. It has been an up and down ride as both teams have sucked really bad and then achieved moderate success during that time. I also lived in WA for a spell and love Wilson, Lynch, and Sherman so the Seahawks have been on my short list as well. I am basically an NFC whore.

 

[FUBAR]

When you move from one city to another do you adopt the team(s) in your new city?

Adopt? Not really.

But I do like the local team to do well. It's more fun for people in the area.

 

[eoMMan]

You're really just rooting for a jersey/uniform anyway. Players, coaches, playing style, even ownership, etc....end up changing at some point.

Unless, of course, you're rooting for the city and the city's pride for that team.

Rooting for a team in a far away city is odd (unless you have a connection to the city such as living there before). But this usually due to a fan being a frontrunner and wanting to root for a winner.

 

[pecorino]

Steelers fan, born and bred. If they moved to LA, for example, then they wouldn't really be the Steelers anymore in my book. Voted No.

 

[Chaka]

Why is it okay for you to leave your city, presumably for better options in life, but it's not okay for your team?

It's okay for the team.

But when I move, I don't expect my old neighbors to pay my salary or buy stuff with my name on it.

But you expect your friends to still be your friends. You don't expect to pick up the tab for drinks or dinner but every now and again you do, and they remain your friends. If your friend moves to a different city for a better job they remain your friend. You even pay out of pocket to visit them from time to time and they remain your friend.

Again it seems like a silly thing to begrudge a team for.

Outside of possibly Green Bay, the team isn't your friend. It's a business that extorted a lot of money out of the city in exchange for location rights. When that business then decides to sail out of town because they managed to extort even more money out of some other city, and the people in your city are left to pay off the rest of the bonds that were used to fund the bribery, and the stadium that was sold as "revitalizing the neighborhood" now sits empty, frankly, you would be foolish to continue to root for them. Certainly you would be foolish to consider them a friend.

Then why root for a team at all?

Seems to me you should be angry at your city for caving to the team in the first place.

A business needs to be competitive to survive. Are the Raiders committing extortion? Do they offer no tangible benefit if they stay in Oakland? Do they offer no benefit to San Antonio? If that were the case we would have no sports teams in any city.

Yes, the Raiders are committing extortion. Yes, any financial benefit they may offer Oakland or San Antonio are far less than the cost of influencing their location decision. What could Oakland do with the $150M we still owe on the Raider bonds? Guess we'll never know. The neighborhood is a disaster zone, the team is awful, and they've had to tarp off the Mount Davis seats that destroyed the stadium for baseball because they can't sell the tickets.

Why does it keep happening? Because you have billionaires who are accustomed to high-powered business deals negotiating with city council members. You or I could be a city council member. And city council members aren't incentivized to do critical analysis on the decisions they make. It's way easier to sell "I brought the Raiders back!" than "I kept the Raiders from coming back!" to your constituents. So the billionaires shop around until they find a stooge willing to sell their narrative and push through a deal that, for football stadiums, is pretty clearly a transfer of public money to billionaire businessmen. (Baseball, with 81+ games a season has at least a hope of a local financial impact).

So, I don't root for a pro team at all. (Note the avatar.) College sports have a lot of issues as well, especially college football, but college teams are place-based institutions. The Cal football team is connected to Berkeley in a way that the San Antonio Raiders or the Santa Clara 49ers can never be.

Again it seems like your anger should be directed at your city not at the business that is trying to be competitive in a landscape that has changed over the last 50 years since their stadium was built. And didn't Oakland promise the Raiders luxury boxes and stadium upgrades that they never delivered on?

 

[CalBear]

Oakland built stadium upgrades and luxury boxes to bring the Raiders back. But now of course those aren't good enough. And 20 years from now, whatever gets built for them today won't be good enough, again.

Yes, the Raiders, like every other NFL team, are a business. That's my point. They have no devotion to any city or to any of their fans except insofar as they can extract money from them. They are not your friend.

 

[starks]

If Titans left this morning I would not have a hard time forgetting about them after the past few weeks