Supporting a college football team that wasn't your alma mater- ex (1 Viewer)

[El Floppo]

I know college football is huge- but I"ve never really understood actively supporting a college team that you didn't attend.

My own college team set the record for consecutive Div 1 losses while I attended- hard to get behind, but I do. I guess in the absence of games that interest me, I'll root for my brother's college a bit, especially if they're in the mix for BCS or championships, but don't go out of my way to do so and don't care about them one way or the other.

But the idea of caring about a college team that has nothing to do with my life... I don't get it.

Is it for people who lived near a major football school and had nothing else to cheer for?

 

[Doctor Detroit]

You have to apply the Nipseyrule of college fandom.

 

[belljr]

What if you didn't go to college?

what if you were accepted into the school but couldn't afford to attend?

 

[Limp Ditka]

it's weird.

I've said it here before, but in the Chicago area, there are more ND fans that you could possibly imagine. The majority of them probably couldn't find South Bend on a map if their life depended on it.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

this bothers people?

 

[El Floppo]

You have to apply the Nipseyrule of college fandom.

different than shecky green's?

 

[El Floppo]

this bothers people?

does it?

I wrote that I've never understood it. This is as good a place as any to have it explained.

 

[Limp Ditka]

Also have a cousin that's a huge U of I(llinois) fan.

'it's our state's team!'



So is SIU, NIU, EIU, ISU, etc... why not root for them too?

 

[dutch]

I grew up in the Buffalo area and became an ardent Notre Dame fan in the 80's when I was a teenager. I like watching sports and I had no natural geographic rooting interest so I used my fandom free agency to choose from among the big schools that were on tv all the time.

 

[East Coast Bias]

Most people became college football fans long before they went to college. I guess people could wait until they are 18+ to choose a team.

 

[Slapdash]

Some people root for pro teams in cities they've never even lived in!

 

[El Floppo]

Some people root for pro teams in cities they've never even lived in!

yes.

I guess to me that's different- pro teams are there for one purpose... to entertain. go ahead and pick your pro team.

colleges? kinda have other m.o.s.

 

[El Floppo]

Most people became college football fans long before they went to college. I guess people could wait until they are 18+ to choose a team.

but what's driving those decisions?

before I went to college, I rooted for my brother's school. before he went to college, I guess I rooted for local schools and my parent's schools.

but then I went to college and got my own (####ty) team.

 

[Osaurus]

UW-Milwaukee doesn't have a football team. I guess I should have gone to the next closest team like UW-Whitewater. That's a solid team.

 

[Quez]

Ask any UM fan.

 

[El Floppo]

What if you didn't go to college?

what if you were accepted into the school but couldn't afford to attend?

or maybe got kicked out for trying to grow irradiated pot plants from plutonium you stole from their physics lab. hypothetically speaking.

but yeah- not everybody goes to college, and not every college has a team or a team worth supporting.

what drives the decision to then root for a college football team? there are pro teams out there that have equally nothing to do with your life.

 

[Scoresman]

I went to a colledge that didn't have a football team. I guess that means I'm not allowed to have a favorite.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

I went to a colledge that didn't have a football team. I guess that means I'm not allowed to have a favorite.

Closest D1 school to where you grew up is acceptable imo.

 

[Scoresman]

I went to a colledge that didn't have a football team. I guess that means I'm not allowed to have a favorite.

Closest D1 school to where you grew up is acceptable imo.

I root for the school my father went to.

 

[belljr]

What if you didn't go to college?

what if you were accepted into the school but couldn't afford to attend?

or maybe got kicked out for trying to grow irradiated pot plants from plutonium you stole from their physics lab. hypothetically speaking.

but yeah- not everybody goes to college, and not every college has a team or a team worth supporting.

what drives the decision to then root for a college football team? there are pro teams out there that have equally nothing to do with your life.

Some people like college football more than professional

 

[jon_mx]

What is wrong with supporting local teams? I started following teams long before I went to college and then went to a non-Division small private school, but still follow the same teams I did growing up.

 

[NutterButter]

What channel are the Carnegie Mellon tartans on so I can watch them?

 

[FreeBaGeL]

I got lucky because I ended up going to the school that I grew up rooting for, but as has been mentioned most people become fans long before they enroll in college. I think for most people, you end up a fan of your parent's team since that's who you grew up following.

I probably went to 50 Florida home games as a kid growing up before I ever enrolled in my first semester there. I have no idea where that would have left them if I'd ended up attending a different school but that would have been really tough to give up.

 

[Christo]

I went to a colledge that didn't have a football team. I guess that means I'm not allowed to have a favorite.

Closest D1 school to where you grew up is acceptable imo.

I root for the school my father went to.

No problem with that.

 

[snogger]

Went to a Technical College so default back to my home state and the Golden Gophers even if they haven't done anything for 50+ years.. You'd think after living the past 27 years here in Wisconsin I'd switch over to a winning team but someone has to root for the Gophers

 

[Guest]

I don't understand what is so hard to understand. College football is still entertainment.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

Rule#1

No one can cheer, wear team gear, buy game tickets to a college that they did not attend.

 

[fdas2]

What about picking multiple schools you didn't attend? Where do we stand on that? Seems front runnerish to me. For example, Oklahoma in football and Louisville in basketball. Go ahead and get your Yankees/Lakers/Patriots combo jersey, imo.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

 

[Peyton Marino]

Colledge.

 

[This_Guy]

What about picking multiple schools you didn't attend? Where do we stand on that? Seems front runnerish to me. For example, Oklahoma in football and Louisville in basketball. Go ahead and get your Yankees/Lakers/Patriots combo jersey, imo.

The good ol' reversible jacket crew. ND football on one side / IU basketball on the other.

 

[comfortably numb]

Never went to college so I root for the local big schools.

Rutgers (cfb/cbb)

Seton Hall (cbb)

If a NY college team goes further I will mildly root for them.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

What about picking multiple schools you didn't attend? Where do we stand on that? Seems front runnerish to me. For example, Oklahoma in football and Louisville in basketball. Go ahead and get your Yankees/Lakers/Patriots combo jersey, imo.

The good ol' reversible jacket crew. ND football on one side / IU basketball on the other.

Tennessee Football and Kentucky hoops fan seems to be a popular combo.

 

[El Floppo]

What if you didn't go to college?

what if you were accepted into the school but couldn't afford to attend?

or maybe got kicked out for trying to grow irradiated pot plants from plutonium you stole from their physics lab. hypothetically speaking.

but yeah- not everybody goes to college, and not every college has a team or a team worth supporting.

what drives the decision to then root for a college football team? there are pro teams out there that have equally nothing to do with your life.

Some people like college football more than professional

Are those people who don't live near pro teams? Or Cleveland?

I think I'm just underestimating how much people like football in general... college gives big fans of the sport a chance to root for teams all weekend. I'm not that big of a fan, plus I lived in the SF bay area, so had two teams to pick from... needing a college team too wasn't even a thing for me.

Maybe the question should be more- how did you end up picking the college football team you root for?

 

[Doctor Detroit]

What if you didn't go to college?

what if you were accepted into the school but couldn't afford to attend?

or maybe got kicked out for trying to grow irradiated pot plants from plutonium you stole from their physics lab. hypothetically speaking.

but yeah- not everybody goes to college, and not every college has a team or a team worth supporting.

what drives the decision to then root for a college football team? there are pro teams out there that have equally nothing to do with your life.

Some people like college football more than professional

Are those people who don't live near pro teams? Or Cleveland?

I think I'm just underestimating how much people like football in general... college gives big fans of the sport a chance to root for teams all weekend. I'm not that big of a fan, plus I lived in the SF bay area, so had two teams to pick from... needing a college team too wasn't even a thing for me.

Maybe the question should be more- how did you end up picking the college football team you root for?

College crowds and atmosphere is exponentially better and generally college football was more interesting prior to the NFL going with a salary cap. I've always liked college football more than pro football, it's just a purer and more entertaining version of the game.

 

[El Floppo]

I don't understand what is so hard to understand. College football is still entertainment.

everything's entertainment. I guess for me- which I mentioned previous post- I grew up around pro sports teams... I didn't feel the need to have to have a college team too.

I kinda rooted for my dad's college- Louisville- because my dad played (practice squad) a year with Johnny U. but they didn't get any coverage in SF, so it was never much to root for.

 

[timschochet]

My parents both attended UCLA as well as my wife and my brother. From the time I was a baby we've had season tickets. I'm considered the black sheep of the family because I attended UC Irvine. At that time (the 80s) it was an easier school to get into (not anymore) and I had a low B high school average.

If the Anteaters had a football team it might be different.

 

[El Floppo]

Rule#1

No one can cheer, wear team gear, buy game tickets to a college that they did not attend.

lol... ok- I'll play along with shiznittt's fantasy that somebody in the thread wants those things. to make him happy, from this point on, I'm going to be dogmatically and hyperbolically antagonistic towards anyone who roots for, in spite of my actual indifference.

 

[El Floppo]

ANYBODY who roots for a college team they didn't go to is an idiot.

amirite, or amirite?

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Some people root for pro teams in cities they've never even lived in!

yes.

I guess to me that's different- pro teams are there for one purpose... to entertain. go ahead and pick your pro team.

colleges? kinda have other m.o.s.

No it doesn't.

 

[Bojang0301]

There would be no major college football without this kind of fan. So either you like college football and you have to accept this OR you can hate college football because of this.

 

[El Floppo]

What if you didn't go to college?

what if you were accepted into the school but couldn't afford to attend?

or maybe got kicked out for trying to grow irradiated pot plants from plutonium you stole from their physics lab. hypothetically speaking.

but yeah- not everybody goes to college, and not every college has a team or a team worth supporting.

what drives the decision to then root for a college football team? there are pro teams out there that have equally nothing to do with your life.

Some people like college football more than professional

Are those people who don't live near pro teams? Or Cleveland?

I think I'm just underestimating how much people like football in general... college gives big fans of the sport a chance to root for teams all weekend. I'm not that big of a fan, plus I lived in the SF bay area, so had two teams to pick from... needing a college team too wasn't even a thing for me.

Maybe the question should be more- how did you end up picking the college football team you root for?

College crowds and atmosphere is exponentially better and generally college football was more interesting prior to the NFL going with a salary cap. I've always liked college football more than pro football, it's just a purer and more entertaining version of the game.

this, I get. I don't really know how it's "purer"- I prefer the higher level/speed of the NFL- but I get the concept and certainly appreciate the crowd atmosphere.

wait...

college football sucks. there's no reason to root for a college team- and ANYBODY who does is dumb.

 

[El Floppo]

Some people root for pro teams in cities they've never even lived in!

yes.

I guess to me that's different- pro teams are there for one purpose... to entertain. go ahead and pick your pro team.

colleges? kinda have other m.o.s.

No it doesn't.

Some people root for pro teams in cities they've never even lived in!

yes.

I guess to me that's different- pro teams are there for one purpose... to entertain. go ahead and pick your pro team.

colleges? kinda have other m.o.s.

No it doesn't.

only point of college is college football? explain...

 

[El Floppo]

There would be no major college football without this kind of fan. So either you like college football and you have to accept this OR you can hate college football because of this.

that's the level of hyperbole I really need to work towards.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Some people root for pro teams in cities they've never even lived in!

yes.

I guess to me that's different- pro teams are there for one purpose... to entertain. go ahead and pick your pro team.

colleges? kinda have other m.o.s.

No it doesn't.

Some people root for pro teams in cities they've never even lived in!

yes.

I guess to me that's different- pro teams are there for one purpose... to entertain. go ahead and pick your pro team.

colleges? kinda have other m.o.s.

No it doesn't.

only point of college is college football? explain...

Pretty much. The players aren't representative of the students at these schools, they're brought to these schools to play football and that's it; at least that's the case for 90+% of schools. It exists for entertainment for the student bodies and for the schools to make money.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Many of the best college football fans did not go to the schools in question. Most of the crazy OU fans did not go there, same for many other places I've visited like Michigan, Penn State, and Texas Tech.

I'm a Michigan fan, will always be a Michigan fan, and I never went to school there. I did grow up there though and they were my only team until my late 20s. I probably like OU more because I did go there, but it's not a huge difference. I also went to Maryland, and I don't really follow any of their sports teams (and that's my local school now as well).

 

[timschochet]

Many of the best college football fans did not go to the schools in question. Most of the crazy OU fans did not go there, same for many other places I've visited like Michigan, Penn State, and Texas Tech.

I'm a Michigan fan, will always be a Michigan fan, and I never went to school there. I did grow up there though and they were my only team until my late 20s. I probably like OU more because I did go there, but it's not a huge difference. I also went to Maryland, and I don't really follow any of their sports teams (and that's my local school now as well).

if OU plays Michigan, whom do you root for?

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Many of the best college football fans did not go to the schools in question. Most of the crazy OU fans did not go there, same for many other places I've visited like Michigan, Penn State, and Texas Tech.

I'm a Michigan fan, will always be a Michigan fan, and I never went to school there. I did grow up there though and they were my only team until my late 20s. I probably like OU more because I did go there, but it's not a huge difference. I also went to Maryland, and I don't really follow any of their sports teams (and that's my local school now as well).

if OU plays Michigan, whom do you root for?

They only played in the NCAA hoops tourney and I rooted for OU because they had the better chance to advance beyond that game. They are going to play in football in a few years, not sure what I'll do.

 

[El Floppo]

Some people root for pro teams in cities they've never even lived in!

yes.

I guess to me that's different- pro teams are there for one purpose... to entertain. go ahead and pick your pro team.

colleges? kinda have other m.o.s.

No it doesn't.

Some people root for pro teams in cities they've never even lived in!

yes.

I guess to me that's different- pro teams are there for one purpose... to entertain. go ahead and pick your pro team.

colleges? kinda have other m.o.s.

No it doesn't.

only point of college is college football? explain...

Pretty much. The players aren't representative of the students at these schools, they're brought to these schools to play football and that's it; at least that's the case for 90+% of schools. It exists for entertainment for the student bodies and for the schools to make money.

that's not at all your point- is it? seems like you're saying the only point of college football is to make money and entertain, and college football players will focus primarily on the football.

but that's only the football teams... take the teams away, and you've still got a massive majority of kids going to college, perhaps with a little less autumn entertainment.

 

[Heavy]

What channel are the Carnegie Mellon tartans on so I can watch them?

Fight for the glory of Carnegie!

Fight for the glory of the clan!

or if you really want to old school it:

Rain or Shine. Turf or Grass. Tech, Tech, kick their ###.

Heavy sends