How much should college football play into choosing a school?
My home state is South Carolina, and watching Clemson football has always been a family tradition every Saturday. Everyone (aunts & uncles, grandparents) would come over at 9 a.m. to watch gameday and leave at 10p.m. after the final big games were over. However, I have good family in phoenix and always loved Arizona, for I vacationed there almost every year. Who should I pick for college? Both ASU and Clemson offer the same academics (at least to employers) but Clemson has better school spirit and a great sports program, yet ASU is in my dream location but with a subpar football team and game-day atmosphere. Any advice?
What team do people from these states root for?
College football and other sports are bigger in those states. I'm in Missouri myself and college football is just as big as the Chiefs or Rams. In Kansas they have one of the best Nascar speedways in the country, they also have K-State football and Kansas basketball. In Hawaii volleyball, surfing, and other outdoor sports are just as popular. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Let me put it this way. When I was a kid I loved the NBA, however I am so far removed from any NBA teams that I lost interest. Nobdoy here talks about the NBA. Instead they talk about college basketball. It's hard to have interest in a team that might as well be on the other side of the planet. I don't have the time or money to go see the New York Knicks. I do however have both the time and money to drive downtown and watch a college basketball tournament.
Can someone support a baseball team that is not their hometown team?
Support the team you like following.I was born in Miami way before the Marlins, and well before cable TV. I grew up a Red Sox and Orioles fan because they were on TV on lot on Saturdays. Then I moved to Atlanta and saw a lot of bad baseball in the early 80s but I was a Braves fan since I had a home team. I never really got into the Marlins, and it did not help that they were named after the state, and not the city, though they will be the Miami Marlins next year.With football I followed the Dolphins in Miami of course, it was the 70s, they were great, then we had the Marino era, and while I'm still a Dolphins fan, sometime after Arthur Blank bought the Falcons, I started following them more. The Dolphins are still my AFC team, and the Falcons are my NFC team. In a SuperBowl between them, I'd root for the Dolphins.I went to Georgia State University which had no athletic teams. My favorite college football team is the University of Miami. I hear that makes me kind of a douche though, lol. But I kept with them after their period of "thug" dominance. I remember them losing big in Louisville under Coker and to LSU in the Peach Bowl under Coker. I think I'm a real fan because I stayed with them through their period of decline and here I am waiting for this year to start so we can get revenge on FSU for what they did last year with the stomping at home.Being a fan is complicated. I think people kinda dislike "fair weather fans" who only follow a team when they are winning. If you are a fan of the team, then you do the research, learn the history and follow them year in and year out through thick and thin and nobody could much say anything about that.Now, if you are a Yankees fan in Philadelphia, well... lol.
Is there any truth to the Alabama stereotypes?
We moved here from Chicago five years ago. When I flew down for my interview, my wife practically had to be forced onto the plane at gunpoint. Now I wouldn't be able to get her to leave. Dispense with all the cliches. Birmingham is a great city with lots of entertainment (an astonishingly good music scene, if that's your deal), amazingly good restaurants, and a generally fun atmosphere. Plus, if you go out of your way to make friends (which is what you should do in any move, but in the South its particularly important), you'll have a great stay here. The race thing just doesn't seem to be much of an issue in Birmingham, at least no more than any other major city. In fact, I see far less overt racism here than I witnessed in Chicago. One caution. This is a football-mad place, as opposed to you hockey-mad Canadians. It isn't a bad thing. It's just part of the culture here. From late August through early January, you wouldn't believe how much of the conversation and the social life revolves around college football. We fought it at first, but then a very good friend just advised us to pick a team and go with the flow. It's amazing how many parties, games, and tailgates we have been invited to ever since (By the way, pick Auburn over Alabama. There are real cultural differences. Auburn seems to represent the new south, while Alabama seems to represent the old, dying redneck culture). So good luck. For a place to live, pick the Southside area around Highland Avenue. It's really a great place to live with lots of diversity and fun.
Why do people support certain football teams?
Remember, they are businesses. So, football teams, professional or collegiate, try to create a marketable identity in order to attract customers. I’ll use a totally fictional but plausible scenario to illustrate my point:Some universities, such as Miami, thrive off the YOLO, party, quasi-bad boy image. So, maybe, you have an uncle who went to the University of Miami and you grow up watching the games with him. You love those games, the uniforms, hats, memories, and decide that the U is the place you. You either have the means or take out a huge loan in order to go there and get sucked in; Saturdays in the fall are the best, tailgating, the parties, the games, etc.On the other side of the state, there is another boy, Boy B, who is your same age and he also loves football; but his dad went to Florida State, who sells the same product just a different flavor. At some point, Boy B considers does he support Florida State or Miami? He chooses his loyalty and then spends his college football money and energy on that team instead of the other.So, people choose teams that they think most likely represent their identity and values; it sounds crazy but it’s true.
I have just moved to US. I want to support a football team, which one should I pick and why?
There are several ways to approach this, so you can pick the method that suits you.Geography. Pick the local team. If you are in say Miami, congratulations you can be a Dolphins fan and if you want to support teams across several levels, then the Dolphins for the NFL, Miami Hurricane among the power college programs and Florida International Panthers in the so-called Group of 5. If you are in an area not near an NFL team pick a local college and could even find enjoyment following a small regional team that plays in Division II or III or Division I FCS.Aesthetic reasons. You like the dark blue and orange combo of the Denver Broncos then that can be your team (also opens up the Boise State Broncos in college football). I’m a Denver Broncos fan and Kansas City is a big rival but I have to admit I like their home uniform. Like red and black? That gives you the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL, Texas Tech and Arkansas State and Cincinnati just off the top of my head. I don’t like the University of Texas but I happen to think their road uniform is one of the best in college football.Mascot. According to Wikipedia the 12 most common team names in college athletics (across divisions) of four-year college teams (exclusive of names with attached adjectives such as “Blue”, “Golden”, “Flying” or “Fighting”): Eagles (76), Tigers (46), Bulldogs (40), Panthers (33), Knights (32), Lions (32), Bears (30), Hawks (28), Cougars (27), Pioneers (28), Warriors (27) and Wildcats (27).So maybe you want something unique. There’s the Arkansas State Red Wolves, New Orleans Saints, Nashville Titans, Arkansas Razorbacks, Texas Longhorns, Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, etc. If you plan to pursue citizenship in the US, maybe you want to be a New England Patriot. If you like Edgar Allen Poe then maybe the Baltimore Ravens are for you.Maybe a favorite team from back home in another sport can inspire you. If you are Tottenham fan then the South Carolina Gamecocks or Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are for you. Real Madrid fan? Then maybe the Minnesota Vikings.Player. As you research you may find some major players are interesting. Go to youtube and search the player’s name and add “interview” to the search so you can watch them answer questions and see if that is someone you want to follow and adopt their team.
What is the worst part of rooting for your favorite team?
Jaguars fan: There is only one professional sports franchise in the city of Jacksonville. So why can't these people support their freakin team! Buy some tickets! Jacksonville does not realize how lucky they are to have an NFL team in their city. I'm afraid that they won't realize it until the Jaguars move to L.A. or some other city. I thought there was a lot of fan support for this team in the 90s when the Jaguars went to the playoffs four straight years but I guess the fans got spoiled. They want the Jaguars to be more like the Gators in college football and have 12 wins every year and blow out teams 70-19. The Jaguars are likely on their way to multiple blackouts this season and unless some people step up and start buying tickets, the Jaguars are going to be in serious trouble.