How did you pick your allegiances?

[AppleCornCy]

Does anybody support all the teams from one city? Or is it more typical for Iowans to be like me and kind of be all over the place?

My family wasn’t particularly into sports.

For the NFL, I picked the Packers because I lived in northeast Iowa and it was the Brett Favre Super Bowl years when I started paying attention. I suppose I could have just as easily picked the Vikings or Bears. A lot of classmates were Cowboys fans too, especially with it being the mid to late 90s. The Chiefs were kind of far away.

For college, we moved to central Iowa during Eustachy’s Big 12 championship runs. I didn’t really pay attention to college sports before that other than seeing if my pop bottle cap matched the NCAA tournament winner. I had some family that supported the Hawkeyes and I even had a couple pieces of Iowa clothing as a kid but never thought much of it. A friend in northeast Iowa liked “the other one” and that was about all I really knew of Iowa State before moving to central Iowa. I started with Iowa State basketball and then picked up on football. Thankfully Mac was starting to take us to bowl games.

For MLB, I picked the Yankees first because an older cousin liked them and always wore a Yankees hat. Then I picked the Cubs as my local/National League team.

For the NBA, I picked the Bulls because of Michael Jordan but didn’t really follow them. Then I liked the Lakers because they were good. Finally, I kind of picked the Pacers after they picked Tinsley. I quit caring for several years and starting paying attention again when they got Haliburton.

For the NHL, I picked the Avalanche, but I never really watched much. I moved to Washington state as an adult and the closest team was the Canucks, so I kind of followed their scores. Then we got the Kraken and they became my team.

Living in Washington state as an adult added the Seatte pro teams and local colleges to my fandom.

Yes, I’m shooting the crap with a long post including personal details you probably don’t care about. Go easy on me.

 

[isucy86]

I picked my favorite pro teams when I was about 7 or 8. They were all world champs and I've stuck by them good and bad for the last 50+ years. I grew up and currently live in eastern Iowa, Chicago pro teams have been the default for TV viewing, so they have been my second favorite teams.

 

[JP4CY]

Not all the teams for me but I am a Cubs fan. WGN being a superstition back in the day did that.

 

[ISUTex]

Jordan, Payton and Sandberg.

 

[NWICY]

ISU for college sports, because I went there.

BB I was a A's fan back during the Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue era now I don't hardly follow BB at all tune in for the World Series.

Celtics fan during the Bird Parrish era

NFL Seahawks fan to start because a great uncle from Washington sent me a Seahawks sweatshirt. Now I like watching the Packers, Vikes, Chiefs and Niners. Then cheer for whatever team has ISU players on it.

 

[Drew0311]

I was on the Red Sox and n pee wee league baseball as a 5 year old

Packers because my grandpa was a big packers fan

Phoenix Suns because I never really watched the nba and I lived to n Phoenix and my neighbor was on the suns dance team. Yes I tried and I failed. I knew all of your next question

 

[Buster28]

Wasn't a big fan of most sports or teams as a kid. Just wasn't my interest then. But dad started watching the 49ers when Montana was QB and after that, I always leaned towards them, but didn't religiously follow until last decade or so. Little did I know that just a few years later, we'd be moving to the Bay Area where I discovered SF Giants baseball in 1989 because I worked at a music/video store which had a ticket outlet. A group of us decided to go to a game one night (at Candlestick, in July, that required wearing a winter coat - seriously). That ended up being the first year they went to the World Series since 1962. I've been a baseball fan ever since. I didn't like the A's when I lived there (it's frowned upon as a resident there - pick one, stay with it) until the early 21st century when I could watch them on tv more and they were actually quite good on and off. I have been a Twins fan, used to go to their games a lot. But kind of got out of that unless SF is playing there. As for other Bay Area sports franchises, I generally hope they do well, but not an avid follower or anything else. Golden State? Not a big NBA person, though Curry was insanely fun to watch when he was at his peak. Sharks? Not big into hockey, either. Plus, they're SO BAD now - lol. Never liked the Raiders when they were in Oaktown. As for the Valkyries, I'll have to wait and see if they grab my attention or not once play begins this summer. My hunch is 'no', because I don't respond to the general style of play in the WNBA. Maybe they'll be different.

A lot of my allegiances depend on individual players. Frequently, once a player moves on from a given team, I don't follow that team anymore. Just kind of depends. For example, I used to be an Astros fan when Biggio and Bagwell were there - I loved those guys. But not so much once they both retired.

 

[AlaCyclone]

In the beginning.../ sarcasm

Start with my Name:

Ala = Born and raised in Birmingham with an elephant in my bassinet. My parents went to the University, and I grew up going to games. First football game = 1971 vs. Southern Miss (w / Ray Guy) @ Denny Stadium. First basketball game = 1979 vs. Virginia @ BJCC in Birmingham in the N.I.T.



Cyclone = Graduated from Iowa State, but I started following them in 1978 when I met a girl from Iowa (who was a Cyclone fan) in school, and the Cyclones played in the 1978 Hall of Fame Classic @ Legion Field that year. So, I went to the game. ISU lost the game and Earl Bruce that night, but they gained a life-long Cyclone fan! After High School, I messed around a bit, landed in the Army and ended up at Iowa State on the G.I. Bill, graduated, moved around a bit, met and married a Cyclone gal from Iowa, moved back and still LOVE IT!



Pro Teams: Come and Go with the wind. Mostly player driven.

NFL: I was a Dolphins fan during the Don Shula Era. Now, I root for the 49ers because of Purdy.

First NFL Game in 1982: Dolphins (w / Tony Nathan) @ Bucs. Last NFL Game: 49ers (w / Purdy) @ Jaguars in 2023.

MLB: Grew up a Dodger fan, because I couldn't stand the Big Red Machine. Of course, now I am a Reds fan after living in the Queen City as an adult for almost two decades. Still not a fan of Pete Rose, but that was then, and this is now.

First MLB Game was Dodgers @ Braves in 1978 and last game was Reds @ Padres last year in 2024.

NHL: Columbus Blue Jackets, but I don't care that much. I just liked going up to a game every year for fun. Going to a CBJ game @ Columbus is a really good time.

First NHL Game was Avalanche @ Devils in 1995 and last game was this past pre-season game between Blues and Utah Hockey Club @ WFA in 2024.

NBA: Once upon a time, I was a Washington Bullets fan - when I lived in the area in the 1980s and could go to games. Once I left Northern Virginia, I lost interest. I followed Robert Horry around when he was collecting NBA Championship rings. Stuck with the Spurs until the Band broke-up. Now, I am mostly an Atlanta Hawks fan, but very casual: Best DJ and Fly Girls in the NBA (with apologies to the Laker Girls which are different) and Georges Niang. Great place to see a game!

First NBA Game: Nets @ Bullets in 1987. Last Game 76ers @ Hawks (before Niang) in 2018.

MLS: FC Cincinnati! Loved going to games when they were in the USL and go to a game whenever I can now.

First MLS Game was back in 1996: Kansas City Wiz @ San Jose Clash. Last MLS game: FC Cincinnati @ Minnesota United in 2022.

Along my travels across the country, I casually rooted for the CFB and CBB teams in my area, because it is more fun to watch a good team than a bad team, but I am not a die-hard of any of those teams.

Let's Go State! Roll Tide!

The End!

 

[SerenityNow]

ISU - I went to school there.
Reds/Bengals - my hometown

 

[Cyforce]

My dad was a Packers fan
Lived I the country no satellite so Cubs were on every Sunday.
Same with Basketball Lakers were normally the 10:30 Friday night game and often on Sunday.

Clones my dad to us to games.

 

[Dgilbertson]

Picked based on player style, name, and affinity for mustaches.

Frank Viola was my first pro player I liked. Cool last name, great mustache, and a Cy Young winner. Liked the Twins a bit for one season. Then in 1990 a few families took a road trip to Chicago to watch the White Sox in their last season at Old Comiskey.

They had a mustached SS with an even cooler name in Ozzie Guillen. He played solid defense and the two families we went with were diehard Sox fans. I was converted. They went to the black uniforms and would’ve won the strike shortened season. (Actually more likely the Expos)

John Stockton was the league leader in assists and steals. I liked how he played.

I was the fastest kid in my elementary class, and I had moves, learned them all from Barry Sanders.

My brother was anti-front runner. So all of my affinities were a bit under the radar/off the beaten path/different.

As I got older and moved, players retired, I slowly adopted more casual relationship with pro sports.

Remember being a few mid-20 seasons into baseball/football and thinking, “I’m likely never moving to Detroit, Chicago or SLC” I was living in Kansas Coty for a few years. So started water cooler following the Chiefs and Royals. Then they both went on their runs.

Being an Iowa State fan I also felt I had to minimize the amount of pain I subjected myself to. No sense getting a day ruined over a team of millionaires not winning a game. So I had no problem front running with KC teams when times were good and IGNORING when not.

Now, follow SF, Pacers and wherever else ISU players are playing. Detroit for David, Baltimore for Charlie, follow Niang’s journey etc.

 

[jsb]

My mom grew up in Minnesota and came from a family that enjoyed sports so we are Vikings and Twins fans. My dad went to Iowa State and when they got married my parents started going to basketball games.

I never really had an NBA team. I always hated the Bulls. And usually pulled for teams with Iowa State players on them. I liked the Jazz a lot in the late 90's.

 

[cmjh10]

St Louis Cardinals because they were always on channel 20 growing up and we didn’t have cable.

 

[1SEIACLONE]

ISU, growing up in the 70's it seemed like everyone was an EIU fan, ISU was the better program so I started liking them. Did not start attending games until my kids went to the university. Became a football season ticket holder about 15 years ago.

Pro sports, entire family is St. Louis Cardinal fans, we would drive down every summer since 1972 to see them play. I continued the tradition with my own kids, and we either saw them in St. Louis or plan a road trip to see them play in another city.

NFL, was a Jets fan in the late 60's, but became a Chiefs fan in high school. Our HS football team got tickets my freshman year to see a game, we went all four years I was in HS. The Chiefs were horrible, tickets were cheap, so I started going myself to a few games, been a fan ever since. No longer attend games, but watch every game on TV.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

Does anybody support all the teams from one city? Or is it more typical for Iowans to be like me and kind of be all over the place?

My family wasn’t particularly into sports.

For the NFL, I picked the Packers because I lived in northeast Iowa and it was the Brett Favre Super Bowl years when I started paying attention. I suppose I could have just as easily picked the Vikings or Bears. A lot of classmates were Cowboys fans too, especially with it being the mid to late 90s. The Chiefs were kind of far away.

For college, we moved to central Iowa during Eustachy’s Big 12 championship runs. I didn’t really pay attention to college sports before that other than seeing if my pop bottle cap matched the NCAA tournament winner. I had some family that supported the Hawkeyes and I even had a couple pieces of Iowa clothing as a kid but never thought much of it. A friend in northeast Iowa liked “the other one” and that was about all I really knew of Iowa State before moving to central Iowa. I started with Iowa State basketball and then picked up on football. Thankfully Mac was starting to take us to bowl games.

For MLB, I picked the Yankees first because an older cousin liked them and always wore a Yankees hat. Then I picked the Cubs as my local/National League team.

For the NBA, I picked the Bulls because of Michael Jordan but didn’t really follow them. Then I liked the Lakers because they were good. Finally, I kind of picked the Pacers after they picked Tinsley. I quit caring for several years and starting paying attention again when they got Haliburton.

For the NHL, I picked the Avalanche, but I never really watched much. I moved to Washington state as an adult and the closest team was the Canucks, so I kind of followed their scores. Then we got the Kraken and they became my team.

Living in Washington state as an adult added the Seatte pro teams and local colleges to my fandom.

Yes, I’m shooting the crap with a long post including personal details you probably don’t care about. Go easy on me.

Myself and many others enjoy when posters are willing to share details. It's what make this site special and why I put CF up against any other message board out there.


NFL - Was Broncos because I had family out in Denver and because of Elway, was side fan of Bears because of my dad but when I got old enough to realize I need to pick just 1 Denver always won out


MLB - Twins because of Kirby Puckett then when Rockies came into existence switched there for reasons I'm a Broncos fan.

NHL Avalanche same thing Colorado based and because of the legendary feud they had with Red Wings in the 90's

NBA - Bulls because of localness and wgn and of course Jordan. Got back into them with Ben Gordon teams and Rose/Noah teams but now I'm a NBA FA, mainly want to see former ISU guys do well. Based on above I should adopt the nuggets lol


College - I was born into a Cyclone family, thank god

 

[heitclone]

MLB- My dad was a Cards fan so we went to a series every summer of my childhood.
NBA- WGN had the Bulls on and TBS had Hawks games, Jordan was coming age so I went with him over Dominque Wilkins.
NFL- I was as bandwagon Bears fan in the mid 80's as a kid.

I really don't take pro sports that serious as an adult, I'm mostly just an ISU and with the pro leagues, I watch and root for players more than teams. My preferences can change depending on where ISU players end up.

 

[jdoggivjc]

I have to say over the years I have not been particularly loyal to any team (with the exception of Iowa State... when I switched over to them when I got my acceptance letter in 1996). It's practically a life story.

I was born in New York to a dad that (at the time) only liked the NY Mets and Giants, and while my dad had no interest in hockey, other members of my family followed the Islanders... and early on in my life those were my three teams as well - and to this day I still follow the Mets and Islanders on the side (Giants have really gone by the wayside for me).

In the wake of Super Bowl XX a very young me flipped over to the Bears. And shortly after that Jordan was blowing up and I became a fan of the Bulls as well. Around the same time I started becoming interested in college sports, and since Iowa was the local team, I started cheering for them as well (yeah, I know - gross).

In the early 1990s my dad's job was supposed to be transferred to the South, and as my allegiances began taking a Southern flair as well. I flipped from the Bears to the Falcons, Mets to the Braves, Bulls to the Magic (yes, I've liked them since they entered the league), and Islanders to Lightning (same). The transfer and move never actually happened, but for years after that the Falcons, Magic, and Lightning continued being my favorite teams, but not the Braves - it was at that time that it seemed like EVERYONE in America became a Braves fan, and it annoyed the hell out of me, so I flipped over to the Rockies, who were also new to the league at the time.

As I entered college things changed again - as I already said I became an Iowa State fan. Over the years at Iowa State the Twins became my favorite baseball team. Somewhere along the line I also became fan of the Blackhawks and Timberwolves, but they didn't replace the Lightning and Magic respectively; it was more like "equal shares" as all those teams played in separate conferences and rarely went up against one another.

In the early 2010s, my job transferred me to Detrot metro, and I flipped from the Twins to the Tigers. It took many more years, but the way the Falcons blew the Super Bowl against the Patriots literally caused me to finally flip me to the Lions, who I was following from a distance for my first several years in the area. And I paid dearly for that decision as I was rewarded with some of the worst football a new fan to a team could ever be forced to watch. I also finally got over what happened to Iowa State in 2000 and picked up Michigan State on the side. I have no plans of ever flipping to the Red Wings or Pistons, because while I don't hate either team like I used to, the hate for both was once very real.

As side notes, Ken Griffey, Jr and Ray Lewis made me fans of the Mariners and Ravens for a time, respectively.

As it stands now (parentheses means I follow from a distance but don't have a real attachment to them):
MLB: Tigers (Mets)
NFL: Lions (Falcons/Ravens)
NBA: Magic/Timberwolves
NHL: Lightning/Blackhawks (Islanders)
NCAA: Iowa State/Michigan State

 

[madguy30]

Grew up in eastern Iowa an ISU fan due to family. I still have ridiculous unhealthy grievances with Iowa fans. Iowa was decent in the 80s in football so you hardly heard a peep about ISU and their fans leaned into it, and still do.

Also had UNI ties with family so followed them more in football growing up because they at least had more coverage from KWWL including a Sunday morning show to go over highlights.

Pro sports wise mainly the Chicago teams due to WGN etc. but I never minded other midwest teams.

I tended to latch on to a non-affiliated team during seasons if I liked watching them or a specific player and still do that.

 

[madguy30]

Not all the teams for me but I am a Cubs fan. WGN being a superstition back in the day did that.

Something I'd do if I could go back in time is either sit in my grandpa's TV room watching the Bulls at night or the Cubs during the day. The Sox were on too but Steve Stone and Harry Carry made for a perfect lazy summer afternoon.

 

[GMackey32]

My Dad grew up in Ames so it was never a question which collegiate team we were going to support. He was also a Raiders and Royals fan so I watched them a lot. Loved Bo Jackson and continued to follow the Raiders and Royals after that.