Texsox Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 Last night I was sitting at my favorite island bar and a few guys were arguing college football. One guy was a huge Florida State fan. Knew just about everything you could possibly know about the program. When I asked him how a Seminole grad wound up in Longhorn or Aggie country he said he didn't actually go there. In fact he never even lived in Florida. It seemed like he just picked a top program to cheer for. Once he settled down he was a decent sort of chap, bought a round of drinks and told a few decent jokes. So how does someone become so enamored over a college or university they never attended? I get physical proximity. I get sending your kid to that college (Go Illini!!). I get having a family member work there (Go UTSA Roadrunner!!) But I don't quite get just picking some university and being a fanboy. Isn't it kind of weird in a way? Willing to understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 When I was a kid, my dad coached high school basketball and the schools colors are blue and gold, so I was conditioned to pull for blue and gold teams which was Michigan. I applied there and was accepted but there was no way I could afford to go so I went to SIU. I loved my Carbondale time but I shouldve just sucked it up and went to Ann Arbor and worried later about student loans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 QUOTE (Brian @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 07:29 AM) I applied there and was accepted but there was no way I could afford to go so I went to SIU. I loved my Carbondale time but I shouldve just sucked it up and went to Ann Arbor and worried later about student loans. How dare you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 07:35 AM) How dare you. You know how much I love SIU basketball. Despite how hard it has been to do so the past 5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 QUOTE (Brian @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 07:37 AM) You know how much I love SIU basketball. Despite how hard it has been to do so the past 5 years. I know but I still wanna hit you with a GTS now. To answer the original question, I actually became a Duke fan when I was younger because all my friends were UNC fans(that Michael Jordan guy went there if you didn't know) and I liked to be different. I grew out of caring for them though when I hit college and became obsessed with SIU bball and that has worked so great for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 So how does someone become so enamored over a college or university they never attended? I get physical proximity. I get sending your kid to that college (Go Illini!!). I get having a family member work there (Go UTSA Roadrunner!!) But I don't quite get just picking some university and being a fanboy. Being Catholic seems to have a lot to do with it for some people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenryan Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 09:13 AM) Being Catholic seems to have a lot to do with it for some people. And Mormon. My dad was from Akron and a big Ohio St fan. He moved down to south Florida and started rooting on Miami since they were local. I was born and we were living in Sarasota and I decided to root for Miami since we got those games on tv in the 80s. Never went to the school. Football stadiums would be a lot less crowded if they only allowed graduates to root for that team. My pet peeve is the college fans who cheers for different teams depending on the sport. There is a local sports radio show host who is a Miami Hurricanes football fan and a Duke basketball fan. Now that annoys me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 QUOTE (zenryan @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 09:25 AM) There is a local sports radio show host who is a Miami Hurricanes football fan and a Duke basketball fan. Now that annoys me. That would bother me too, but is that any different than being say a Sox fan and a Spurs fan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 That would bother me too, but is that any different than being say a Sox fan and a Spurs fan? If you weren't from either area, that would be a very weird combination. You could be a Spurs fan and a ND football fan, though. That would make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 I always found it hilarious how Lebron was a Bulls, Cowboys and Yankees fan growing up, front runner much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 09:51 AM) I always found it hilarious how Lebron was a Bulls, Cowboys and Yankees fan growing up, front runner much? Somethings never change apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 QUOTE (Tex @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 06:56 AM) Last night I was sitting at my favorite island bar and a few guys were arguing college football. One guy was a huge Florida State fan. Knew just about everything you could possibly know about the program. When I asked him how a Seminole grad wound up in Longhorn or Aggie country he said he didn't actually go there. In fact he never even lived in Florida. It seemed like he just picked a top program to cheer for. Once he settled down he was a decent sort of chap, bought a round of drinks and told a few decent jokes. So how does someone become so enamored over a college or university they never attended? I get physical proximity. I get sending your kid to that college (Go Illini!!). I get having a family member work there (Go UTSA Roadrunner!!) But I don't quite get just picking some university and being a fanboy. Isn't it kind of weird in a way? Willing to understand. No ties at all to Florida State, but I became a fan when Weinke/Warrick were tearing it up and I fell in love. The logo/colors/Osceola were also easy to catch on with me, plus the great players that have come from there. Had I gone to a D1 college, no doubt that would have been my team, but I went DII and FSU stuck for good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buehrle>Wood Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 (edited) I'm Irish so I stupidly bandwagon Notre Dame. Edited October 6, 2013 by Buehrle>Wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 11:03 AM) No ties at all to Florida State, but I became a fan when Weinke/Warrick were tearing it up and I fell in love. The logo/colors/Osceola were also easy to catch on with me, plus the great players that have come from there. Had I gone to a D1 college, no doubt that would have been my team, but I went DII and FSU stuck for good. \Was that you last night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted October 6, 2013 Author Share Posted October 6, 2013 QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Oct 6, 2013 -> 11:03 AM) I'm Irish so I stupidly bandwagon Notre Dame. Catholic, and me too. But not on an obsessive level. More like if they are playing any random opponent, I hope they win. But I couldn't even tell you who their coach is or their current record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 I'm an Illini fan so I guess I mostly make sense. I used to be a big Duke fan for bball, and I still like them, and my reasoning was that I liked an elite academic school being so good in athletics. Now I just don't really care that much, it's not like the team is filled with Rhodes scholars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoomSlowik Posted October 6, 2013 Share Posted October 6, 2013 I started following NU in 95 when they were good. Unfortunately, I didn't get in and ended up in Champaign. I guess I still make sene though since it's local and my Mom got one of her degrees there. She donated to the school but none of us really followed the sports teams before 1995. In fairness, the football and basketball teams were both hilariously bad at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) My father wasn't at all interested in sports and their were no major universities around so growing up I stumbled into random teams. I know I became a UConn basketball fan because of the Husky mascot but they didn't have a football program. I have been a Florida State football fan as long as I can remember, probably because they were good and on TV a lot in the early 90's and having a sharp uni set certainly doesn't hurt. Edited October 7, 2013 by ChiSox_Sonix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 My father wasn't at all interested in sports and their were no major universities around so growing up I stumbled into random teams. I know I became a UConn basketball fan because of the Husky mascot but they didn't have a football program. I have been a Florida State football fan as long as I can remember, probably because they were good and on TV a lot in the early 90's and having a sharp uni set certainly doesn't hurt. Yeah, I seem to remember FSU getting handed a National Championship in the early 90s that they didn't deserve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Where I grew up there wasn't a pro sports team within 6 hours(I know). With colleges I became a long distance UNC fan because my sister and her family lived in Raleigh-Durham. They were attending/working at Duke, but that was when Duke was dominant in the early 90's, and I had the opposite effect of Rowand44. I liked UNC because everyone else was on the Duke bandwagon. Then when choosing a college, I hated the fact that Texas and A&M were handed everything on a sliver platter. For instance, Texas makes 220M+ a year on oil money from the state, A&M gets 110M+, and little ole Texas Tech gets 0. Tech has to fight for everything in life, and had to spend 5 years busting ass just to get 10M a year in research money from the state. Pro teams: I loved the Steelers during a time where they hadn't won a super bowl in almost 3 decades. Bettis and the D were my reasons. I loved the Heat before Wade, Shaq, or the current roster were around. Timmy Hardaway and Zo were my reasons. I loved the White Sox because I could actually watch games on WGN, and everyone else was a retarded Cub fan it seemed. The Big Hurt was my main reason. Then 2005, 2006 happened and suddenly I looked like a band-wagoner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 7, 2013 -> 08:50 AM) Yeah, I seem to remember FSU getting handed a National Championship in the early 90s that they didn't deserve. Bitter ND fan? Don't lose at home to Boston College and that doesn't happen. It's been that way in college football forever. FSU beat 5 or 6 ranked teams, including Florida (#6?), Miami (#3) and Nebraska (#2) in the Orange Bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Having gone to a small college I follow teams more for the players on the teams that I saw play in HS and liked, versus any other reason. There are a few teams I root against because of fan bases, but that is about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasox24 Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 I grew up a big Illinois fan because my Dad went to school there and is a big fan. But I went to Tennessee for college, and by my Sophomore year, I was all Vol. My Illinois fandom has continued to decline over the years, and now I'm at the point where I haven't even watched a single game this year. But I do still hope they win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Notre Dame too. Born, raised, and live 15 minutes from South Bend. I've been a fan since I was little. So is my dad, grandparents, and almost all of my relatives. I followed all of the major sports and went to many games on campus. Plus I've worked in the shadow of the campus or for the school for the last 20 years. I'm of Irish heritage and my cousins are Catholic, but we are Protestant. My sports fandoms are all via proximity to the home stadiums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Oct 7, 2013 -> 09:18 AM) Bitter ND fan? Don't lose at home to Boston College and that doesn't happen. It's been that way in college football forever. FSU beat 5 or 6 ranked teams, including Florida (#6?), Miami (#3) and Nebraska (#2) in the Orange Bowl. N.D. did beat the same Viriginia team that took out FSU that year. Head to head, it was the accurate call; though, because there was no playoff system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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