has anyone ever been a lifelong fan of a team but......

[G $MONEY$]

..... ended up dropping them and started cheering for a different team? Maybe you didn't agree with a trade the team made? Maybe they ended up trading away your favorite player? You didn't like the direction the team was taking? Your favorite player retired from said team and you lost interest in that team and started cheering for a different team? You were just plain sick and tired of your team constantly losing? Am sure there's many other reasons as well.

So has anyone done this in any sport and what was the reason for you doing this and what 2 teams were involved?

Or are you so die hard, that you can honestly say that you will never stop being a fan of your team no matter what happens? If so, how long have you been a fan of this team and who are they?

Just curious and thought it would make a good discussion...

 

[shuedini]

I chose the "never ever" option. I was born in '82, the year of the Cardinals. I've been a Cardinals fan ever since I can remember. My earliest memory of being a Cardinals fan was one day back in third grade, trading baseball cards with some friends. I would trade anything I had for any Cardinal player of theirs. Those were the good ol' days of trading. Nobody gave a crap about Beckett or book value. Not even cash value was a factor. We just traded for what we liked.

Anyway, I'll always be a Cardinals fan. Regardless of some of the shenanigans they pull. I'll always back them. Plus, they have the Fredbird Girls. Who can hate that? Does any other team have "cheerleaders?"

Edit to add visuals of Team Fredbird...

 

[Superfractor]

I would reconsider if and only if morality came into play; i.e., franchise-wide cheating.


Otherwise - for such extreme examples as ten-year losing seasons - I would simply lose interest; i.e., the "strength" of my interest in the team would dwindle, but would not fade. I would continue to follow the team in some capacity. E.g., appreciate the positive aspects of the season(s); or not be as emotionally invested.

 

[jarcar]

My favourite team was the Expos. They were my favourite team since I was 5, saw my first game at the big O with my dad and grandpa when I was 6, but since they moved my team has been the Blue Jays.

 

[trademhigh]

I chose never. Even in Basketball where the Knicks franchise made a billion mistakes in developing the team (such as Jerome James, Eddie Curry, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jordan Hill over Brandon Jennings, etc etc etc), I still would never consider changing teams. Like superfractor said, I may lose interest in the short term (which hasn't fully happened, but I don't watch every game of the season anymore).

 

[Card Magnet]

I've been a Sox fan for my entire sports-conscious life. If I survived the loss of Thomas and the impending loss of Konerko, nothing will sway me. Aside from the World Series scandal that was 70 years before my birth, they have a pretty clean image as far as cheating/PEDs/etc. goes, so I'm proud of that. Should it change, I would most likely abandon them until things cleaned up, and follow the Pirates (I casually follow them).

 

[rsmath]

I've been turned off by some MLB teams (they are not lifelong teams because they were recent expansion teams) and I don't live in a MLB market so there is no allegiance to any particular team.

I was a fan of the Rockies and Diamondbacks but have lost the will to go out of my way to watch them. The local radio stations preempted them for minor league baseball (or took them off the air entirely in the case of the rockies) plus I'm blacked out of both clubs for MLB out-of-market purposes.

I have tended to watch more games in my OOM package the Marlins (when they were the top club of the Isotopes), Red Sox, Cubs (love to watch them lose), Cards (Pujols), and Dodgers (current top club of the Isotopes) and during August/Sept, I concentrate more on games with playoff implications. Much easier to enjoy the games on a regular basis since those teams are not blacked out everyday like the Rockies/Dbacks (only a few games blacked out when Rockies/Dbacks are the opponents).

As far as I"m concerned, MLB owners have ****** themselves with the blackout rules. Both teams are more than 8 hours away from me by car and I even used to fly to Phoenix about once a summer to catch a Dbacks game while visiting my grandparents. The death of my grandparents, plus getting fed up with blackout rules, has turned me off from traveling to see a MLB game in person. Minor League ball at the AAA level is good enough for me for live baseball as it's near-MLB quality at a fraction of the price.

 

[69MetsFan]

I can honestly say, I would/have never rooted for another team other than the N.Y. Mets. I've been a fan since 1968 and will be a fan for the duration.

 

[olerud363]

My team, the Blue Jays, has done pretty much everything on the list but I'd never even consider changing teams. They've had almost 20 years without a postseason appearance and they traded away my favorite player (Olerud) for a sack of balls and a Coke.

I have, though, lost interest in a team and stopped following them. Back when I was in elementary school and junior high, I played a lot of basketball and was a huge Celtics fan. This was the time when the starting 5 included Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Robert Parrish, and Dennis Johnson. By high school I lost interest in basketball and stopped following the NBA.

- R.

 

[smapdi]

I always have been and always will be a Phillies fan. But that hasn't always been easy. When I was growing up, they had their great run, 3 consecutive playoff years, then a World Series, then another a few years later, with the great core of HOFers (or would-be HOFer). But after that they became quite lowly, with basically one bright spot in the next 25 years.

But I've always had an admiration for the Cardinals that I just started to admit in the last few years. They always had a certain class and allure that the Phillies didn't. Actually, I can trace it back to an article in the first issue of Baseball Cards magazine, which came out just as I was getting into cards seriously, or as seriously as a 10-year-old can. It was about team collecting, and the author collected the Cards. Accompanying the article were full-color glossy photos of programs, ticket stubs, Hartlands, cards, buttons, etc. Plus, the Cards have a long history of great players. Not so much in their early history, though they had a few in the deadball era, but since the Gashouse Gang era there's consistently been at least one iconic player on their team. Hornsby, Mize, Dean, Musial, Gibson, Smith, Pujols are just some of the biggest. The most WS chamionships in the NL, and way more consistently competitive than my Phillies. Nice looking stadiums. Beautiful uniforms. What seems like a classy organization. I doubt I'll ever go to STL or see the team in person at other than an Interleague game with the Rangers, but what's not to like? So when the Phils were having another seemingly endless 68-win season, I could look west and see another team in red and white usually doing fairly well.

 

[Russ S.]

So 4 of the choices apply to me, and I still picked #1.

 

[JoshHamilton]

But after that they became quite lowly, with basically one bright spot in the next 25 years.

Von Hayes?

 

[Bob Loblaw]

But after that they became quite lowly, with basically one bright spot in the next 25 years.

Von Hayes?

Ricky Jordan.


I believe he means 1993.

I voted #1.

 

[bongo870]

been and will always bleed red (Phillies) since 1970 when I was born. Thats right... i was born with a Phillies hat on LOL. I have followed them through the thick and thin. Good years in the late 70's and the world sereis in 1980 (stil have my tickett and program book from when i went). Through the 80's when they STANK! An so on. No matter what i hang in there.

 

[nborton]

My favourite team was the Expos. They were my favourite team since I was 5, saw my first game at the big O with my dad and grandpa when I was 6, but since they moved my team has been the Blue Jays.

I didn't think of that possibility. IF the Tigers moved for some strange reason I guess I'd have to change teams.

 

[nborton]

I've been turned off by some MLB teams (they are not lifelong teams because they were recent expansion teams) and I don't live in a MLB market so there is no allegiance to any particular team.

I was a fan of the Rockies and Diamondbacks but have lost the will to go out of my way to watch them. The local radio stations preempted them for minor league baseball (or took them off the air entirely in the case of the rockies) plus I'm blacked out of both clubs for MLB out-of-market purposes.

I have tended to watch more games in my OOM package the Marlins (when they were the top club of the Isotopes), Red Sox, Cubs (love to watch them lose), Cards (Pujols), and Dodgers (current top club of the Isotopes) and during August/Sept, I concentrate more on games with playoff implications. Much easier to enjoy the games on a regular basis since those teams are not blacked out everyday like the Rockies/Dbacks (only a few games blacked out when Rockies/Dbacks are the opponents).

As far as I"m concerned, MLB owners have ****** themselves with the blackout rules. Both teams are more than 8 hours away from me by car and I even used to fly to Phoenix about once a summer to catch a Dbacks game while visiting my grandparents. The death of my grandparents, plus getting fed up with blackout rules, has turned me off from traveling to see a MLB game in person. Minor League ball at the AAA level is good enough for me for live baseball as it's near-MLB quality at a fraction of the price.

The blackout rules are horrible in some cases. We get blacked out of Reds games here. It takes 8 hrs to get to Cinci. How in the world is that considered local? Not only that, but the same thing goes for the Orioles, Nats, and Braves. If the Braves didn't have their own station we wouldn't see anything. :lol:

Good thing I'm a Tigers fan I guess. No problems watching them on Extra Innings.

 

[markakis8]

So 4 of the choices apply to me, and I still picked #1.

I'm with you. Us O's fans have had almost nothing to cheer for the past 15 years but it is always nice to see the die-hard fans and interact with them.

I was so happy they locked up Roberts and Markakis to long term deals and they will be O's for at least another 3-5 years. Those are the two I've enjoyed watching the most these past 3-4 years.

I will always bleed orange.

 

[Wes]

I chose never but would consider changing if I were to be hired by a team. Or if my team moved.

 

[JoshHamilton]

I don't see why switching team allegiances is such a bad thing. Why is there so much blind loyalty in sports? You don't stay with a girl or a job if they treat you poorly, so why shouldyou stay with a team?

If I were a Cubs or Mets fan, yeah they suck, but at least they're trying. They're spending money, albeit ineptly. They care enough to at least attempt to be competitive

But a team like the Pirates? To hell with them. By all accounts, they have a strong fanbase and great attendance, yet they still won't spend any money to put a decent team on the field. Screw them. You don't care about me? Then don't expect me to spend one cent on you

 

[jeff550]

if the nationals traded Zimmerman, i could stop paying attention to them for 5-10 years, then i would start following them again