Teams supported in other sports
What other teams do you all support in other sports, and why? I am not massively passionate about other teams, but I have a few rooting interests, and would be interested to hear others.
Ice hockey: Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights.
NFL: Carolina Panthers (Cincinnati Bengals as a kid)
For Ice hockey, I lived in Vegas many years and my wife is from there, but we moved to Denver days before the first ever Vegas game. I have therefore seen far more Colorado games live, and my kids were born here too, so it is a split, leaning Colorado now.
For the NFL, I picked Cincinnati as a kid owing to those cool tiger helmets. However, Carolina entered the league in the mid 1990s, and my mother is from North Carolina originally, so I had to jump ship. I've seen a few Panthers games live, including one out at their home in Charlotte, but I have not really watched the NFL much in recent years, so my interest in the team has waned. Ironically, I ended up living in Columbus, Ohio for a while in 2005-2007, so if I had kept my Bengals interest, I could have easily taken myself to some games.
Besides that, interest tends to be more along the lines of looking up results without really being a fan.
Rugby Union: I always looked for the results of London Irish, as my dad was born and grew up in London to Irish parents.
Rugby League: I have randomly always hoped Warrington do well.
Cricket: Even more randomly, I always used to "support" Derbyshire as a kid, despite never having been there. Nowadays I fel sympathetic to a few clubs, including Somerset owing to their continuing rotten luck in achieving a first ever county championship. Similarly, I hope Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire somehow win it someday (though Gloucestershire won it a bunch back in the unofficial days of the 1800s).
How about all of you? The only ones I feel I already know are Kent cricket for @micra, San Jose Sharks in Ice Hockey for @Morris_Ital and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL for @chairboyscentral.
Comments
Whereabouts in North Carolina is your mum from @Shev?
@floyd - she initially grew up in the Great Smokies near the western tip of the state, very close to both Georgia and Tennessee, but she much preferred living in Greensboro, where she lived on and off later on, including for a while with my Dad and two older brothers (one of my brothers was born in Greensboro, the rest of us kids in Hertfordshire). I remember visiting Greensboro in 1987 and it seeming like a wonderland with the massive roads, Cadillacs and malls.
Whereabouts are you? My apologies, as I feel you have said before.
I was in Greenville for about a decade, half way between the triangle and the ocean. Eastern Carolina is a deprived area, but filled with great people, food and beaches. We visited Bank of America stadium for a college game in 2011, but I’ve never seen an NFL game there. I’m not that family with the western part of the state, but Asheville and Brevard are great.
We live in central Virginia now, been here for about four years.
Nice! I love the people from that whole region of the country - and the accents too (always reminds me of my mom, who is thankfully still with us but back in Herts with my dad).
Are there ever any sporting options in that part of Virginia? Do you ever get to college sports there (I am assuming University of Virginia in Charlottesville or Virginia Tech in Blacksburg)?
Another Kent fan and excited for the cricket season to start in a couple of weeks. Vaguely support Wigan Warriors RLFC. I think that's about it.
College sports run North Carolina, we had season tickets for East Carolina football for years. Pro sports are a slightly bigger deal in Virginia, particularly the closer you get to DC. The Washington Football Team have their summer training camp about five miles from where we live. The minor league baseball club is the big draw in Richmond
In college sports I've been to some Richmond Spiders basketball and Randolph Macon football, but never as far as UVa or Tech.
I guess to answer your initial question, East Carolina sports would be the other 'team,' i support, but nowhere near to the same extent as Wycombe Wanderers. Which is probably good for me!
Hi @Shev
As you know I’m a big fan of hockey and I advocate the sport to everyone that wants to hear, in fact I’ve convinced a couple of friends to go to a knights game when they were in Vegas and now they’re hooked.
Prior to the pandemic I’d try to make a few MK lightening hockey games a season here in the UK. The standard is okay, probably around college league level in the US. I had a chat a few years ago with a coach (a Canadian of course) who played AHL and he said with two NHL imports (ringers) he would walk the league undefeated and after I got across and saw the difference in skill, speed and physicality I saw his point.
I think the old dearly departed lime tree on the actual field of play was one of the most charming sporting quirks I have heard of.
@floyd - yes, college basketball specifically is always the first sport I think of as representing the state of NC. It's very interesting to hear that background of yours. To think of there being a common fan between Wycombe and East Carolina shows the varied paths of sporting interest!
@Morris_Ital - yes, ice hockey is an addiction waiting for everyone to partake of. When my best friend and his sports-hating wife visited a couple of years back, I took them to a game and she absolutely loved it. My sister-in-law spent her whole life rolling her eyes at sports, and now screams at the TV when her Knights are on. There is nothing quite like it!
P.S. - tough couple of seasons for the Sharks. Full rebuild coming? I have not tracked them too much, but strange to see Pavelski and Thornton depart over a couple of seasons.
@Shev Yes we’ve drifted away a bit in recent seasons so rebuild is the word. A start would be to get back in to the SAP.
Football - Wycombe (obviously)
Cricket - Somerset & Middlesex, Somerset as growing up as a kid they had Botham, Richards and Garner, what was the not to love !? As I've got older I've grown to Middlesex as I love going up there to watch, it's a magical ground and I often just go to watch random county games with not many in.
Dont really do any other team sports, not enough to have a 'team' anyway.
Makes me wonder if I was watching the same games as you @Morris_Ital ? I occasionally worked with Bracknell Bees & Hornets a couple of years ago.
So:
Rugby Union - Doncaster Knights (did have a ST about 4 years ago). Just a nice vibe there and an impressive rise from nowhere in a non-union area.
Rugby League - Castleford (although only a passing interest and dates back to watching them on Grandstand(?) back in the day.
Cricket - Bizarrely I don’t think I’ve ever been attached to any team, county or country. I genuinely love the game but never formed any emotional attachment to a team.
Ice Hockey - Been a few times to see Sheffield Steelers (wife occasionally gets free tickets). I really feel I ought to like ice hockey but to be honest I just don’t.
American Football - Chicago Bears. Dates back to watching it when Channel 4 started showing it and they had The Fridge.
Speedway - Mildenhall Fen Tigers (don’t ask)
Cricket - Essex, county of my birth - coming good again as a team. Also Notts, especially in the Derek Randall era when we used to go and watch them at Trent bridge in the John Player League.
NFL - Denver Broncos (my wife is from Colorado and we have family there who go to watch the games). Also Seattle Seahawks, also for family connections.
Baseball - Colorado Rockies, see above and my wife was at school with the Montforts who own the team. It was a State school, nothing fancy. She got to go in the owners’s Sky box last time she visited. Our kids loved the unlimited free candy on offer.
Rugby League - St Helens, driving around the North West as a kid and continually seeing it on the Motorway signs..antidote to Wigan!
Speedway - enjoy watching it on TV but it depends who is riding for which team. Kings Lynn probably this season, underdogs but in with a shout.
Interesting to know you married a Coloradan, @Forest_Blue!
I know there are some Wycombe fans down in Colorado Springs. I am wondering if I can spin this state as a Chairboy hotbed enough for RC to put one of the tour games here?
Quite possible, It’s good to see Bracknell are getting another rink, although that area really needs a full sized facility
I agree, the Bees stadium appeared to be very run down, when compared to the likes of Cardiff Devils, Romford Raiders & MK Lightening. They have now relocated to Slough Ice arena, with their "home" venue just not up to standard. It was still ahead, in terms of venue when compared to Peterborough Pirates as it was then, but I believe are now under new ownership & called the Peterborough Phantoms?
Cricket - High Wycombe Cricket club, colours are light and dark blue, lovely tranquil place to spend a Saturday afternoon watching cricket.
(Somerset in the 70's and 80's due to Botham)
Rugby Leage - leeds due to their yellow and blue kits being a combination of Wanderers home and away colours in the 70's and 80's. (The same reason, I chose Marc rollerball Rocco as my favourite wrestler)
Rugby Union Had absolutely no interest until fairly recent events, but now firmly in the ABW (anyone but Wasps) camp. Still no interest in the elitest pastime, only the results !!
Good thread! I find adopting a team in a sport helps you have a focus and gives it a bit of purpose watching games - wanting your team to win, ups and downs etc
US Sport
NFL - Picked the Raiders from the 80s not sure why. Just liked the logo and colours. Went to San Francisco on my first ever visit to the US and managed to convince my wife to go to Raiders - Broncos. Was quite the experience on the train and walking through the caged walkway to the Coliseum - we definitely stood out but was great fun. We got drenched sitting in the gods and had an incredibly large burger and hot dog. I managed to get to the Spurs stadium for Raiders - Bears in 2019 Great game and comeback, stadium seemed to have a lot of Bears fans. Feel like I have lost touch with it in recent years even though very accessible via Sky - guess you can only get away with watching so much sport!
I did own a NY Giants Lawrence Taylor top in the 80s when wearing tops became a thing - recall others having a Dan Marino Dolphins or John Elway Broncos tops! I glance at their results and actually backed them when they won their last Super Bowl.
MLB - SF Giants. I used to be scornful of Baseball as a cricket purist and rubbish it to my mate who watched Jonny Gould on Channel 5. In 2010 I decided to give it a go and, it took a while, something dropped and I was hooked. The Giants has won the WS by the time I got to San Fran in Dec 2010 but they enjoyed wins in 2012 and 2014 with some iconic players (Pablo Sandoval became a hero with Hunter Pence and the brilliantly named Madison Bumgarner) before they have slotted into being massive underachievers - bit like the Raiders
I managed to get to a game when I returned to SF in 2018 - a win v the Padres. Fantastic stadium and I enjoyed a burrito the weight of a small child.
Oddly, my good friend who lived in the Bay Area for a number of years follows the 49ers and the Oakland A’s.
NHL - My friend is obsessed but I don’t have a team although I do enjoy hockey. I have given him a brief to allocate me a team. I have some family in Vancouver so might go that way. I feel like I need perennial underachievers that flatter to deceive but occasionally surprise!
NBA - finally watched The Last Dance and took me back to Channel 4 late night play off watching particularly the Bulls-Jazz series with Karl Malone & John Stockley v Jordan & Co. No real team and have lost touch with who is good and who isn’t.
UK
Cricket - Middlesex. My dad took me to some games at Lord’s and Uxbridge. I remember waiting to get autographs outside the Tavern. I’ve just dug it out and can see a signed scorecard with signatures Wilf Slack (who played for High Wycombe too so was added interest - I recall him sadly dying way too young), Gatting, Emburey, Paul Downton, Roland Butcher and few others!
Rugby Union - don’t have a team. Spent some time in Bristol but didn’t adopt them, Pre the Hayes era I thought about Wasps but not such a good idea although I did enjoy a couple of games at AP before agreeing that they ruined our pitch and were bad for us but secretly quite enjoying being able to watch top rugby.
Non-uk football
MLS - I haven’t looked properly but I think we should all be Nashville fans because of Gupps and Smudger! Also because Nashville is quite cool. I may have been imagining it but was there ever (preCovid of course) talk playing a game in the US from Pete/Rob? Surely the cost would be too much to justify but would be amazing if it ever happened!
Spain - I have a fondness for Deportivo La Coruna as I happened to be there for a game the night we beat Wimbledon in the replay. Before phone charges were reasonable I phoned my mate on at Selhurst Park on a brick like Nokia and had live “commentary” for parts of extra time and the penalty shoot out so always sticks in the mind!
Italy - Milan. Just loved van Basten and that era. Thanks to John D Taylor and Football Italia managed to learn a lot about Italian football like so many others! Have always liked them over the years and was lucky enough to visit the San Siro which is magnificent and old and crumbly but majestic nonetheless.
Scotland - Rangers! Just because of the 80s with McCoist, Souness, Steven, Stevens etc When we were non-league it was ok to have a 1st Div English team at school...mine was Everton, my best mate was Liverpool, he then adopted Celtic and I chose Rangers!
Pleased to see their success this season.
Cricket: Delhi Capitals (formerly Daredevils) in the IPL. Absolute sacrilege to show any love for T20 cricket here I know, but I was once lucky enough to visit Delhi and the rest is history. I've never managed to form such a strong attraction to a county team in the UK, but that's because I've never lived anywhere near one I suppose.
I find it difficult to watch a sport as a neutral; adding a bit of jeopardy into it adds to the enjoyment for me.
In no particular order, I have a soft spot for the following...
Ice Hockey: Montreal Canadiens (NHL), HV71 (SHL), Solihull Barons (UK)
NFL: Cincinnati Bengals
NBA: Portland Trail Blazers
NCAA: Cincinnati Bearcats, Michigan State Spartans
GAA: Kilkenny, Warwickshire
AFL: Geelong Cats
Rugby League: Hull KR
Pro-Cycling (!): AG2R
Cricket: Lancashire
I can’t get into baseball because it feels like a math(s) lesson with a sport tacked on.
In addition I’ve adopted a team in pretty much every European football league but listing those would take a while!
Cricket - Kent. I also love watching West Indies, they seem to have/had more characters than any other team like Sobers, Lara, Richards, Garner, Ambrose, Greenidge etc and more recently Gayle, Russell and Holder.
Rugby League St Helens
Non league football - Chesham United
Can't stand any American team sports (sorry Shev) although their golfers are great.
Ronnie O'Sullivan in the snooker. Can't think of any other sports.
Cricket - Middlesex, used to go into the free stand after work for the tail end of the final session and a few beers on my way home
Rugby League - Wigan Warriors followed them since I was a kid watching them on the BBC and always associate Eddy Waring's dulcet tones with Wigan doing well
Rugby Union - Heriots in Edinburgh as my Dad played for them for years and now in the days of professional rugby Edinburgh as that is my birthplace
NFL - Chicago Bears from the early days of C4 coverage
Scottish Fitba - Hibs as my mum supported them and used to go to Easter Road as a girl in the 50's
Hockey - Chelmsford HC as I played for them for 10 years
I always keep an eye out for Dover Athletic FC & Dover Sharks RFC results as they are now my local clubs, also Chelmsford City FC, Anderlecht & Arsenal as I lived close to their grounds at various times
Never found enough to get excited about with baseball and basketball so dont really follow them either and ice hockey always struck me as a fight during which some sort of sport might break out.
Belper Town: Non-league football team
Nottinghamshire: Cricket
Ted 'The Count' Hankey: Darts and plastic bats
Groupama FDJ: Cycling
My first ever posting to Gasroom 2!. I worked for a bank based in San Antonio so my only US team are the Spurs (NBA). When I was a young boy supporting Wycombe you always had a 'big team's as well. Mine is Manchester United, I stood out amongst the Arsenal, Chelsea fans etc. I also tried to have a team in every division, can't remember them now. I always had a soft spot for Brechin City, always seemed to be bottom!
Cricket - Middlesex, RL Wigan, not sure of any others - my son in law has sometimes got me into the hospitality area at Real Madrid - that's great experience. Hope the Couhigs manage something similar at Wycombe one day!
Fascinating responses all - gives some insight as to where life has taken people geographically, too.
The late 80s seems especially influential for the NFL, as that is when many Brits started watching and picked their teams (remember Mick Luckhurst?)
The question of teams in other football leagues is always an interesting one too. I have always periodically looked up the results for FC Sochaux in France (now Ligue 2) and I have no idea why. In MLS, it's the Columbus Crew, having lived there and had a partial ST. I saw their first MLS Cup win in L.A., too. Galway in the League of Ireland (ancestors from West of Ireland) and St. Albans in non-league (born there, and grew up nearby).
A few people mentioned playing for a team or knowing someone who did. Any others? We have a somewhat distant relative, Chris Shevlane, who played for Hibs and Hearts in the 60s. Shevlane is quite a rare Irish name (though Chris is Scottish) as a less common variant of Shevlin, so any Shevlane is likely to be related fairly closely.
My old PE teacher supposedly played for Saracens once upon a time, but I was never able to confirm that.
100% Raider (NFL). Been lucky enough to see a couple of baseball games in the states but not NFL as we have to holiday outside school terms. The first was at Tampa so I have a fondness for the Rays but I’m really a Giants man. I used to listen to US sport on medium wave Armed Forces Network broadcasts from Europe. On a good night the signal was only swamped by Spanish football broadcasts every fifteen minutes or so. I was listening to AFN in ‘89 with the Giants about to begin game 3 of the World Series at Candlestick Park when the quake hit.
My grandad was quite a well known road cyclist, growing up i remember the tour being on channel4 in the evenings and being surrounded by bikes...... i have a huge love for cycling and when i was young always dreamed of a English tour winner... 9 years after Wiggins won it i now despise Team inoes formally Team sky and hope we get a french winner in my live time.....
Cycling: Any team/squad but the English one.