Can You Be a Fan of a School's Team If You Didn't Attend That School?

Really? I have many friends that are UT alums and they regularly invite me to watch games, tailgate, etc., etc. I never wear UT gear, especially around other UT fans, but I am a fan of their teams and no one I know seems to care that I didn't go there.

Then again, you're an idiot.

 

I think that's probably more a reflection of the type of people you know, rather than UT alums in general.

 

This has got to rank in the top ten of the most ridiculous discussions of all time.

You're not allowed to be a fan for a team unless you attend the school?

Seriously? LOL

 

Okay, here is my two cents on the question at hand...

I think that it is perfectly fine to passionately cheer for a school you didnt attend. Notice i threw in the word, passionately, into the equation. Bandwagoners are going to happen. Its the nature of the beast in sports.

I for one, have been an Aggie fan since the 1st grade when my teacher was an alum and turned me onto the school. I have been to CS more times than I can count, attended my first Yell Practice with an older cousin of mine when I was in 6th grade. Even went to Memphis to watch the basketball team in the sweet 16 a few years back.

Now did I attend TAMU? No. I could have, I was offered a scholarship there out of highschool for academics, but chose not to. Instead I went to SHSU because i

 

So pre-college aged kids can't be a fan of any college football team?

It's lame for the direct-to-the-military guys serving our country in iraq to root for any team college team?

 

My previous post was about who these teams represent.

Since this thread is about who can be considered a "fan" of a specific team...I think you can be a fan of whichever team you want, honestly.

 

So the Texas Rangers represent all of Texas?

 

If you want to follow a team, fine, good for you.

Not everyone gets to go to college.

But if you want to wear their colors and talk trash and gloat then go eat a bag of hell.

 

Okay, here is my two cents on the question at hand...

I think that it is perfectly fine to passionately cheer for a school you didnt attend. Notice i threw in the word, passionately, into the equation. Bandwagoners are going to happen. Its the nature of the beast in sports.

I for one, have been an Aggie fan since the 1st grade when my teacher was an alum and turned me onto the school. I have been to CS more times than I can count, attended my first Yell Practice with an older cousin of mine when I was in 6th grade. Even went to Memphis to watch the basketball team in the sweet 16 a few years back.

Now did I attend TAMU? No. I could have, I was offered a scholarship there out of highschool for academics, but chose not to. Instead I went to SHSU because i was a Criminal Justice major, and SAM offered me a far better education in that field since I wasnt looking into the Military aspect of it.

Did that change anything to me? Absolutely not. I was one of several in my CJ dorms that had TAMU posters scattered throughout my room and never missed the opertunity to travel to A&M for a game on Saturdays instead of watching Bearkat football 2 minutes from my apartment. I did gain a rooting interest in SAM as time went on, but nothing as to what I feel about A&M.

So those of you who disagree well then im sorry, its just the opinion of one proud Sam Houston State Aggie.

 

Surely you can't be serious?

DD

 

Fair point. I never understood why some professional teams choose their team name that way. I think the Utah Jazz represent all of Utah, not just Salt Lake City, however.

The Rangers, Patriots, Warriors are interesting examples. The New England Patriots makes sense since Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, etc. don't have their own teams.

The Rangers and Warriors...not so much.

 

whaaaaaaaa.

 

I don't see anything wrong with it. I'm a Coogs fan first and foremost since that is my alma mater, but my best friend went to UF, and we spent many saturday afternoons at his house grilling chicken and watching Florida games. Consequently, I became a Gators fan, and even though we don't get to see each other as often anymore, I'm still very much a Gators fan. If I were a bandwagon fan, I would have lost interest in UF several years ago after my friend got married and we stopped hanging out frequently.

Am I also lame because I'm an Arsenal fan even though I don't live in London (and I actually kinda hate that city)?

 

you're a terrible human being who should be banned from watching sports. or at the very least gloating to people who are fans of schools who can't win **** is prohibited as to not hurt their little feelings.

 

Not sure when you went to Sam, but I understand that there is actual tailgating for football games these days. Weird.

 

I think part of the college fandom experience is actually *attending* that university... just as much as I think that the pro fan experience is being a part of the neighborhood or community that hosts the team... I have very little respect for people who display brash fanhood for teams they have no connection to.

Do I want to stop some casual fan from rooting for my team? Of course not. But would I think that person was silly if they went apescat crazy over my team if they didn't go there? Yeah. In fact, I'd be a little embarrassed for them.

I guess we're just parsing words here. When I hear "fan" I automatically assume "fanatic".

 

There sure is, the "Rhett Experiment" was interesting to say the least, I graduated back in May. Their offense was semi-entertaining. Sorta like a low grade UH offense. But there were some pretty spirited parties in the lot next to the stadium, although most of it went down in the apartment complex parking lots surrounding the school.

 

Yes. I will provide a unique example outside of the blatant mudslinging going on inside this thread (this thread has way more to do with hating a certain school that has a lot of fans than anything else).

I spent most of my younger years living in Texas. I have spent the past seven years attending school in Arkansas. I have attended the University of Arkansas pursuing an advanced degree for the better part of three years.

In Arkansas, essentially the entire state roots for the University of Arkansas. Until 1992, the University of Arkansas was the only school in the state competing at the Division 1-A level in college football. They're still the only school that is in a major conference and has a legitimate shot at winning national championships in team sports.

There are no professional teams in Arkansas. As a result, rooting for University of Arkansas sports is almost an essential part of being an Arkansan. As goofy as it sounds, having lived here for seven years, I can't name another activity that unites the people of Arkansas more than the Razorbacks. There are no other sporting teams that the people of the state have a close tie to. Based on the logic of many posters in this thread, if the people of Arkansas did not attend the University of Arkansas, they have no right to root for any team in a "major" sports league.

The support of the Arkansas fans also flies directly in the face of the argument that non-alum fans are "bandwagon fans." Despite being a relatively small university in a major sports conference (about 19,500 students), in a state with a relatively small population (2.85 million), and teams that have been consistently mediocre for the past 15 years, Arkansas fans have continued to support their teams in amazing numbers.

In football, a team with a 5-7 record averaged 68,740 fans per game, good for 24th in the nation. In basketball, a team suffering one of its worst seasons ever, averaged 16,043 fans per game, good for 11th in the nation. In the 2007-08 season, Arkansas averaged 6,968 fans at baseball games, good for #2 in the nation, ahead of perennial power Texas.

Just be honest, for most of you, it's about dislike of a certain university or college sports in general...

 

Huh?

 

You raise a good point. Nebraska comes to mind as well.

and Jazz fans. Bahaha.

But seriously, those people have to chose between watching paint dry and their local team. Not exactly going to hold that against them.