Is a professional team nothing more than a uniform?

Seinfeld did a bit on this about 15 years ago.

 

That was the best apologetic for fair-weather fandom I have yet seen.

However, I think you've already touched on the difference-maker for many loyal fans -- the city. I, for example, am a Houstonian and will root for Houston teams because they are my representatives in the world of sports. So, if a team picks up and moves, they lose their old support which was really for the city and only for the team's connection to that city. So, yeah, if we had a robot league where every team was precisly the same, but one represented Houston, I'd root for the Houston one. The personalities are irrelevant (though JVG was really pushing it when he signed Oakley).

The important issue here is the loyalty of the team to the city. You do see cases of teams leaving, but really it's rare. If teams switched cities as often as players switched teams, it'd kill the league.

 

Exactly. That's also why I choose to check out and occasionally root for teams from other cities where my family lives like Chicago and the Bay Area (Cubs are excluded, of course).

 

I route for the Rockets b/c of a bond I have built with them over the years and because they represent this city. Houston is home and if I were to move elsewhere I would always route for the Rockets because of the emotional, time, and monetary value I have invested in them throughout the years. This is an interesting concept that you bring up but if there were a bunch of robots playing basketball I would NOT watch even if they wore the Rox old school red and gold. It has nothing to do with the jerseys. People still routed for the Rockets when they wore those hideous pinstripped dildo with teeth jerseys. I think the uniforms are just a symbol or identity of the team. Like when I see yellow and purple, I know it's the Lakers or when I see the yellow jersey with blue shorts on a soccer field my first thought is the Brazil national team.

 

I am a fan of the city of Houston, which results in me being a fan of things in the city of Houston

 

polypheus - great post. I agree completely... while "loyalty" is good, make sure it's done with some sort of reason in mind - city, players, coach, something - and not just the name.

Look at our own Rockets. I was one of the "bandwagon" fans who just got interested during the championship years. Other than maybe the city and the front office, what is the same? Not the players, of course, 10 years later. Not the coach. Not the arena or the uniform. We've even cycled through two new uniforms and about three new "eras" in terms of the main players on the team. Compare this team even with the one three or four years ago. None of that stuff is the same. And I lived in Houston then, but I don't now.

So... why should I keep up with the Rockets, philosophically speaking? Would I have liked these players if they weren't "ours"? I remember hating on a lot of these guys back when and never believing they would wind up in Houston (the latest one being Strickland... it's just so weird). I live in Spurs territory right now and they're actually pretty likeable. The hometown I grew up in also has a NBA franchise now, which it didn't in the mid-90's.

My main reasons for following the Rockets at this point, other than tradition and blind loyalty, are 1) Yao is cool, and 2) (most importantly) this site and this bbs. I may root for the Spurs and Grizzlies when they're not playing the Rockets... but I would never be disloyal to the bunch of people on this bbs after all these years.

 

Hey, I take exception to this statement.

Sincerely,

 

i'm from vancouver. i root for all vancouver teams: BC Lions, Vancouver Canucks, Vancouver Giants, Vancouver Whitecaps, Vancouver Ravens, Vancouver Canadians, and used to cheer for the Vancouver Grizzlies.

When the grizzlies left, i was a fan for sale for around 2.5 years before settling down as a rockets fan, because, well - mostly of this site - but i don't know - i just felt myself cheering for them all the time. They became my b-ball team.

NFL however is much more to me than just a bunch of robots in a uniform - since Canada obviously doesn't have NFL teams - I choose teams I like because of style and personality. Therefore for the last 5 years I have liked the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, and any Terrell Owens team. So yeh...to me they are more than robots wearing a uniform.

 

Most Tim Duncan fans who buy his stuff are from San Antonio. People despise the Lakers and Yankees, but generally don't care about the Clippers or Mets. Personality and the city makes the team.