Do you root for different teams for different sports and why?

[steveoat87]

I am a Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, New York Yankees and New York Knicks fan.

A little background:  I grew up in the Bronx and was taken to a number of Yankee games by my father, but really got into the Yankees during the Jeter/Mariano era.  Ditto with the Knicks, but became a fan during the era of the Championship team (Frazier, Bradley, etc.).  

I went to graduate school in Buffalo and following graduation accepted a number of jobs there.  I met my wife (who is from Long Island) there and she had a job where she got a lot of freebies, including Bills and Sabres tickets.  I remember the first Bills game I saw (where they weren't good) but was impressed by how huge Earl Campbell was.  I became hooked during the Kelly era and have watched ever since.  I moved back to New York City in the late eighties and have watched the Bills whenever I could.  NFL Sunday was a dream come true to me.  I became much more involved with the sabres the last few years (although I have very fond memories of the Hassek era) and now watch the games primarily on Hulu.  

I don't hate any of the other New York team -- I just have zero interest in them.

Does anyone else have a story they would like to share? 

[#freejame]

I’m a Sabres fan. I like the Bills but it’s nothing like the Sabres. I used to follow the Nats (shout-out @Eleven) and Notre Dame football but I don’t really care for the sport of football anymore and baseball is no longer really a priority in my life. 

[RochesterExpat]

I’m a Pirates fan and a Sabres fan because I can’t be happy.

[JohninMinn.]

I lived in Seattle and Minneapolis and have never rooted for any teams other than Buffalo teams. The one exception is the Minnesota Twins because of a decision by Bob Rich many centurys ago.

[thewookie1]

Sabres and Bills because I'm a Buffalonian 

Blackhawks and NY Giants are my secondary teams since those are my Dad's favorites.

No real interest in the NBA but I do root for the Knicks like my Dad does occasionally 

Baseball my team is the SF Giants due to my Papa(grandfather) grew up in Jersey while the SF Giants were the NY Giants. He moved to Buffalo before the Giants went west so his loyalty stayed. Thus my father is a big SF Giants fan and I am definitely a fan although not quite as hardcore.

[LabattBlue]

Been here in WNY my entire life.  Have loved the Sabres and Bills for over 50 years.  Always have, always will.  
 

Just once.  😞
 

[edited]Liked the baseball Cardinals growing up, but now kind of cheer for the underdog in MLB.  
 

Basketball…first lost interest in the NBA 10-15 years ago, then the same with NCAA BB…I grew tired of the one and done crap with these guys who have no interest in school, but can’t go right from HS to the NBA. 

Edited November 17, 2023 by LabattBlue

[steveoat87]

I feel the Sabres could learn from the Knicks.  The team has arguable only one superstar (Brunson), but has a lot of complementary parts that reflect the coach's no-nonsense, play hard philosophy.  Unlike the Sabres, they are a team who have each others' backs and typically give maximal effort.  I wish I could say this about the sabres.  Also, the knicks have brought in savvy veterans (Hart, Hartenstein) who know their role on the team.  Makes a big difference.

[Norcal]

Born and raised in WNY on the Sabres and Bills.

Sabres and hockey were my first love, the Bills were my grandfathers influence.

I loved the Yankees as a kid because my cousin was a Jays fan and I still catch a game when i can. 

I'm getting into U of Kentucky BB this season from scratch because I live locally now and would love to attend a few games.

Magic was my favorite player growing up but I don't watch the NBA any more. 

[Pimlach]

54 minutes ago, steveoat87 said:

I am a Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, New York Yankees and New York Knicks fan.

A little background:  I grew up in the Bronx and was taken to a number of Yankee games by my father, but really got into the Yankees during the Jeter/Mariano era.  Ditto with the Knicks, but became a fan during the era of the Championship team (Frazier, Bradley, etc.).  

I went to graduate school in Buffalo and following graduation accepted a number of jobs there.  I met my wife (who is from Long Island) there and she had a job where she got a lot of freebies, including Bills and Sabres tickets.  I remember the first Bills game I saw (where they weren't good) but was impressed by how huge Earl Campbell was.  I became hooked during the Kelly era and have watched ever since.  I moved back to New York City in the late eighties and have watched the Bills whenever I could.  NFL Sunday was a dream come true to me.  I became much more involved with the sabres the last few years (although I have very fond memories of the Hassek era) and now watch the games primarily on Hulu.  

I don't hate any of the other New York team -- I just have zero interest in them.

Does anyone else have a story they would like to share? 

 

Bills, Sabres, Yankees (AL), Cardinals (NL) ... basketball - with Braves I lost touch of the NBA -  I catch a little college hoops here and there. 

If my teams are not playing then I watch it for enjoyment and to see the best players do their thing.  

I don't really hate teams - Ok, I admit hate the Pats*, the Dolphins, and the Leaves. 

[PerreaultForever]

I grew up in Hamilton and am out on the west coast now so I have no geography holding me to Buffalo. The Hamilton Tiger Cats were my first team (CFL football) and that spilled over to the Steelers in the 70s because they were also a Steel City and wore the same colours. Also, at that time, both had tough D identities which reflected the city mindset. Got into hockey slowly and it was Bruins first (same colours again and Bobby Orr and they were not the Leafs or Habs) and then local tv from Buffalo got me hooked on the Sabres, French Connection. I did have a sympathic leaning towards the Bills and did want them to beat Dallas etc. Really liked Bruce Smith and Tasker and some of their other grittier football guys. but my allegiance in other sports drifts towards teams that play the way I like or think is the better way to play. 

These days I'm starting to think I should have ditched the Sabres when I moved west some 22 years ago. 

[steveoath]

Sabres fan because I wanted an east coast team to follow when I got introduced to hockey and sabres have same colour scheme as the football (soccer) team I grew up watching. 
 

Cowboys fan because my Dad briefly lectured at UCLA when Aikman played there so we followed him. 

[Eli Cash]

I am a Sabres, Bills, Red Sox and Celtics fan.  Grew up in WNY.  Parents had Boston ties.  I  now live steps away from TD Garden.

[HOUSE]

Most of the time I don't even like the Sabres

[nucci]

Grew up with Bills, Sabres and Braves. Now just Bills and Sabres. Dad had seasons for Bills and Sabres. Neighbor had Braves and took us often. Used to go to Braves games when they were good and even playoff games vs Celtics. Lot of fun as a kid

[USMCSnyper]

Never watched hockey until my son started playing in 2002/2003. Fell in love with the Sabres. Football wise, I was always a Cowboys fan. They were always on at 4 or 430 when I was young...so they just became my team. I loathe Jerry Jones and have become a BIlls fan since ~95. Yankees all the way, but watching baseball is so tedious. I also hate the front office, so my interest there is waning as well.

[Night Train]

Bills, Sabres..born and raised here. Saw the Sabres twice in person their first month in 1970. Bills first game in the stands was 1965. 

Boston Celtics - Liked them as a kid in the 1960's. Bill Russell was amazing. Back when Buffalo had the Braves, Bob Kaufman had a summer camp in Derby for a couple years which I attended.. Dave Cowens and John Havlicek came at the end of the week and coached us. They were so nice to everyone and spent a lot of time with us beyond a short appearence. Once the Braves left in 1978, they were my rooting interest every year. 

Texas Rangers - Frank Howard was this massive Paul Bunyan character who was traded from the world champ Dodgers to the worst team in baseball, the Washington Senators (who lasted just 11 years). Howard led the AL in HR's a couple years and could hit it 500 feet when he got a hold of his pitch.  I saw a news special on him early where he did a ton for kids and was insanely popular. Team Moved to Arlington TX in 1972. He hit the last HR in D.C. and the first in Arlington. I met him at a card show some 35 years ago and was just in awe of the man. A gentle soul. Texas finally wins the title last month as Howard passes away right after game 3 at age 87.  

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Born in Toronto.  Mother was from Buffalo.  Have family there.  Those are my ties to Buffalo and the Sabres and Bills.  I have loved the Sabres from the start.

My wife is from Montreal and we lived in Pittsburgh during their first back-to-back cups.  Those are ties to the NHL teams in those cities.

I'm not a fan of the NFL or MLB or NBA.  That said, I do like when the Bills do well.  Same for Blue Jays and Raptors, but am not a die hard fan of any of them.

I love football (soccer) and follow MLS a bit, EPL a bit.  I loved Man City when they had my favourite footballer on the roster back about 5+ years ago (Edin Dzeko).  Now they are just like any other major club in the world and field the best team that $ can buy (usually foreign money now) I do follow the national soccer teams of Canada and Bosnia (my home away from home is Sarajevo).

[steveoat87]

3 hours ago, SyrSabreFan said:

Never watched hockey until my son started playing in 2002/2003. Fell in love with the Sabres. Football wise, I was always a Cowboys fan. They were always on at 4 or 430 when I was young...so they just became my team. I loathe Jerry Jones and have become a BIlls fan since ~95. Yankees all the way, but watching baseball is so tedious. I also hate the front office, so my interest there is waning as well.

I share your feelings about the Yankees front office.  Some parallels with Sabres mess -- an owner who doesn't have the will to do the right thing and get rid of current management.  More optimistic about the Yankees than the Sabres given the cache of the organization.

[That Aud Smell]

My shifting "location" on this site notwithstanding, I'm a Buffalonian. First pro sports love was the Sabres. I remember the conference finals against the Islanders in ~80 (?) (arguably the best Sabres team ever assembled), but don't have clear memories of the Bills until it was Ferguson/Cribbs/Butler, etc.

I no longer follow MLB, but cannot deny being a Yankees fan. I owe that to WPIX being featured in early Cablevision packages and the lovely summer voices of Bill White and Phil Rizzuto (sp?).

I only lightly follow the NBA, but will always be a Bulls fan. This is another product of cable tee-vee. A channel called ESPN introduced my nearest in age brother and me to ACC basketball, the perfection of Carolina blue, and some phenom named Michael Jordan. I followed him to the NBA and just enjoyed the hell out of his career.

My D-1 sports affiliation lies with my fair alma mater.

3 hours ago, Shoot da Puck said:

Most of the time I don't even like the Sabres

I like your vibe.

1 hour ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

I love football (soccer) and follow MLS a bit, EPL a bit.  I loved Man City when they had my favourite footballer on the roster back about 5+ years ago (Edin Dzeko).  Now they are just like any other major club in the world and field the best team that $ can buy (usually foreign money now) I do follow the national soccer teams of Canada and Bosnia (my home away from home is Sarajevo).

Liverpool. YNWA. (I chose them because of scenes from Anfield and that song.)

[French Collection]

Sabres hockey because of the French Connection, my first language and I wanted to be different from my “Habs” family.

NFL Bills by association, but not a big football fan. The Cowboys had my attention as a teenager due to their cheerleaders.

Raptors in the NBA because of geography. I used to follow players more than teams. Bird, Jordan, Olajuwon.

Blue Jays in baseball but liked the Expos more. Loved George Brett, I played third base and wore #5.

Golf is the only other sport I follow now. I was a Nicklaus guy so I never liked Tiger closing in on his records. I preferred Mickelson but he’s turned out to not be as nice as advertised. John Rahm is my current favourite.

[Doohicksie]

I root for different teams for different sports because the Sabres, for instance, don't play football.

 

Basically I root for the home teams:

My hometown teams:  Bills, Sabres

Teams from my current home:  Texas Rangers, Mavericks (although I'm a bandwagon Mavs fan; only watch them when they're good because I'm not a big basketball fan), TCU for college since I live 3 miles from campus but I'm not a huge college fan

Teams from my current home, friends with benefits* edition:  Cowboys, Stars

Teams from cities where I've lived... mildly in their corner but not all that much:  Dodgers, Tigers, Red Wings

Lacrosse is kind of an odd situation... I don't really follow it but every year I say I'm going to start.  At this point I would probably follow Panther City Football Club (Fort Worth) since it's the only "major" league pro team Fort Worth has.  But I rooted for the Bandits last year.  The thing about the Bandits is they weren't there when I lived in Buffalo.  I went away to college in 1980 and never lived there full time since (just a couple summers during college).

 

*Friends with benefits team = I'll spend an evening with them, but there's no emotional attachment and definitely root for Buffalo over them

Edited November 17, 2023 by Doohickie

[DarthEbriate]

Packers, Twins, Canucks (Bure), Sabres. I haven't followed the NBA in decades, but there was that magical time in the '90s when I liked the Hornets and Suns (purple!) and Bulls. I also really liked the 1987-88 era Vikings with Isiaac Holt, DJ Dozier, and a guy named Walker Lee Ashley. So many good names on those squads. Also purple.

Why? No reason. Who needs reasons when you've got the Sabres?

[steveoat87]

As I mentioned before I am also a Knicks and Yankees fan.  In the case of the Knicks and Rangers, which are both owned by MSG I find it interesting that ownership can be so clueless (until recently) and have one really well run organization (The Rangers) and one organization, until recently, that has been a joke (similar to Bills and Sabres, though I feel the Rangers are better run than the Bills).  Dolan basically knows nothing about hockey and has entrusted the Rangers to very good people.  He thought he knew something about basketball and until he hired Leonard Rose, the knicks were a joke.  Like Pegula, he hired mostly yes men (or incompetents) to run the Knicks and we all saw the end result.  Now I actually enjoy watching the knicks.  While there are other teams with more talent, they are tough and gritty and rarely out of a game.  Like Adams, Rose keeps accumulating top draft picks, but unlike Adams, Rose will eventually pull the trigger when the right player is available.  Unlike Adams, he has brought in tough, savvy veterans to help the Rookies and fill out the roster.  Hope the Sabres can do this eventually.

[shrader]

I cheer for different teams in different sports because there is no singular team that plays multiple sports. 

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

I cheer for different teams in different sports because there is no singular team that plays multiple sports. 

...so I've heard...

 

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

I root for different teams for different sports because the Sabres, for instance, don't play football.