Choosing a favorite team: NFL

[troutman]

Review the swimsuit calendars of each team's cheerleaders, then make a decision.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by HalifaxDrunk

Although last season was abismal, things are looking up. Arrowhead Stadium is considered one of the best live NFL games to attend, I can't wait until I make it to a game there someday.

If you ever do plan on going, send me a PM. If I'm not going to the game I can sell you my tickets. If they are in an area you want to sit.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Realistically, I plan on going to an NFL game someday. I'll probably cheer for the home team of whichever city I happen to be visiting when I make the decision to go.

Unless it's Boston. While I don't have a team, hate the Pats

[habernac]

In the early 80's I saw Steve Grogan playing and decided to cheer for his team (New England). Years of futility followed. Now, after all of their more recent success, everyone hates them.

Just start watching, some random player will jump out at you and pick that as your team.

[Red Slinger]

When I was a wee young lad I liked the Broncos because of the Orange and Blue and because the fans there literally made the stadium shake (old Mile High Stadium). I started being a fan during the Morton era which was a little like the Elway era except without the payoff of two Superbowls at the end of his career. I also liked that the owner, Pat Bowlen, had strong ties to Alberta and Calgary. And they played in a city that reminded me of Calgary so they kind of felt like my home team.

Even so I was only a casual fan until about 1985. My parents invited our new neighbours to come over for dinner. I was 12 years old at the time. On the coat rack, next to the front door hung my Broncos cap. The new guy next door was also new to the city. He just moved into town to be the GM of McMahon Stadium. Later that night I found out he played in the CFL and was an assistant coach for a while before getting into the administration side of things.

When he came in he saw my Broncos cap and asked "who's the Broncos fan?" which I proudly confirmed was me. He smiled and we went on with the rest of our evening.

About a month later he comes to the door with a box for me. I was a little surprised to say the least. Inside the box was a football autographed by the whole team (which is right beside me as I type this) and an autographed poster of John Elway. As it turns out, our neighbours best friend was the personal assistant to Dan Reeves, coach of the Broncos. Our neighbour told his friend about the nerdy kid next door who liked the Broncos and his friend proceeded to get the stuff signed and shipped to Canada. That pretty much sealed the deal for me.

The first internet message board I ever joined was a Broncos site. There my name was slinger7 in honour of #7 John Elway. So part of my internet persona as a Flames fan traces back to my Broncos fandom.

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by Robbob

I picked the Detroit Lions back in 91 because because that is the team I used in Techmo Superbowl (because of Sanders). They became my team going forward in the real world. Sure the last decade has been oileresque but being able to watch Barry Sanders run (live in person in one occasion) made it worth it.

You could also get a lot of sacks with Robert Pourcher.

[Magnum PEI]

I use to like Tampa Bay because they had awesome citrus jerseys and nobody else really cared about them. Then they changed uniforms and won a super bowl and I got more into soccer and movies, and homework took up more time on Sundays. I havent wathced an NFL game (other than the odd super bowl) in probably ten years.

[atb]

Chargers, because of the time Flutie spent there after Buffalo.

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by Fredrik

I´m in the south of Sweden.

I take it you´re a canadian living in Sweden? Which city do you live in? Do you have any SEL teams nearby?

I'm in stockholm, so I have all those teams to follow, but like everyone says it's hard to commit to someone, I was trying to follow frolunda for a while because of backlund, but that was div 2 and now he's gone anyways.

[Fredrik]

Originally Posted by ma-skis.com

I'm in stockholm, so I have all those teams to follow, but like everyone says it's hard to commit to someone, I was trying to follow frolunda for a while because of backlund, but that was div 2 and now he's gone anyways.

You mean Västerås, right? Backlund never played for Frölunda.

Living in Stockholm, I guess it would be easiest to follow AIK (SHL), or Djurgården or Södertälje (Allsvenskan).

AIK is one of Swedens most popular teams (especially on soccer), and Djurgården are the team with most wins.

Being a Calgary-fan, it´s easy to say you should follow Färjestad (my team, since my hometown team, Karlskrona historically always has been playing in the lower divisions), since so many players have played for both clubs (Loob, R Johansson, A Johansson, M Johansson, Höglund, plus a lot of players drafted). However, they are a bit like TML, every other teams supporters hate them.

If you´re looking for passionate fans, you have Frölunda and Leksand (in Allsvenskan), but Leksand are on their way to bankruptcy. On the plus side, cheering for a team from Gothenburg (Frölunda), will be like being a Flames-fan in Edmonton.

Have you checked out Brynäs? Popular team in Gävle, not to far from Stockholm, won the SHL last year)

If I were you, I would attend a game with Bajen Hockey. When Hammarby went bankrupt in 2008, fans started a new club, so they are still in the lower divisions. However, Hammarby/Bajen are known for their fan base, and you could follow them in other sports (soccer, handball, bandy). They are also placed in Stockholm, and don't have the same kind of hooligans that both Djurgården (in soccer) and AIK (in both hockey and soccer) have, although they sadly have had their share of interrupted games thanks to "fans" in later years.

In Stockholm the clubs do have fans in all classes, but historically they are separated, not only by location, but class:
Djurgården (Djurgården, Östermalm) are upper class.
AIK (Solna) are for everyone.
Hammarby (Södermalm) are the working mans club.