Would you still support your favorite team if they moved to another city? [Archive]

NotRickJames

01-03-2010, 09:01 PM

With the exodus of the Jaguars becoming more and more imminent by the day, I pose a question to you - would you continue to support your favorite team if they moved to another city/state?

The first option for you in the poll is an unconditional yes. Regardless of the manner of the teams departure, you would still support the organization in another location.

The second is an unconditional no. You'd feel betrayed/annoyed with the organization and would no longer support it as a fan.

The last option says that you may or may not support them, it just depends on how the organization departed. Maybe they gave the city the middle finger on the way out? Or maybe they had to move, for the good of the franchise?

phlysac

01-03-2010, 09:12 PM

Of course... My absolute LEAST favorite team is my local team. I don't support teams because of geographical location.

NFL - San Francisco 49ers
NBA - Philadelphia 76ers
MLB - St. Louis Cardinals
NHL - Buffalo Sabres

WinslowBodden

01-03-2010, 09:19 PM

**** no I would root against them every week they played *first hand experience*

MichaelJordanEberle (sabf)

01-03-2010, 09:40 PM

j05son

01-03-2010, 09:41 PM

I do not root for Baltimore at all.

MetSox17

01-03-2010, 09:55 PM

I would unconditionally support them. I'm a fan of the team, not the city.

BaLLiN

01-03-2010, 10:02 PM

well seeing how the giants dont even play in new york and they call themselves the new york giants is kindof disrespectful, like jersey isnt good enough, but if they moved far away past a bordering state i would be less of a fan, but not pick up another team.

CJSchneider

01-03-2010, 10:05 PM

If the Saints left New Orleans for another state I would hate them. If they left for say... Baton Rouge, I'd be OK (like that would ever happen, but just as an example).

Malaka

01-03-2010, 10:08 PM

I'd be pissed if the Giants moved, but as Metsox said I am a fan of the team not the city, even if that is where I was born and raised.

WinslowBodden

01-03-2010, 10:29 PM

I'm not from Denver, so I probably would. If I were from Denver though? Hell no. All you need to do is ask Browns fans(like WB) or Seattle SuperSonics fans whether they rooted for the Ravens pre-1999 or the OKC Thunder now.

Ya when the Browns moved I rooted for the Packers because we have some family back there and I have always liked Brett Favre.

The Dynasty

01-03-2010, 10:36 PM

I would unconditionally support them. I'm a fan of the team, not the city.

QFT.

I'm not a hometown team fan since I live near buffalo and I'm a Vikings fan. So I would continue to support the team even if they move..I would hate to see the Vikings move from Minnesota though.

vidae

01-03-2010, 10:39 PM

Metsox put it best. I'd be a Chiefs fan no matter what. I seriously doubt they'd ever move the Chiefs though. Fans here are CRAZY for them.

WinslowBodden

01-03-2010, 10:51 PM

Metsox put it best. I'd be a Chiefs fan no matter what. I seriously doubt they'd ever move the Chiefs though. Fans here are CRAZY for them.

Browns fans weren't crazy for the Browns?

Ravens1991

01-03-2010, 10:59 PM

the decider13

01-03-2010, 11:02 PM

It would be a tough call for me...I grew up watching the broncos when I lived in Denver. It would be so strange to see the team somewhere with a different logo on their helmet. I would probably stop watching football for a long time if the broncos moved.

Mr.Regular

01-03-2010, 11:10 PM

Option D:
My team can't move... suckers!

OzTitan

01-03-2010, 11:26 PM

Monomach

01-03-2010, 11:34 PM

being in baltimore whenever the colts come to town everyone over the age of 35 want to kill the colts. But then again I believe Irsay lied and said they will stay in baltimore then they moved. I am not 100% sure.

If you owned a team and the state you were based in passed an eminent domain law specifically allowing them to seize your team and make it public property, you'd break your promise and move in the middle of the night, too.

All of those old ex-Colts fans seem to think Irsay should have just donated his multi-million dollar investment to the good people of Maryland.

As for the original idea of the thread...it depends. I'd be fine with the Bears moving to the suburbs or something. If they moved far away, they can kiss my ass and I'd probably have to become a Colts fan.

Not that Chicago is ever going to be in danger of losing the Bears. They're about as secure as a team can get.

BeerBaron

01-03-2010, 11:36 PM

It was hard for me to answer for two reasons, one is that I think the Bears are probably one of the top 5 least likely teams to ever move, and the other is that I don't even live in the same state anyway.

But I suppose if they did move, and were total dicks about it, it could turn me off to them.

vidae

01-03-2010, 11:49 PM

Browns fans weren't crazy for the Browns?

I'm sure they were, but it's hard to match the craziness of the Kansas City Chief fan.

Crazy_Chris

01-04-2010, 12:54 AM

Being in Australia, obviously location means nothing to me.

But to take it further, what if the team also changed logos, colors, and its name? (e.g. Oilers to Titans). On the surface it seems like a silly question for such trivial details to matter, but I think they do matter a lot to some.

Would you still support the team based on the coaches and players alone? If so, why do you remain a fan of a team throughout the years when player turnover can often be so high?

That is the biggest point for me personally. I am no longer living in Min so if they moved to a different state I wouldn't like it but it definatly wouldn't be a deal breaker. However if they moved and changed the team Mascot/colors so forth it would make it more difficult for me to still be a fan.

WinslowBodden

01-04-2010, 02:02 AM

I'm sure they were, but it's hard to match the craziness of the Kansas City Chief fan.

Our fans took it to court and got a team back within 5 years and have been selling the majority of our tickets with having 1 playoff season in what is now 11 years.

I'm pretty sure Browns fans can match the Chiefs.

Bengalsrocket

01-04-2010, 02:57 AM

Our fans took it to court and got a team back within 5 years and have been selling the majority of our tickets with having 1 playoff season in what is now 11 years.

I'm pretty sure Browns fans can match the Chiefs.

This is a silly argument. it's nearly impossible for someone to determine the loyalty that a franchise' fan base has outside of just looking at total number of fans.

I'm not exactly sure why Modell moved the Browns. I think it was mostly due to the Indians getting their own stadium and thus his overall revenue went down and he couldn't afford to upgrade the Brown's stadium, but I'm not entirely sure. Either way though, it was a rare move that shouldn't have happened.

But, Browns fans really lucked out. the NFL made a deal to agree that the current Cleveland Browns will be a continuation of the previous Cleveland Browns and thus retaining all of your city's history. They also signed an agreement that built them a new stadium (with tax money that Art Modell was going to use to upgrade the old stadium) and built a new franchise of the same name.

BlindSite

01-04-2010, 02:58 AM

I live in Australia, so I'd definitely still support the team, but I'd be disappointed. Thankfully the big cat is one of the classiest owners in the business and the market is booming.

yo123

01-04-2010, 03:58 AM

I definitely would, if for no other reason than the next closest team to me is the Packers, and they are just the worst.

Shane P. Hallam

01-04-2010, 04:40 AM

No, because I'd imagine the Steelers would be back in Pittsburgh at some point, even if losing the team. Like Cleveland would not have supported Baltimore. Or Baltimore would not have supported Indy.

TitanHope

01-04-2010, 04:54 AM

I would definitely support the Titans. They moved from Houston, and is the only NFL team Tennessee's ever had. If they moved, I doubt another franchise would replace like what happened in Cleveland, Baltimore, or Houston. Pre-Titans, most people here were Steelers or Cowboys fans, and there's no ******* way I'm rooting for the Steelers (Cowboys I'm neutral on).

neko4

01-04-2010, 05:19 AM

This is a toughie. On one hand, i dont even live in or around Green Bay, but on the other, it would seem so weird. I probably would, so long as they didnt move to Philadelphia or Los Angeles.

Brent

01-04-2010, 06:09 AM

Depends on the manner of exodus.

trkaline

01-04-2010, 07:26 AM

If we lost the Ravens the same way we lost the Colts , I would just stop watching football all together.

Addict

01-04-2010, 07:42 AM

http://www.tshirthell.com/shirts/products/a476/a476_bm.gif

Matthew Jones

01-04-2010, 08:13 AM

There was a rumor (which was almost certainly a ploy to get Massachusetts to shell out some money for Gillette) that the Patriots would move to Hartford, and seeing as I live in Connecticut, that would have been fine by me, but I'm a Boston sports fan and if the Pats moved out of New England, I'm not sure I'd root for them anymore. However, I have absolutely no idea as to who I would root for if I switched teams. Luckily I doubt the Patriots are going anywhere anytime soon.

Nalej

01-04-2010, 08:17 AM

The great thing about New England is that the team can move to a variaty of places and still be the "New England" Patriots.
They almost moved to CT in the late 90's... but fortunately didn't.
I was a lil irked but I would have still routed for them

If they were to move elsewhere and no longer be NEP's then I think I'd still be a fan until a new team came to town

keylime_5

01-04-2010, 08:17 AM

ravens became my least favorite team the minute they moved to baltimore.

DoughBoy

01-04-2010, 08:51 AM

I would still be a Titans fan, but I think I would become more of the fan of the player. Right now I pretty much hate every team and every player that does not play for the Titans, even though I have alot of respect for some.

j05son

01-04-2010, 09:01 AM

Our fans took it to court and got a team back within 5 years and have been selling the majority of our tickets with having 1 playoff season in what is now 11 years.

I'm pretty sure Browns fans can match the Chiefs.

100 % agree. The Browns Backers Worldwide is the largest sports fan organization in the country. A study in Bizjournal stated that Cleveland fans were the most loyal selling out 99.8% of seats despite years of losing records. The Indians retired the number 455 for the fans which is the amount of consecutive games sold out in a row! That's a span of 6 years and during 3 of those years the tickets were sold out before opening day!

If your just talking about crazy then I guess you'll just have to rely on the reputation of the Dawg Pound or even the Bottlegate incident.

murdamal86

01-04-2010, 09:06 AM

I'm still going to be a Los Angeles Jaguars fan

tjsunstein

01-04-2010, 11:17 AM

Packers can't move so I don't have to face this dilemna. If the Phillies left, I'd still be a fan. If the Devils move, I'd still be a fan. Fwiw.

Canadian_kid16

01-04-2010, 11:28 AM

If the Bucs kept their logo/colours etc, than I would still be a fan. If they changed that then I would have to see how they left before I determine if I could still root for them

killxswitch

01-04-2010, 11:40 AM

It depends. If the team left because Indy stopped being able to support them, like what seems to be happening with the Jags, then sure. If they left for a bad reason (I can't think of a realistic one off the top of my head) then probably not.

Addict

01-04-2010, 11:45 AM

I actually wish the Lions would move so I can change favourites. I still regret liking those sexy black alternates.

RealityCheck

01-04-2010, 11:46 AM

Of course yes. Since I'm not american, location doesn't mean anything to me. Maybe if it's a rebranding (Seattle SuperSonics -> Oklahoma City Thunder).

Addict

01-04-2010, 11:47 AM

Of course yes. Since I'm not american, location doesn't mean anything to me. Maybe if it's a rebranding (Seattle SuperSonics -> Oklahoma City Thunder).

yeah that would go for me too. Except I decided to support the Lions. (I wonder why too)

STsACE

01-04-2010, 11:51 AM

I'm not from Denver, so I probably would. If I were from Denver though? Hell no. All you need to do is ask Browns fans(like WB) or Seattle SuperSonics fans whether they rooted for the Ravens pre-1999 or the OKC Thunder now.

True. I gave up on the NFL when the Browns went to Baltimore.

I'd pick up on some strange sport featuring women in very revealing clothing and it doesn't matter if the sport is entertaining or not, as long as their is 70% + of their skin showing.:D

trkaline

01-04-2010, 12:12 PM

When Baltimore didn't have a team I was a Green Bay, and Raider fan....I would not revert back to Green Bay since Favre and Mckenzie are gone, and I would not revert back to Oakland because....you know? BUT...if Al Davis was dead and gone before this travisty occured maybe.....

Splat

01-04-2010, 12:15 PM

If the Chiefs left and stayed as the "Chiefs" then yes but if they got a new name and the whole deal then no.

Hurricanes25

01-04-2010, 12:16 PM

Once a Jet, always a Jet. I sound like Rex Ryan but oh well. Seriously, if the Jets ever moved out of New York/New Jersey, I would still support them. Im not going to turn into a Giant fan because my favorite team left the city.

kiranadwaney

01-04-2010, 12:27 PM

Being from London I would still be a Falcons fan if they moved but I think I would care as now I have adopted all Atlanta sports teams. However that being said I would not mind if they moved to London and became the London Falcons

WinslowBodden

01-04-2010, 12:32 PM

This is a silly argument. it's nearly impossible for someone to determine the loyalty that a franchise' fan base has outside of just looking at total number of fans.

How is it nearly impossible to determine loyalty? Jaguars fans don't show up when they're winning and playing good teams (Hey, same with your Bengals, they do a great job needing extensions to sell out games with a winning record to avoid black outs!)

Browns fans show up, and they support. Not only that, but they go to court over their team AND get it back... I'm pretty sure any logical thinking person would say that is loyalty.

EvilNixon

01-04-2010, 12:32 PM

Not from Oakland,and wouldn't care either way.

Bengalsrocket

01-04-2010, 01:31 PM

How is it nearly impossible to determine loyalty? Jaguars fans don't show up when they're winning and playing good teams (Hey, same with your Bengals, they did a great job selling out games this year! LOL)

Browns fans show up, and they support. Not only that, but they go to court over their team AND get it back... I'm pretty sure any logical thinking person would say that is loyalty.

How is it fair to compare the Jaguars to the Browns? One franchise has a history of 50+ years in the league while the other has been in the league for 15 years.

I don't get the dig on the Bengals. We've got a current streak of 52 games (at 8 games a year that comes out to 6 and half years). Sure Chad bought some tickets this year to help out, but in the grand scheme of things the 1,000-2,000 tickets he bought on those 2 weekends don't mean all that much as far as fans showing up (though he did help keep the streak alive).

The fact of Cincinnati is that we're right in the heart of this area. A lot of people I know in real life hold the Colts / Browns / Steelers / Eagles higher than the Bengals. And no, they didn't switch teams because the Bengals were bad, they just always were fans of other teams due to their families and friends growing up in those areas and moving here.

And lastly, it's hard to say your team has more loyalty over the Chiefs just because your fans had an opportunity to do something they didn't. If Clark Hunt ever tries to bail on Kansas City then we'll get a chance to see if your team is more loyal, but until then it's pretty hard to quantify loyalty in those terms.

fear the elf

01-04-2010, 01:40 PM

ravens became my least favorite team the minute they moved to baltimore.

This is true for me too. I still respect what they have done as an organization, and occassioanlly root for them to rep the AFC North when playing out of the division, but otherwise, I absolutely loath the Ravens.

So, I would not be a Browns fan if they moved, again...

WinslowBodden

01-04-2010, 04:45 PM

How is it fair to compare the Jaguars to the Browns? One franchise has a history of 50+ years in the league while the other has been in the league for 15 years.

I don't get the dig on the Bengals. We've got a current streak of 52 games (at 8 games a year that comes out to 6 and half years). Sure Chad bought some tickets this year to help out, but in the grand scheme of things the 1,000-2,000 tickets he bought on those 2 weekends don't mean all that much as far as fans showing up (though he did help keep the streak alive).

The fact of Cincinnati is that we're right in the heart of this area. A lot of people I know in real life hold the Colts / Browns / Steelers / Eagles higher than the Bengals. And no, they didn't switch teams because the Bengals were bad, they just always were fans of other teams due to their families and friends growing up in those areas and moving here.

And lastly, it's hard to say your team has more loyalty over the Chiefs just because your fans had an opportunity to do something they didn't. If Clark Hunt ever tries to bail on Kansas City then we'll get a chance to see if your team is more loyal, but until then it's pretty hard to quantify loyalty in those terms.

I don't know if you live in Cinci but this is my whole point and exactly what you aren't getting. If the Browns were in the playoffs right now this place would be going insane and we would have already sold out the playoff game a while back, as of a few days ago you still had plenty of seats left.

If you don't think there are a bunch of Steelers fans around here you are crazy, I guarantee there are more Pitt fans up here than there are down in Cinci, yet we still sell out with terrible teams EVERY YEAR. That is LOYALTY. It is your fans showing up winning or losing, it is your fans getting a team back after it is stolen from them.

I never said the Chiefs were more loyal or the Browns were more loyal, just that it's stupid to say that the Chiefs are more loyal than Browns fans, and I actually provided a decent argument and information as to why the Chiefs fans cannot be considered more loyal.

PackerLegend

01-04-2010, 07:34 PM

Option D:
My team can't move... suckers!

Woooooooooo Best option that there is!

TitanHope

01-04-2010, 08:44 PM

Browns fans show up, and they support. Not only that, but they go to court over their team AND get it back... I'm pretty sure any logical thinking person would say that is loyalty.

Didn't Browns fans cause a big stink about threatening to sit out the first quarter of a MNF game this season in protest of the team not doing well?

WinslowBodden

01-05-2010, 03:01 AM

Didn't Browns fans cause a big stink about threatening to sit out the first quarter of a MNF game this season in protest of the team not doing well?

A small group of guys said they were going to do it and got some media attention, it never happened, the stadium was full at kickoff.

Also, it was "Not go to their seats until after the opening kick" not a protest of a quarter or a game.

stephenson86

01-05-2010, 09:28 AM

im from england so i wouldnt care

ccB

01-05-2010, 06:03 PM

Nope...I'd probably just pick a new favorite team each year. My loyalty lies with my city. It's the same reason I loathe the Colts, and they left before I was even born.

RaiderNation

01-05-2010, 06:06 PM

If the raiders moved back to L.A. Id be pissed. IDK what Id do

TACKLE

01-05-2010, 06:07 PM

Bengalsrocket

01-05-2010, 07:22 PM

I don't know if you live in Cinci but this is my whole point and exactly what you aren't getting. If the Browns were in the playoffs right now this place would be going insane and we would have already sold out the playoff game a while back, as of a few days ago you still had plenty of seats left.

First of all, I don't know what you mean by going insane. No, people in Cincinnati are not throwing riots. But certainly the whole town is talking about this current play off run.

If you don't think there are a bunch of Steelers fans around here you are crazy, I guarantee there are more Pitt fans up here than there are down in Cinci, yet we still sell out with terrible teams EVERY YEAR. That is LOYALTY. It is your fans showing up winning or losing, it is your fans getting a team back after it is stolen from them.

let's be honest, you cannot tell me you are 100% sure there are more Pittsburgh fans in Cleveland than in Cincinnati, because short of a massive survey in both towns it's pretty difficult to figure out any numbers on the subject and I'm going to assume you did not take a mass survey in both towns. But even if there are more Pittsburgh fans, that was only 1/4th of the argument I presented there. We still have a ton of Indianapolis, Cleveland & Philadelphia fans.

And yes, I'm aware that plenty of teams deal with this (including both Cleveland and Kansas City - the two we've been talking about here). I just think Cincinnati is uniquely placed in an spot where 5 teams are pretty close around.

I never said the Chiefs were more loyal or the Browns were more loyal, just that it's stupid to say that the Chiefs are more loyal than Browns fans, and I actually provided a decent argument and information as to why the Chiefs fans cannot be considered more loyal.

Nobody said Chiefs fans were more loyal than Browns fans either. Vidae's original quote that started all of this:

I'm sure they were, but it's hard to match the craziness of the Kansas City Chief fan.

In fact, this whole argument is semantics now that I look at it. If I hadn't incorrectly used the word "loyalty" instead of "craziness", we might have been able to get past the Bengals cheap shots that have zero relevance to the topic and been able to actually discuss something.

Timbathia

01-05-2010, 07:29 PM

I am a Broncos fan because of living in Denver (not that I do anymore). If they leave, then I sure as **** aint the same fan I used to be (in fact I would probably cease to have an NFL team, since I am not about to start following anyone else).

CC.SD

01-05-2010, 08:10 PM

I actually wish the Lions would move so I can change favourites. I still regret liking those sexy black alternates.

What would you change to?

broth223

01-05-2010, 08:34 PM

It depends on if they stay the Lions. Like when the Browns moved they became the Ravens and the history is kinda lost. But with say the Cards when they moved from Chicago to St. Louis or from St. Louis to Arizona. They remained the Cardinals. If I couldn't associate this sorry ass team with Barry Sanders I'd move to a new team.

niel89

01-06-2010, 03:11 AM

Im a Ravens fan from california. I've never been local for them so it wouldn't affect me too much, but if I was from that city I would be pissed.

RockyMtn_Badger

01-06-2010, 11:55 AM

I am a GB Packer life and there is a better chance of Lindsay Lohan being elected president than them moving out of GB. So I dont think I have to worry about it

WinslowBodden

01-06-2010, 02:40 PM

In fact, this whole argument is semantics now that I look at it. If I hadn't incorrectly used the word "loyalty" instead of "craziness", we might have been able to get past the Bengals cheap shots that have zero relevance to the topic and been able to actually discuss something.

Okay, short and simple.

You can judge loyalty outside of number of fans.

/endtopic.

vikes_28

01-06-2010, 02:46 PM

If the Vikings moved I'd probably be more of a fan of the sport rather than a particular team. I like the players that are on the Vikings, and that's why I'm a fan of theirs. My big deal is that I wouldn't be able to be as close to them.

Maybe Next Year Millen2

01-06-2010, 03:17 PM

Yeah if you're not a local to the team like me you probably wouldn't care if they moved. Would I still support the Lions if they moved? Sure, I supported them after they went 0-16 and had Millen for 8 years, thats worse than moving. Stupid Barry Sanders and my childhood mancrush on him followed by my insane love for football if you can call it that in Detroit.

They should have moved and not told Millen. But then Millen would probably be doing the Tom Cruise risky business dance in the middle of Ford Field once everyone was gone.

Lions probably won't ever move considering we have a fairly new nice stadium. 2002 I believe. Sure we suck but stadium is the key. Late 08 and 09 is the only seasons we've had trouble selling out after 6.5 previous years of Millen. Get like 4 wins a season and we'll sell out again. If Ford Co. tanks, then it could happen too but I think they are on the rebound.

If the Lions moved, I would want them to move to Washington DC where I live and just take over the Redskins facilities in a fight. That would be bad ass. Lions would win because we beat them and they suck.