I posted this on my other blog, but it seemed relevant so I thought I would copy it over here too. It starts with football, but has some hockey relevance. Are any of you out there cheering for a different team than from when you started watching hockey?
Football is starting up again, if you've been asleep. The Panthers won last night and pre-season games are now dominating the airwaves. Before the Panthers came around, I was a Giants fan.
I'm not from New York, but my dad and my older siblings are, so growing up I inherited my teams from them. I grew up in northern Virginia, went to lots of Capitals games as a kid, but cheered for the Islanders. I never liked the Redskins, instead I cheered for the Giants. I never liked the Orioles or Braves, instead I cheered for the Mets.
Time changes many things. Despite cheering for these teams, I never really had any special attachment to New York. It is not my home and never was. I held onto those allegiences for a long time, but it really comes down to this - what place do you consider home? For me, the answer was easy. I grew up in Virginia, but it's not home. North Carolina is home.
I got season tickets to the Hurricanes and my allegiences and feelings for the Islanders and Rangers faded (surprisingly) quick. It took longer for the Giants, as the Panthers are in Charlotte, but I am now a Panthers fan first with a passing interest in the Giants. I still follow the Mets a bit, when I actually pay attention to baseball, mostly because I loathe the Braves.
There are many people in this area from other locales, whether they're out-of-state students or just transplants. Many of them hold onto their old teams because they grew up with that team and they still consider those areas "home". Perhaps I am in a unique situation that my family has since vacated the areas where I would consider home. No one lives at the house in Richmond, or the many places in Warrenton. Dad is gone, mom is in Texas, and my siblings are all over the place (Richmond, Baltimore, Queens, and San Diego).
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3 comments:
I grew up in Cincy. Got no family left in the Queen City, but still love the Bengals and Reds. I'm also a huge Panthers fan and stayed a fan despite leaving Charlotte over ten years ago. Lived in Northern Va, but never became a Craps or Redskins fan. I'm not sure how alligiances get established. It's not science. Warrenton is a neat little town.
Warrenton has changed considerably from when I used to live there. I was there a year or two ago, since my grandmother and my aunt still live in that area. They actually have a movie theater. Amazing.
I seemed to inherit all my allegiances, though some have gone by the wayside since I was younger. Anymore, it seems that more kids are being enticed by marketing efforts to root for teams (or even individual players) that are nowhere near their locale. I guess this has probably always been around in some form, but it seems more prevalent today.
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