OT: National Football League - Who do you support?

Submitted by profitgoblue on

Apologies if something like this have been posted before but with all the Detroit Lions posts popping up, I began wondering what NFL teams get the most support/love from the MGoCommunity.

What NFL team(s) do you support?  Why?

I'll start:  I live in Carolina so I generally support the Carolina Panthers.  But my heart lies with Tom Brady so I consider myself a fan of the New England Patriots.

 

The Baughz

August 2nd, 2011 at 4:49 PM ^

San Diego Chargers. A guy from home town used to play for them in the mid-90s. He always held youth football camps for us and I liked them ever since. Also, I am from western PA and am not on the Steelers' nuts like everyone else is around here. So, I generally root for whoever is playing against them.

Don

August 2nd, 2011 at 4:54 PM ^

Even though I grew up in the Detroit area, I've rooted for Denver as much or more than the Lions because we spent our summers in Colorado when I was a kid, and out there the papers were naturally full of Broncos training camp stuff.

Of course, since we're talking about the Lions, one of the more dubious distinctions they have is that they were the very first team of the old NFL to lose to a team from the upstart AFL. It was in a preseason game in 1967, and contrary to the meaningless exhibition games these days, that game was a big fucking deal.

And the team the Lions lost to? The lowly Denver Broncos.

http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/Detroit_Lions_vs_Denver_Broncos_August_5,_…

ForeverBlue

August 2nd, 2011 at 4:55 PM ^

As a youngun' here on the blog (current undergrad) I grew up idolizing Barry Sanders. The dude was legit. I am a Lions fan through and through, even in all the losing seasons. 

I also do like the Patriots and Tom Brady. When the Lions were losing they were the team that I rooted for that I actually expected to win...

profitgoblue

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:12 PM ^

Which team are you supporting today? Patriots? Steelers? Packers? Dolphins?

(The Carolina Panthers do not have one Wolverine and I'm convinced they won't win sh-t until they change things.  That, and the fact that they drafted consummate d-bag Chris Gamble with their #1 pick a while back.)

MeowGOBLUE

August 2nd, 2011 at 4:57 PM ^

My support goes out to the colts all day. Its hard for most michigan fans to agree with me and my loyalty to peyton manning. But throughout the years there have been many great michigan football players through the colts locker room. Its there intelligence and composure on and off the field. Any other fellow colts fans out there ???

MGoNukeE

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:10 PM ^

Not sure why you got collapsed, but I'm with you. Admittedly, I mostly watch the NFL for entertainment since I lost faith in the Lions awhile ago. So naturally, a player with Peyton Manning's talent and ability to coordinate an offense at the line of scrimmage will appeal to me. The 2007 AFC Championship game was easily enough to sell me on Manning.

profitgoblue

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:14 PM ^

I feel compelled to test your reasoning:  What makes you gravitate more towards Manning than Tom Brady?  I feel that they are very similar QBs but one did not play at Michigan . . .

 

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

August 2nd, 2011 at 9:50 PM ^

I'll be brutally honest: If Brady hadn't gone to Michigan I could see myself finding him completely insufferable.  When it comes to sports, Boston is the new Los Angeles (no, that's NOT a good thing) and Brady's edging dangerously close to the celebrity side of things where LeBron and Beckham reside.  Despite the Woodson-Manning connection that Tennesseans still haven't gotten over, I think Manning is a lot more grounded, down to earth, a little humbler, and plays for a team that is MUCH easier to root for.  I don't "take sides" in the Brady-Manning thing (except that I do pull for the Colts against the Pats) but that's how I feel about things.

samber2009

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:14 PM ^

Love my Colts! Raised in Indy's suburbs. It is possible to love P. Manning and be a UM alumna (class of 09).  I've noticed a few Colts fans on the board over the years, and it's a great organization to be a fan of. This pleases me.

Mitch Cumstein

August 2nd, 2011 at 9:48 PM ^

I'm a lions fan myself but my fiance is from Indy and her and her entire family are in love with Manning and the Colts. I've always had a little shit in my neck so I love nothing more than either A) calling Manning a choke artist and asking when the Colts are going to finally sign tee Martin and B) coming up with as many A>B>C>D ridiculous comparisons as I can until I find a way that the Lions beat the Colts.

littlebrownjug

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:00 PM ^

I grew up watching Barry Sanders in MI, so I like the Motown Kitties. Also, my father's family is from Pittsburgh, so I root for the Steelers. Additionally, I used to work for the Baltimore Ravens, so they will probably always be my favorite. Beyond that, I will root for all Michigan Men.

superstringer

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:00 PM ^

Grew up in Chicago in 70s/80s.  Walter Payton was/is my idol (may he rest in peace).

Of course, like the rest of us, I root hardest for Tom Terrific and thus am a de facto NEP fan.

On top of that, my son is a huuuge Ravens fan.  I have met Ray Lewis.  For all his background and "Thug U" upbringing, the guy is now the very definition of SOLID.  Turned his life around, is now deserving of being the face of the franchise and one of the very top "faces of the NFL,"  I am very ok with my son idolizing Ray the way I idolized Walter.  So, I end up pulling for the Ravens too.

I live in DC area, so, of course, I hate Satan (=Dan Snyder) and generally laugh at how inept the pathetic Skins are.  Racist name, too.

littlebrownjug

August 2nd, 2011 at 6:12 PM ^

His level of play and devotion to preparation is inspiring, especially for someone who has already played for 16 years. His maturation and leadership skills combined with the fact that the best players on the team (Ed Reed, Ray Rice, Joe Flacco, etc...) are such good people allows this team to play so well.

los

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:04 PM ^

Miami Dolphins. My father's side of the family is cuban and lived in Miami for a while. My grandfather has always cheered for Miami teams so I grew up watching everything Miami. It's easier to cheer for them now that they have Chad and Jake, which I actually hung out with a couple of times while attending Michigan. Oh, and the owner is Stephen Ross, as in U of M Ross School of Business.

I also like whichever team Tom Brady plays for. In this case the New England Patriots.

Broken Brilliance

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:06 PM ^

My moms entire side of the family lives in wisconsin and I decided at a young age to root for the Packers. My grandpa and uncle both have sets of season tickets...which are kinda hard to get.

PutDaTeamOnMyBack

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:17 PM ^

This is awesome. As a first generation here in the states I'm the first in my family to grow up a football fan (upon moving here my dad became a huge Bills fan and introduced my to football). I feel like if I were to sign up for GB season tix now, I'd only get them once I have grand kids

mGrowOld

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:09 PM ^

I used to love watching the Houston Oilers play cause they were the only team than played indoors at the time and the field was very cool looking (although hard as concrete).  When i was growing up Channel 2 (CBS) carried the NFL games and Channel 4 (NBC) carried the AFL games and for whatever reason it seemed like we got a LOT of Oiler games.  And in my memory the Chiefs were seemingly always playing the Raiders (as were the Jets somehow) and the Oilers played the Chargers and the Bills a bunch.

Those were very cool games to watch.

JimLahey

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:13 PM ^

The lions all day. And I keep mental notes on every person who has ever made fun of me for being a fan. Cuz when they get good (haha) and they will because I'm still young....I am going to be petty as shit in going around telling them they are unloyal trash when they jump on the wagon and pretend to have been loyal all along. Childish? Yes. Don't care.

severs28

August 2nd, 2011 at 7:16 PM ^

I'm only 27 but have loved the lions since birth. I have taken so much flak the past five or six years for it. Now those same people want to talk with me about it and I just say "I thought you didn't care about the lions?" As you stated it is petty, but I don't care.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

August 2nd, 2011 at 9:56 PM ^

Good for you.  Can I help?  I'm probably going to be a total bastard about it when the Lions get good.  I've been suffering through the Lions ever since just before the Barry era started and had to live out of town during the entire Millen era so of course I took epic amounts of shit from people. But this season I got around to springing for season tickets.  Suh made me do it.

PutDaTeamOnMyBack

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:13 PM ^

Saw my first football game when I was around 5 years old. 49ers vs. GB, back when Favre was bursting onto the scene and the niners were still prominent. At the time, I wanted the Niners to win because I thought their jerseys were sweet. But GB won the game and I, as any 5 year old would do, quickly switched allegience to the victors. The rest is history. Suffice it to say that having my favorite UM player of all time be on my favorite NFL team has been..well...awesome.

Also inspiration for my handle.

Bronco648

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:20 PM ^

I cannot explain why because my Dad is a Lions fan. However, I can recall watching Joe Kapp, Dave Osborne (sp?), Bill Brown, Paul Krause, Wally Hilgenburg, Karl Kasulke (sp?), Carl Eller, Alan Page and the rest of the Purple People eaters. Losing four Super Bowls (fortunately, not in a row - lookin' at you Buffalo) was tough to swallow. I've also followed the Giants and like the Pats. Denver was fun when Elway was playing.

profitgoblue

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:28 PM ^

I can honestly say that I have not heard of any of those Vikings that you mention and I'm no spring chicken.  Wikipedia, here I come!

 [Edit:  This is in respons to Bronco648's post above.  My bad.]

 

M-Wolverine

August 2nd, 2011 at 7:27 PM ^

Not an NFL history buff? Fran Tarkington? Bud Grant? Wrong way Marshall? No Purple People Eaters?There wasn't only the Steel Curtain. The Fearsome Foursome. (No, they didn't fight the Fantastic Four). nicknames were cool back then. If you haven't watched film of Butkus, Brown, you're not an NFL fan.

SamIam

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:25 PM ^

I grew up in North Carolina before there was a Carolina football team.  I have always been a Redskins fan.  Art Monk and Darrel Green were my favorite players as a kid.   My step father is a Lions fan so I follow them as well.  It was a pleasure to get to watch Barry sanders in his prime....wow.

brandanomano

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:27 PM ^

I mostly root for my fantasy players to do well. but that's probably because I'm a Lions fan and I never get to see them play since I live in NC. Hopefully the Lions will live up to their hype this year because I imagine it's easier to get pumped when your team is playing well*. 

*This completely contradicts my Michigan fandom.

SamIam

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:32 PM ^

Eagles fan.  I bet that bandwagon is going to have its axles dragging the ground this season.  Not saying you are by any means.  Between Vicks come back last year and all the frre agent action this year that fan base is going nuts.

MGoPietrowski

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:30 PM ^

Sports are very freudian for me.

I grew up rooting for all sorts of teams, but have eventually come into the teams my father roots for, as most of our conversations are about sports, and most of our beer drinking happens while a game is on. I've been a Colts fan, went to the Titans when the Colts threatened to leave Indiana. And then, I decided to go with the Lions, so I could know what was going on when my dad and I watched games. That same year the Titans (my former team) started off 8-0 and the Lions went 0-8. I've been a Lion's fan ever since, no two ways about it.

On a similar note, I was a cubs fan growing up, but if you walked into my office now, you'll find a tigers schedule on my bulletin board. Nowadays, if it's sports, you can tell who I root for by looking at the great state of Michigan. Well, except for Arsenal.

RoseBowlBound

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:30 PM ^

It's great to be an eagles fan because you are expected to hate your own team as much as everyone else in the NFL.  My dad put it best to me as a fan growing up in South Jersey when he told me that the Eagles fans would rather see the Giants go 0-16 than have the Eagles go 16-0.  That only makes sense to a Philly fan.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

August 2nd, 2011 at 9:59 PM ^

Sounds exactly like the Sparty view of the world.

But I kind of know what you mean re: the Iggles.  I had a housemate in college who followed them religiously and could be found every Sunday in his room just chewing his team out mercilessly.  If it was quiet we knew the Eagles were winning.

Mlaw2010

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:33 PM ^

New York Giants. Grew up on Long Island, and for some reason chose the Giants over the Jets (so long ago, I can't remember why). Both parents are from Michigan, but never even considered the Lions.

Mlaw2010

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:33 PM ^

New York Giants. Grew up on Long Island, and for some reason chose the Giants over the Jets (so long ago, I can't remember why). Both parents are from Michigan, but never even considered the Lions.

TSWC

August 2nd, 2011 at 5:35 PM ^

Raised in LA when the Raiders were still there (I hated the Rams) so that childhood fandom still lingers. It was pretty easy to like them when Woodson was on the team, and when Gruden was coaching. It's gotten harder and harder to stick with them though as Al Davis gets crazier and crazier (and when the starting point is already crazy, that's some super crazy) and the team gets more and more poorly managed.

I've always tried to sort of pull for the home team too, and now that I live in western Washington I try to follow the 'hawks and am warming up to them. I had awesome seats for the playoff game when Romo botched the snap--that was a good time.

I'm a big Brady and Space Emperor fan, so a big part of me likes to see them do well, even though I generally hate all teams from Boston.