A Fandom Question

I don't have a problem with it as long as you have a clear hierarchy in place for when they play each other. If you're going to root for two teams, you have to pick one if they're against each other. For example, I've always been a Redskins fan, but over the past few years have started to follow and root for the Saints. However, if they play each other, I'm always rooting for the Redskins.

Exactly its okay to cheer for a second team, as long as you understand where your true alegience lies. I am a Dallas Cowboys fans (sorry Tylersalt) and I always will be, but after living in Cincinnati for college and watching the Bengals rebuild before my eyes I began to watch and appreciate that team. I also rationalize it because one team is in the NFC the other is an AFC team so, they never really cross paths and anything one does has little to no effect on the other.

I grew up back East and am a long-standing Yankees, Rangers and Knicks fan. I live in Phoenix now and see the AZ teams on TV every day, even was a Dbacks season ticket holder for awhile. I root for the local teams, casually, but I remain a diehard New York fan. As you can tell by my fan boxes. Notice no Cardinals box, Beast.

I have 4 teams I follow closely in the NFL. I follow my top team, the Pats, the runners up in the Titans, the local team in the Vikings, and my long time friends, the Packers. I have a strict heirarchy for all 4 teams.

1. Pats
2. Titans
3. Packers
4. everyone else besides Minny that isn't Indy, SD, Chi, Det, either NEw York team, the Dolphins, the Bills, the Texans, Washington, ATL, SEA, or the Rams (I realize that's about half the league, but It's harder to think of the times I like more than Minny than the teams I don't)
5. Minny
6. Everyone but Indy and Atlanta
7. Atlanta
8. Indy

I have a good friend who has always said that you are allowed to cheer for your local team and your dad's favorite team. That's it.

But this doesn't account for moving, as some of you have mentioned. So I add the amendment that you can pick up the new local team, but they should be lower than your childhood favorite.

This also doesn't account for if you have no local team, as is the case for The Beast. I lived in South Carolina for a while, and it seems everyone there just picked a random team--South Carolina hasn't embraced the Panthers. For some reason, the Jets, Dolphins and Cowboys were common favorites. But this also leads to rabid bandwagoning.

I say the Chargers are the closest thing you have to a local team, especially since they have been on LA TV recently. You're clear to pick them up, but they should probably rank below the Pack since you have followed them longer.

Okay, here's one, or maybe it should be its own discussion topic. In the postseason, do you root for or against teams in your team's division or conference? For example, if you're a Reds fans, like I am, did you root against the Cardinals in last year's MLB postseason and World Series?

Some say you should root for the team in your division/conference because it makes the division/conference in which you play look stronger. I can see the merits of this point of view, especially in college athletics. I went to the Univ. of Dayton, and I tend to root for all Atlantic 10 teams to do well except for Xavier. This would be like going to Duke and rooting for all other ACC teams to be successful with the exception of UNC.

In pro sports, it's much different, though. I rooted against the St. Louis Cardinals last fall for several reasons. The same thing also happened recently when the Steelers won the Super Bowl. I was pissed and rooted openly and adamantly for Pittsburgh to lose. I was also rooting against the Ravens in this past NFL season. So what's the rule in fandom? Root for division/conference foes to make you look stronger (obviously excluding fiercest rivals) or root against them division be damned?

I think it's totally OK for anybody to have at least 2 favorite teams per sport. One for where you're from originally and one for where you live. I'm from LA, so I'm Lakers/Dodgers...but I live in SF so I'm also Warriors/A's. However, should your teams meet in the postseason...as mentioned above, a hierarchy is in order. No pun intended.