I need a new team (NBA)

[VoodooGuru]

I grew up in an area where I had no "natural" team, geographically speaking. The closest teams were Washington and Philadelphia, neither of which are exactly natural fits for a West Virginian. So I picked one more or less because I liked the name and the colors, and when I was a teenager they were actually pretty good even though they never won a title in those years, thanks to some dude named Jordan being around.

You may have deduced that I am referring to the Seattle SuperSonics, and therefore you understand why I need a new team.

I refuse to support the "Oklahoma City Thunder". Forget about it, it sounds like a minor league baseball team. So I am looking for a team that is fun to watch, has a reasonable chance of being good this year and for a number of years thereafter, but which isn't just mindlessly jumping on the biggest bandwagon for casual fans (so no Celtics, no Lakers, no Spurs, and probably no Bulls or Pistons).

Here are my contenders:

The Suns. The Suns have a player I really like in Steve Nash, but Nash isn't going to be around forever or even necessarily that much longer. Their coach kind of leaves me cold, too, I'm not a huge D'Antoni fan.

The Raptors. Dopey name, but they are one of those teams that has started to get good in recent years and I think they're an intriguing option.

The Blazers. Feels wrong because they were the arch-rivals of the Sonics, but Portland is a really cool city and I really like the things the Blazers have done with their team. Besides, I kind of like the world's oldest 20-year-old, Greg Oden. I swear, that dude already looks like he's 40.

The Pacers. Now my nearest geographical match, beating out Memphis (and thank gawd!) But for whatever reason, I just don't find them as interesting as the Raptors or Blazers.

Any suggestions?

[cboy4]

1. These kinds of posts drive me insane.

Picking teams for the name and colors?

Picking teams because they're fun to watch?

Groan.

[ProfessorGAC]

2. Well, The Second One Seems Ok To Me

The first, i agree with you cboy. I don't care what color uniforms the teams have.

But, i fyou don't have a natural geo-connection supporting a team based upon their style of play seems pretty reasonable.
The Professor

[cboy4]

8. No, it's dumb. If you grow up in West Virginia, you root for

the Bullets/Wizards. Or the Cavs. Or Philly.

This is a prime example of why I can't listen to sports talk.

I spend half of the time looking for my hammer to break the radio.

[VoodooGuru]

10. Your opinion is noted.

Sorry, but I feel absolutely nothing for any of those cities. And neither does anyone else from West Virginia. The only natural ties we had to cities in the area were Cincinnati in the western part of the state and Pittsburgh in the northern part. There is no rule that says you pull out the map and draw a line to the city you're closest to and become a fan of that city's teams; you have to feel something for that city first. Philadelphia might as well have been Budapest, as far as we were concerned.

But I like basketball. A lot, actually. It's a great sport to watch, and any sport is more fun to watch if you actually HAVE a team to follow. So I picked one, based on what you consider a stupid criterion. I confess, it was really pretty stupid. But Gary Payton was a ton of fun to watch! Now I'm going to pick one based on what you consider a different stupid criterion.

[cboy4]

13. Where's my hammer?

[ProfessorGAC]

11. Some Parts Of WV Are Pretty Far From Philly or D.C.

And, folks from Nebraska or Montana would have not natural geographic link.

And on top of that, why is geography any more important than style of play?
The Professor

[VoodooGuru]

14. I guess it's kind of the "bred in the bone" philosophy of sports fandom

That's the way it is in a lot of places, like England especially. Chuck Culpepper's interesting little book, "Bloody Confused!", about being a casual fan of a Premier League team picked on similarly shaky criteria, describes the passion and deep connection English fans feel toward the teams they grow up with, and the complete disconnection Americans have with any of it. But the Premiership was so interesting to Culpepper, he wanted to follow it, so he picked a team (Portsmouth) and stuck with it while he was living in England.

Now, if I were living in, say, Akron, and wanted to pick a team based on how they play, I'd think cboy would have every right to slap me around. But six plus hours away? That's kind of a stretch.

[cboy4]

15. Because those are the unwritten rules. You picks the closest

team and you suffer with them through thick and thin.

Why don't I just start rooting for the Celtics if I'm going to accept your argument?

I like their style of play.

[ProfessorGAC]

31. Go Ahead

You say it's stupid. Well, as parochial as i am about Chicago sport teams, i would say that it's just as stupid to root for a team just because i live an hour from the city.

We may not agree, but i don't think you get to be the arbiter of what is and isn't stupid.
GAC

[JonLP24]

35. There is nothing wrong with rooting for basketball

I don't paticular care who wins in any sport. My teams are the Broncos/Cardinals(Grew up watching them), Suns/Pacers(Grew up watching them as well, big fan of Reggie Miller), and the Arizona State Sun Devils. I don't care who wins but there are teams I like to see win but I root for big plays, good games, etc. I like to watch paticular games with talented players for example. When Vince Carter was a star for the Raptors, I watched Raptors games whenever they came on. I enjoy the watching the Celtics and the Lakers because they are very good teams. However on the flip side the teams I dislike overwhelm the teams I do like for example. I'll never like the Chiefs or the Spurs. I'm a Broncos fans who likes the Raiders. :crazy: I enjoy watching the Rams because of Steven Jackson, as an Arizona State fan I was impressed by his playing ability at Oregon State and he is a Democrat! To the OP, I'd pick the Pacers but that's my own personal bias. I was a diehard Cardinals fan when Jake Plummer was the QB(College ties) and I literally cursed season after season til he went to Denver and I became a hardcore Denver for the first time since the Elway era. No currently I'm not a diehard for any team but I watch as many games as possible but I like alot of teams. In college I like Arizona State, USC, Florida, UCLA, Washington State, Oregon State, Colorado, Colorado State, Texas Tech, Michigan. And so on. I'm more of a fan of the sports then I am of a paticular team.

[cboy4]

36. You're a mess .

[JonLP24]

37. I'm a sports fan

Why am I mess? Because I'm not emotionally tied to a team? I like to watch all games, emerging talent, and all teams. I watched the Rams vs the Cowboys and saw a Democrat, gain over 150 yards and score 3 touchdowns. Then I watched Green Bay, with former Heisman trophy winner Charles Woodson and Cal superstar Aaron Rodgers then I watched a nailbiter where Janokowski kick the longest field goal in franchise history. Yesturday I watched Texas Tech vs Texas A&M where the TT WR is playing better then any WR in college football. I don't care who wins but it sure is fun to watch. I give valid reasons of being a fan of the sport in general and you call me a mess. :eyes:

[cboy4]

38. That's like saying you don't have a favorite food, because

you're a fan of eating.

Or that you don't have a favorite movie, because you're a fan of movies. Or a favorite song because you're a fan of music, or a favorite season, because you're a fan of weather.

This whole I'll just root for whichever team is winning or whichever player is the most popular drives me up the wall.

But you roll your eyes all you want.

[JonLP24]

39. I don't root for teams that are winning

I do have favorite teams such as the Broncos and Cardinals. I have been my whole life but that doesn't prevent me from rooting for others. I was a fan of Randy Moss while he was at Marshall and I was mad that the Cardinals passed him up and he wasn't taken til he went to Minnesota. I don't go by popularity sir, I go by talent. I was a fan of Clarence Moore and you probaly never heard of him. Now I'm an Arizona State fan is in a way I should be a Ravens fan because they have more ASU players then any team? I just like to watch the game. This shouldn't be hard for you to understand, I don't care who wins. There are teams I favor in games like I favor the Broncos in all their games but I'm not going to get sad or upset if they lose. This loyalty to teams gets 49ers fans killed at Raider's parking lots. I went to a Sunday Night Game last year between New Orleans vs Seattle. Me and some friends went to the game wearing Saints outfits and there was constant shit talking, personal attacks, a friend of mine was sucker punched and had his Raider's shirt taken off his body. Point is I don't take the shit seriously. But by your logic you're correct, I like all sorts of kinds of food, I like over 100 different movies, and I like all types of songs and genres of music. Now about winning, more the often I like to see underdogs win because I like chaos that just shakes things up. New England going 19-0 is boring but I want to see Randy Moss win a ring as well as many well deserved players.

[GOPisEvil]

25. Wait a second.

I cheer for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. This despite only having lived in that area for about a year. I have no real natural ties to the area. Other than my dad. He is from that area, and passed along his fandom to me. But, by using your logic, I should be a fan of the Houston Astros or Texas Rangers just because I spent most of my life in Texas.

Conversely, I was also a fan of the St. Louis Football Cardinals. They now reside in Arizona, and the Rams now occupy St. Louis. I'm conflicted, for which team shall I cheer?

[cboy4]

27. Always glad to help confused fans out GOPisEVil.

Now then, if your dad passed along his St. Louis Cardinals "fandom" to you, it is perfectly acceptable and practically mandatory that you grow up rooting for that team, even if you were in Texas.

And the fact that you actually live in the St. Louis area is the nail in the coffin as to why it makes sense you cheer for the Redbirds.

Traditions can nullify obvious geographical situations, and your story is a prime example.

The OP has no such background.

The football situation is a little more tricky because you cheered for a team that moved. You should feel conflicted.

Personally, if I lived in St. Louis, I would root for the St. Louis team, which sadly for you, are the Rams.

[GOPisEvil]

32. I don't live in the area. I only lived in the area for 1 year.

I live in Texas (until I move to Washington soon).

[fishwax]

30. geography isn't destiny

There are plenty of reasons to become a fan of a given team. Geography is a good one, but only one among many possibilities.

[VoodooGuru]

5. Hey, come on...

I was freaking fifteen when I picked the Sonics. Name and colors was a good enough criterion then. But that was twenty years ago.

But "fun to watch" is a perfectly legit criterion. It's sports, there's no moral superiority in choice of one team over another. You watch for entertainment, and picking a team that is actually exciting is as legitimate as picking one because somebody from your alma mater got drafted by that team. Granted, it's less legitimate than actually living in the area, but there are no pro basketball teams in the Cincinnati area. So I'm kind of adrift.

And I'd prefer a blue-state team over a red-state team, for obvious reasons. This is DU, after all, right?

EDIT: Besides, I've got plenty of cred as a sports mensch: I'm a Bengals and Reds fan. I am entitled to hitch myself to a cool team in the NBA, based on that.

[cboy4]

9. Listen, when I went to college in Knoxville, there were no

natural teams in Tennessee.

But all of the locals I knew rooted for either the Atlanta teams or the Cincinnati teams.

It seems to me you should be rooting for the only Ohio team, since there's not one in Cincinnati/Northern KY.

[VoodooGuru]

12. OK, but I'm going to use your logic against you.

Growing up, my natural affinity cities were Pittsburgh or Cincinnati. I went with Cincy.

Now, Cleveland is a natural rival of Cincinnati. Indiana and Tennessee, also, are rivals of Kentucky in college sports, particularly bitter rivals in fact. So that would count as strikes against being fans of the Cavs or the Pacers, or for that matter the Grizzlies (and considering my prejudice against teams that pack up and move, that counts against the Grizz too.)

Obviously I don't mind rooting for teams that suck horribly - see, Bengals and Reds - but I've been a mensch for the Cincy teams, I think I'm entitled to take an NBA team based on more casual criteria.

[cboy4]

16. No, you don't get to utilize rooting for a bad baseball and

football team as a reason for picking a good NBA team. LOL

And I'm not going to get into crazy talk about rivalries with someone who picks teams based on how spiffy their uniforms are and how fun they are to watch.

It's ridiculous.

[VoodooGuru]

17. no more ridiculous than whipping out a map and ruler to find the closest pro city.

"Unwritten rules" indeed. :crazy: We can agree to disagree. Sports is an emotional thing. Would you say if the Reds folded up shop one day, that I'd have to become an Indians fan because they're in Ohio? Or a Pirates or Braves fan?

[trotsky]

19. Sorry, I don't see anything wrong with picking a team for any reason.

You of all people, lecturing someone for rooting for a team for lame reasons. :rofl:

[cboy4]

22. What are you talking about? I root for the San Francisco

teams and I root for the University of Tennessee where I went to college.

What other teams do I root for trotsky?

[VoodooGuru]

23. Oh, then I'm picking the Warriors.

Their uniforms are pretty, too. :P

[trotsky]

24. Ahem.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=215x76554

[cboy4]

26. Yea, I'm rooting for them to beat the Dodgers, since as

a Giants fan, I loathe L.A.

There's a difference between pulling for a team in the playoffs and being a fan.

I'd like to see Tampa win the series, but that doesn't make me a Rays fan.

You need to stop listening to trumad who lies more than George W Bush.

[nickgutierrez]

28. So it's better to just root for a new team every week, like you do?

:eyes:

[cboy4]

29. That is an outright lie.

:puke:

[riverdale]

3. Hey Voodoo

I'm a former Charlotte Hornets fan who basically gave up on being a fan of any team in the league after they left. If you are not ruling out teams that deserted their home city, you might want to root for the NO Hornets. I know I will not.
I think the Suns have seen their window of opportunity close for good. Among the up-and-comers you mentioned, the Blazers are starting to put it together. The Raptors are interesting; typically NBA players have no wanted to go to Canada. With the US dollar soon to be worth less than Canadian money, it could help out their sports franchises.

[VoodooGuru]

7. I thought what the Hornets organization did to Charlotte was crummy, too

They are interesting, and New Orleans has a lot going for it as a city, and they really could use the support... but the organization did Charlotte wrong. And unfortunately, the Bobcats aren't exactly doing Charlotte any favors, with their decisions seemingly being made via cell phone at the golf course.

I'm afraid you're right about the Suns. I do really like Nash for his gutsy public stands for what's right, and it would be a shame if he were to close a brilliant career without a ring, but it's looking likely that will be what happens. :(

[KamaAina]

34. As I understand it, Charlotte deserted the Hornets rather than vice versa

people just got fed up with Shinnridge's antics and simply stopped going to the games. So the NO Hornets, whose arena is built next to an old graveyard (now the site of the Superdome) would seem to be a logical fit for someone named "VoodooGuru".

Ironically, after the Federal Flood, the Hornets bugged out for -- you guessed it -- Oklahoma City, which promptly tried to put the moves on them to keep them there, right up until the sleazy deal for the Sonics. :puke:

[riverdale]

41. facts

Charlotte gave the Hornets the best support in the league for many years. Look up the attendance numbers. The Hornets were #1 year in and year out. Shinn had to work very hard to alienate that fan base, but he did it.
Every time the Hornets had somebody getting ready for big money (Alonzo), even medium money (Divac), they were allowed to walk. Shinn was threatening to move the team for years, trying to hold us up but not spending any money on the team.
I remember one of the last games I went to, the Hornets were giving out MARDI GRAS beads ... this is after the rumors about moving to NO had already started. What an insult to the fans. It was worth temporarily losing the team to get rid of that asshole Shinn .. but the Bobcats owner (his name is Bob, get it) is a loser too.

[KamaAina]

42. Ouch. I had not heard about the beads.

Leave it to fuckmook Shinn to turn Mardi Gras beads into an insult. :eyes:

The late NOLA blogging legend Ashley Morris had some choice words about the man who makes even the Saints' Tom Benson look good:

http://ashleymorris.typepad.com/ashley_morris_the_blog/2006/05/shinn_the_n_is_.html

Shinn. The "n" is pronounced like a "t".

You've heard it here before, folks. George Shinn stays on my fucking fuckmook list.

Man, what a two-faced fuckmook.

Thank the Lord for John DeShazier, who said that if he quacks like a fuckmook, he must be a fuckmook....

That's also why you're living in Oklahoma City, you adulterous, hypocritical, whoremongering, rapist fuckmook.

Fuckmook, fuckmook, fuckmook.

[Ptah]

4. Mike D'Antoni is currently the head coach of the NBA's New York Knicks.

Mike D'Antoni is currently the head coach of the NBA's New York Knicks.

[VoodooGuru]

6. oops, so he is.

I don't envy anyone trying to turn that ship around.

[Captain Hilts]

18. Rumors have Nash going to Toronto. nt

[trotsky]

20. T-Wolves, man.

I'm not a big NBA fan (or even of basketball in general) but the T-Wolves are an interesting team. No reasonable chance of being good immediately (especially with McHale calling the shots), but they did get some interesting young players in the KG trade. Cool name, uniforms, etc.

On edit: Blue state heaven. MN hasn't voted for a Republican since 1972 when everyone was snookered.

[VoodooGuru]

21. Huh, that IS interesting.

And pretty much the anti-bandwagon, isn't it?

I'll keep it in mind. Might just content myself with being an NBA follower generally for a while, and just watch games for the fun of watching games. After all, living where I do (Lexington, KY) basketball is huge, but it's college basketball that people live and die for. It's kind of exhausting to be around the Big Blue Nation, believe me. Around here, the best-selling jerseys are for the teams that most recently drafted a Kentucky player: Mavericks in the early 90s when they drafted Mashburn, then Tayshaun Prince and the Pistons, now Rajon Rondo and the Celtics. (Incidentally, Rondo is way, way better than I ever thought he'd be in the pros.)

[greenbriar]

33. spurs baby

parker

timmy


ginobli

big shot bob

[HuckleB]

40. Go with the Blazers.

Plenty of Oregonians give their love to the Seahawks and Mariners. So you can return the favor.

And, yeah, the crew the Blazers have put together is fun to watch, and they appear to be good guys off the court, too.

Sure, when there is a rivalry, it can be bitter, but that's sort of the way with siblings. Besides, you've always been the bigger, wealthier, smarter sibling. So give some love back!

Cheers!

:toast: