The Problem with Team Preferences

by DarrenM on Aug 20, 2009 1:16 PM EDT

I begin with a series of questions: If your favourite team traded away all of its players, prospects, and management to another NHL team in exchange for their entire roster, does your favourite team change? Does your answer change if your team swaps with the Islanders? How about the Red Wings?

While the offseason is a break from watching hockey, it also provides a time for reflection on our bizarre obsession with a single professional sports team. In every major team sport, almost every fan has "their team." But this dedication, while noble, is extremely problematic. Why is it that we like a team even though their on-ice performance is abysmal? Why do we subject ourselves to the pain of watching this pitiful team lose over and over again, when it is no longer entertaining?

The first response the average fan gives is loyalty, but that's hardly a standalone reason. Who are you loyal to? It's clearly not the players or the administration, because both are a rotating cast of characters that is rarely static. Is being loyal to this abstract idea of a team, held together only by its name, crest, and its participation in the same sport, a true reflection of loyalty when the players, coaches, and team strategies are constantly evolving and changing? It's hard to think of other areas where this idea of loyalty remains. The closest parallel I could find would be to political parties, but there is at least an overarching philosophy that retains followers. The same can't be said of a hockey team.

So, if not loyalty, then what is it? The easiest way to determine this is to start at the beginning: why we pick a team in the first place. For most fans, they like the local team, or the team that their parent or grandparent liked. While these are seemingly different reasons for liking a team, they both have their origins in the same concept: camaraderie. It's a lot more fun to be a fan with someone than by yourself, and so picking a team that allows you to cheer along with others is a natural instinct for those looking to pick a favourite team. But why then, does a Montrealer remain a Canadiens fan when they move to Vancouver? I know people who move at the age of 8 who retain their original favourite team, despite the fact that they'd have a better hockey experience by cheering for the local team, where they could see more games live and find more fans to cheer along with.

And what about those outliers? What about the few, like myself, who ignored the local team that his father cheered for (I'm using local as loose term here, as I hardly consider Vancouver, a city that is a 16 hour drive away from my hometown, to be local) and instead felt drawn towards a team in a city that he still hasn't visited? I knew of no other Ottawa Senators fans when I picked up the black, red, and gold, and chose the team because of a guy named Daniel Alfredsson who I just had to cheer for. By all accounts, I should stop liking this team after Alfredsson leaves: the team will have hardly any of the players that made me love the team initially, and will likely destined for mediocrity without a man whose proverbial glue holds the team together. Yet, it seems almost certain that I will remain a fan, if for no other reason than the fact that I have personally chosen to identify myself as a Senators fan.

This brings me back to the original question - whether I am still an Ottawa fan if they swap players and management with another team - and it's something I cannot answer. A part of me says that my favourite team would then be the other franchise that now houses the Ottawa Senators players that I've invested myself into, but it's hard to reconcile that with my second paragraph, where I admit that I will like the Senators even when the team is completely unrecognizable to the one they field today. And neither team would be local, nor offer the camaraderie of close friends or family members joining me in cheering on the team. But even without all those things, it would still be my team - and maybe that's all that matters.

UPDATE: thanks to user dzuunmod, here's a great video that shows the absurdity of professional sports team attachment, and an Onion article that covers similar ground. Thanks for the heads up!

Tweet Comment 13 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Read More: favourite teams, Ottawa Senators

Comments

nieuwendyk

i started following the stars when they were pitiful
then i latched on to nieuwendyk as my favorite player
i have a new jersey devils hat ive only work a handful of times
while dallas is my team to follow, most of us have our handful of players we follow
with an element of loyalty and attachment.. at least that’s kind of how i see things

by Jeff Peppers on Aug 20, 2009 2:27 PM EDT reply actions

The absurdity of sports team preferences: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN1WN0YMWZU

by dzuunmod on Aug 20, 2009 2:46 PM EDT reply actions

That was fantastic. I put it in the story, giving you credit for the find. Thanks!

by DarrenM on Aug 20, 2009 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Glad you like them!

I explain my attachment to the Sens this way: the franchise was granted when I was a 10 year old boy living in Nepean, and honestly, there was nothing bigger to me at the time than the NHL. And that a team would be coming to my city was just mind-blowing. My dad and I had tickets to six games in the first season at the Civic Centre, and the Sens amazingly won 3 of them, and I was totally sold from then on. And since then, the memories have just been too great for me to give up: skpping class with my friend to stand in line at Ticketmaster the day that the very first playoff tickets went on sale, watching Alfie pot one in the playoffs a year or two after that to beat the Sabres in OT, or going back to Ottawa in ‘07 to watch that one game we won in the finals at Local Heroes with friends and family. It doesn’t even matter that we lost the next two – the memories of that night are enough for me. And I don’t think I’ve ever loved my hometown as much as I did on that trip home.

The franchise can basically treat me – as a fan – like crap for the rest of my life, and I’ll probably still stay loyal.

I lived in Montreal up until recently, so I still had access to all the Sportsnet games. But, now I’m out on the other side of the country and Don Taylor and John Garrett cannot force me to care about the Canucks. Looking at the national TV schedule that came out yesterday, I think it’s pretty clear that I’m going to either need to splurge on Centre Ice, or at least see if there’s some way out here that I can get both RDS and RIS.

by dzuunmod on Aug 20, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Are you in the Greater Vancouver area? If so, we should get together to watch a Sens game sometime this fall.

by DarrenM on Aug 20, 2009 3:52 PM EDT up reply actions

You know, I would love to if I weren’t up here in Fort St. John. Thanks anyway, though!

by dzuunmod on Aug 20, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Ouch, the Fort.

by DarrenM on Aug 20, 2009 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Tell me about it. I moved here for my better half in February, and we have both had it with this place. We’re both lookin’ to get out but soon.

by dzuunmod on Aug 20, 2009 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions

And one more, from the Onion: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33426

by dzuunmod on Aug 20, 2009 2:49 PM EDT reply actions

Francis made me like the Hurricanes, but I wasn’t loyal enough to him to cheer for Toronto when he went there. I usually just deny that ever happened.

The Sens are still my team, though, and I’ve had plenty of favourites go through, while still cheering on the team. I liked Rachunek and McAmmond, but still cheer for the team after they were traded. Alfredsson, though, is tops.

www.silversevensens.com

by Peter Raaymakers on Aug 20, 2009 3:17 PM EDT reply actions

This is an amazing post! I’m a Sens fan living south of Detroit, and to be honest, I’m not sure where my loyalty to the Senators originated. I started following them in 2004 and they were always entertaining to me, being a strong offensive team and boasting great, young talent. Still, as old regulars have moved on and the roster continues to transform year after year, I still find myself cheering for them as my favorite. Some of it might have to do with memories, some to do with the roster itself, and many other notables. Living near Detroit, I come across so many bandwagon fans that are so willing to brag about the Wings, yet wouldn’t know the first thing when it comes to their roster or team history, which I know front to back. This makes it hard for me to be a Wings fan, even though I admire many players on their roster.

This is very true for teams of disinterest as well. I’m sure everyone knows how stale the Battle of Ontario has become recently. With many of the key players in the rivalry sporting new addresses/retired (Chara, McCabe, Tucker, Sundin, Domi, etc.), I feel we have resorted to simply hating fans of the Leafs because we’re still hashing up old memories of our once prolific rivalry. Why is Alfredsson still booed in Toronto? Tucker isn’t there anymore. Why are we a rivalry? Two non-playoff teams can’t have that serious of a relationship at this point.

I feel that outside of the Senators, I cheer for other teams based on the players they carry. Washington, Boston, Edmonton, Philadelphia, Chicago, Columbus, Anahiem, Los Angeles, Carolina, Vancouver, and Florida (yes, Florida) all catch my eye because of the rosters they carry and how entertaining each and every one of them are. On the other hand, I have had a hard time following some of my old favorites such as Dallas, San Jose, and the Rangers because of unsettling roster moves and team character (Wade Redden, anyone?).

Sorry for being so extensive, but I’ve been waiting for someone to mention this for a while. It’s a tricky question on why we follow the teams we do, but realistically, everyone has their own reasons whether honorable or not. I guess that’s what makes each rivalry and each hockey game that much more entertaining, because there are that many more stubborn people to cheer with and cheer against. Word.

by Daggs28907 on Aug 20, 2009 6:09 PM EDT reply actions

Wow, thanks for the great reply.

Something your post reminded me about is how I would watch playoff series, and for some reason, I’d instantly pick a team I wanted to win, without explanation. For example, I surprised myself by cheering for the Pens over the Caps during that series, despite the fact that I wouldn’t consider either team a favourite, and would have, a week before, assumed I’d cheer for Washington. Yet the series started, and I cheered for the Pens.

Bizarre.

by DarrenM on Aug 20, 2009 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions

an incredible post. i've faced the same conflict you have.

as a binghamton fan, it realistically is always a possibility that our home team my not be in a few years. ottawa may move out of here and on to a new market. just like they left new haven in the 90’s. this wasn’t something that conflicted me until about 07 after the cup run. i thought "is there really any point of me rooting for this team if they move the senators out of binghamton. it wasn’t until march 08 when i took my first trip to ottawa to see them play the penguins. i became a sens fan because i was amazed to see players like spezza and kelly develop in front of my eyes to become players in the world’s best hockey league right in my home town, they made me love the game. once i made my way to ottawa for the first time, it became much more than just that. to me, ottawa was greatest place to be. i love the city, the people, the cultures, canada in gereral, everything about the place, everything. i’ve even considered going to college in ottawa for two years in the near future. getting to the arena, it was the atmosphere, and the fans, the hockey, again everything about it that made me feel like i was watching my first game in binghamton. i realized that it wasn’t just about the senators, it’s about the city of ottawa. when i root for the sens, i feel like a part of ottawa, a citizen, a canadian. and because i’ve fallen in love with ottawa, i feel like it’s my job to despise a maple leaf fan, or a hab fan. i know now for sure that if the senators did leave binghamton left. i would still be a senators fan. because it’s not just the players to me, or the standings. the senators made me love the game, and at this point, i don’t think i can imagine cheering for another team.my allegiance is with the senators AND the city of ottawa, where it’s always been and now will always be.

and i’m sorry, i’m not proofreading, but i can tell this post is going to sound a bit over the top.

by xBKx14 on Aug 21, 2009 2:01 AM EDT reply actions