(01-29-2014 10:01 PM)nert Wrote: Why no particular team? Because there are many teams I follow/enjoy/root for.
I had one undergrad school (Utah) - but I live nowhere near it now (or even since) and spent a total of 4 years of my life in its state (actually, a bit less). It isn't "my state". I didn't grow up rooting for my alma mater. Due to distance, I dont really get much (media) info on the teams - and couldn't name more than a handful of players on the team in any given season. Also - I'm basically a college FB fan - and they were really a basketball school (at least when I was there), unless we were playing BYU or UtahSt. I still try and catch those games if they are on.
3 graduate schools (2 play college FB, one does not play Div 1 sports) and I haven't lived near any of them in quite some time either. I've taught at a few div 1 schools. Are they any less "my school" than the one I attended undergrad or the 3 I attended as a grad student? They all feel like they are a part of me...a little anyway.
Now I watch and follow a school within a reasonable drive from me that my friends and family enjoy. We go to games together. I don't think they've played any of "my schools" in FB since I've watched them, so competing loyalties have not been an issue. Someday, my kids will attend a college - or two... and I''ll enjoy and root for them too (unless they go to OhioU - which I would pay them not to).
That's much how it's all evolved for me. Although I have pulled for Texas since I knew what football and baseball were, I can't think of one family member who went there.
In my immediate family (parents and brothers), we have attended TCU, UTEP, USC, UCLA, Kentucky, Tulane, Indiana, Oklahoma, Appalachian State, Clinch Valley College (named something else now, I think), Oklahoma City, Washington University (St. Louis), Georgetown, Ole Miss and William Carey University (And I am sure I've left a couple out). So a part of me will have some level of rooting interest for them, but none could be considered "my team," except William Carey, an NAIA school with no football. Having lived in Pennsylvania as a child, I liked Penn State (lived an hour or so away) and having lived in North Carolina, I liked Duke (brother's are Tarheel fans though). They aren't "my teams," but I am generally pleased when they do well.
My years as a sportswriter desensitized me to my own preferences for a long time, since I was supposed to be impartial regarding local schools. But knowing so many players gave me a greater appreciation for the young men and women playing the games and the work they have to put in to be successful. While I will state my preference for certain schools, like Texas, Ole Miss, USM and LSU, ultimately I find myself rooting for the individuals who play the games and that's why I put in my profile that I root for players. It's a lot simpler than saying I have a rooting interest in multiple teams and also explains how I can pull for a player I know, like Deion Branch, for example, but never root for Louisville, the team.