College football fans: A question

[Tommy_Carcetti]

I was hoping for some input as to a question I had about a certain type of college football fan. Maybe someone can enlighten me in these regards.

I was wondering what is the rationale of a fan of a college team who:

a. Is not a student at the college whose team he/she is rooting for;
b. Is not an alumnus of the college whose team he/she is rooting for;
c. Does not have a close family member who is a student or alumnus of the college whose team he/she is rooting for; and
d. Does not live--nor has ever lived--in close proximity to the college whose team he/she is rooting for.

I've come across these fans and I just don't understand them. Myself, I'm more of a pro football fan. This is in great part due to the fact that I went to one Stetson University, who hasn't fielded a football team in over four decades, and even when it did have a football team, it wasn't very good. I'll follow the University of Maryland lightly, since I grew up in Maryland and they actually paid my dad's paycheck, but their football performance has always been spotty at best. Living in Florida now, I just look at the intra-state rivalries (UF, FSU, UMiami) with a sense of detached amusement more than anything else.

And unlike the pros, rooting for a college rarely is attributed to rooting for the players on the team, as most notable college football players have about two years to shine and then they are gone.

But I'll ever so often come across some guy (for example) who lives in Arizona but is a die-hard Michigan fan, even though he's not a Michigan student or graduate and has no attachments to Michigan.

Maybe I can try to understand the psyche of these fans. Right now it just seems a little foriegn to me.

[Pierre.Suave]

1. Being a Michigan Alum

I dont understand that either. It is weird to see someone that has absolutely ZERO affiliation with the school to be wearing Michigan stuff from head to toe and rooting for the team louder than any student ever has.

[1gobluedem]

2. I don't think it's all that odd

Sometimes it's a hometown school or maybe someone in your family went there long ago or maybe you just think it's cool. I am also a Michigan alum and I think it's great that people like my school --until they begin acting like jerks.

I didn't attend school in the Ivy League and neither did anyone in my family but I like the schools and the league and root for them against whomever they might be playing (and have my faves within the league too). Personally, I find college football much more exciting than the pros at almost any level; the passion, pride, and pageantry is great.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. College football is good if you've got a team to root for

If you don't have a team that you are personally associated with in some way or another, however, it loses a lot of its cache. That's why I wish my college had a football team because i feel I miss out on a lot of it. And I don't feel like glooming onto a team that I am not associated with.

So all I'm left with is the pros.

[MrScorpio]

3. I'm not a Michigan alum, but a born and bred Detroiter

A Wolverine fan by default... Grew up watching them and loving THE VICTORS.

However, I can't explain your friend's rationale at all.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

13. That's my story too

Mr. S- Born at Mount Carmel, went to St.Cecilia's for a while then to Henry Ford. MGOBLUE!!!!!!!!!!!

[madinmaryland]

4. I grew up in Ohio, and though I did not go to Ohio State,

I have been a lifelong Buckeye Fan!!1!!

[sasquatch]

6. Well I'm a Buckeye fan and can't afford to attend Ohio State

My college(Wright State) doesn't have a football team.

[Burma Jones]

7. I went to a very small college with a football team

In a lot of ways I prefer College Games to Pro Games. You mention one of them, rooting for a team rather than an individual. I prefer the atmosphere at a college game. I grew up on College Campuses, Indiana University as my Pop got his B.S, UNC Chapel Hill as he got his Masters and Tulane University as he got his PhD, so I attended a lot more College Games than Pro Games. I like the noise at College Games, I prefer Marching Bands and screaming students to pre-recorded music pumping over the loudspeakers and sullen old drunks pissed off that their team is losing. Also, having been a Redskins fan, I hate the constant squeezing of every buck out of you by the owners.

But, I don't dress up and do the whole "look at me, I have all my favorite team's merchandise" thing, NCAA or NFL - I have a Knox College Sweatshirt though........

[NightWatcher]

8. I'm a huge UGA bulldog fan

I lived in Athens for a while. I had friends who attended the school, and I considered going to classes there, but never did. My family had long since been huge fans as well.

I think that it is much more admirable to have loyalty to a school sports program instead of a pro sports team full of millionaires. For me it is all about school/team loyalty.

btw I go to 5-7 games a year and just got back yesterday from the game.

[hellbound-liberal]

9. I used to live in Florida and I knew a lot of people who loved the Gators

simply because they loved college football and the Gators were good for a long time back in the 70s. I think living in Florida was close enough for these people to root for them. I think a lot of other people liked Miami because of their "swagger" (which is the same reason I couldn't stand them) I think a lot of other people like teams because of the coach (Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, Steve Spurrier, etc.) I live near Richmond, VA right now and I can't understand why Va Tech merchandise is all over the place but UVA stuff is harder to find even though Charlottesville is right down the road. I think it basically boils down to people wanting to root for the winner even though they have no connection to them. This also explains why Yankee merchandise is popular all over the country and the Dallas Cowboys used to be considered "America's team".

[fishwax]

10. sometimes it can be for the players, or for several other reasons

It's true that college players usually only shine at a college for a couple of years, but that can be enough to hook you when you're young. I have a friend, for instance, who has never been to Oklahoma, but he started following Oklahoma State when Barry Sanders was there and is still a fan today.

One of my teachers in high school was a big Penn State fan because he admired Paterno. As far as I know he'd never been to Pennsylvania nad had no ties to the school.

The first college basketball game I ever remember seeing was a Wake Forest Game when I was six. I don't even remember who they were playing, but it was a really exciting game and they won, and I was a fan of Wake as a kid, even though I've never been to North Carolina. I certainly wouldn't call myself a die-hard fan, but even today I generally cheer for them when they're on, both in football and basketball. :)

[GOPisEvil]

11. I don't get people who went to one school but cheer like an alumnus for another.

I live in Austin, home to the University of Texas. This place is THICK with t-shirt wearing bandwagon jumpers who have no tie to the university other than living in Austin. But what really gets me is when people say, "I went to X University, but I cheer for Texas." WTF?! Cheer for your own damned school.

[petronius]

12. My guesses: really cool uniform or team name, a desire to be different,

or someone who just jumps on the winning band-wagon.

[huskerlaw]

14. I was born and raised in Nebraska

and went to the University for 7 years (2 degrees). So yeah...that explains my fanhood.

I knew lots of people who "married into it"...were from some other state, then married a Husker fan and therefore became one themselves. But I don't get being a fan of a team you have ZERO connection to. That's just weird.

[Yavin4]

15. If You're Born and Raised In A State Without a Pro Team

then you adopt the college team as your team. As big as the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL all are, they're not in every state in the country. Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Connecticut, Idaho, West Va., So. Carolina, etc., these states don't have pro teams in any sport. Consequently, they have rabid college sports fans.