People who root for college teams despite never having set foot on the campuses in their lives... (shoe, fan)
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What are your opinions on the "t-shirt fans", the people who follow and cheer for teams of colleges/universities they never attended? Or attend any college/university at all?
I am from the North East originally. NY. Unless people have a connection to a college, the are fans of PROFESSIONAL teams - not college teams.
Caring about a college team where I am from comes with attendance and graduation. People are fans of Syracuse University (NY) U Conn, (CT) Princeton and Rutgers (NJ) - but only if they graduated or a family member did. Otherwise, no.
Being a fan of a team of a college with which one has no connection strikes me as strange - and a bit pathetic.
Well, by the time I became college-age and picked a college which was the best college I could attend for my program, which happened to be a smaller school that didn't have a big national profile, I had already been rooting for my preferred NCAA team for about 12 years or so. Personally, I'd have found it to be more pathetic if I just gave up my decade-plus fandom which I acquired when I was about 6 years old.
Personally, there's just so much I prefer to major (football/basketball) college sports over their pro counterparts. The bands, atmosphere, and playing styles are all things that attracted me then and keep me coming back years later.
What are your opinions on the "t-shirt fans", the people who follow and cheer for teams of colleges/universities they never attended? Or attend any college/university at all?
They're exactly like any fan of a professional team.
What are your opinions on the "t-shirt fans", the people who follow and cheer for teams of colleges/universities they never attended? Or attend any college/university at all?
Sports fanatics are an interesting breed. If it brings them joy, good for them. Who am I to judge?!
Sports fanatics are an interesting breed. If it brings them joy, good for them. Who am I to judge?!
Again, I have no issue with people rooting for a school they didn’t attend. There’s equally a lot of dubiousness to the notion that a fan should root for a “local” professional sports team versus some other. College basketball is my first love among team sports in this country. I also lived in Alabama for a short time. Lots of IU hoop and Bama football fans who didn’t attend the respective universities. No qualm with that. But just don’t shove it down my throat and expect me to be a fan. I’d often get the quizzical look and rhetorical statements suggesting I must be a Purdue/Auburn fan. Umm, no. I love the college spirit in these places. I get that they’re less transient regions. But the Pollyanna attitudes of some were downright obnoxious. Don’t drag me into it and assume I have to be a fan of the school just because I’m here.
What are your opinions on the "t-shirt fans", the people who follow and cheer for teams of colleges/universities they never attended? Or attend any college/university at all?
Funny I have a buddy that is a diehard fan of a school he never attended and would have never been admitted to as a student. He buys regular clothes in school colors (like golf clothes/shoes). I don't get it but then again I graduated from a D1 ACC school and I "think" I own 2 shirts with the team on them.
I can almost see being a fan if you kid attended the school (my buddy's kids didn't/won't). I'm not really a huge sports guy anyway so it doesn't bother me at all.
Well, by the time I became college-age and picked a college which was the best college I could attend for my program, which happened to be a smaller school that didn't have a big national profile, I had already been rooting for my preferred NCAA team for about 12 years or so. Personally, I'd have found it to be more pathetic if I just gave up my decade-plus fandom which I acquired when I was about 6 years old.
Personally, there's just so much I prefer to major (football/basketball) college sports over their pro counterparts. The bands, atmosphere, and playing styles are all things that attracted me then and keep me coming back years later.
I'm with you on this (bolded).
I root for a couple of major colleges (Iowa 1st and Nebraska 2nd) that I didn't attend, in my geographic area. It has more to do with proximity than anything. Often times these 2 universities have players from South Dakota playing on their teams. However, I'm a booster for my (and my kid's) Alma Mater (U. of South Dakota) first and foremost, which is a small D-1 university. Our entire sports budget is less than what a few major universities pay just one head coach.
If you can identify with a particular university for whatever reason, what's wrong with that?
People want to be associated with something and a team they can call their own fits the bill. Throw in some gamblers, band wagon jumpers and fashion favorites people will give sports teams and many other businesses free advertising/marketing.
I agree. It especially annoys me when they refer to everything associated with the team as "we" or "our". I do know a retired college professor who is a die hard fan of a school he actually attended and graduated from (OU) and lives and breathes their football team....he gets a pass though...lol
What are your opinions on the "t-shirt fans", the people who follow and cheer for teams of colleges/universities they never attended? Or attend any college/university at all?
So if you are a kid growing up. Say 12 years old. You are not allowed to pick a college that you root for? I grew up in L.A. By high school everyone is either a UCLA or USC fan. You pick sides. Most will not attend either one. But at least there that is the way it works.
I support the UCLA bruins. I graduated from a state college in California, not UCLA. I root for my team also but they disbanded the football program years ago. I would like to root for my school during football season but that is impossible. And the basketball team is not exactly one of the blue-blood programs. To even make the tournament is a once in a generation thing. So ever since I was 7 or so its go Bruins! Unless the two meet in basketball.
I would imagine that if the major colleges needed to rely only on alum for their fan base their sports programs would go belly up very quickly.
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I do know a retired college professor who is a die hard fan of a school he actually attended and graduated from (OU) and lives and breathes their football team....he gets a pass though...lol