Have you ever switched allegiance from one club to another?
- Thread starter Power Man
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MrFunnyWobbl
GOAT
- Jan 3, 2012
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maclean
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2014
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Power Man
Grrrr
Ugmo
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- Oct 24, 2011
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I have zero respect for people who claim to be Bayern fans but aren't from Bavaria. I just can't do it.
As for me, I can't say I've ever switched allegiances. As far as MLS goes I was nominally a New England fan in the first few years of the league because that's where I grew up, but by this point I don't really care and follow the league as a whole.
Big McLargehuge
Fragile Traveler
What about bloodlines? My family is Bavarian, but I've never been there.
Not that I beat my chest about them, but they're the only European club that I have any familial ties to. The other European teams I follow are either much smaller (AGF in Denmark, KuPS in Finland) or largely random (Tottenham became my English team largely because I hated all of their rivals).
Power Man
Grrrr
This is clearly McSorely's way of looking for validation to change his team.
My transition from Madridista to Culé is almost complete
Chloraflora
NOLU
My team may be dreadful more often than not, but they're still my team - even from across the ocean.
COYL
COYL
Ugmo
Registered User
- Oct 24, 2011
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Well if you're from another country and you follow the team, that's fine I guess (unless it comes at the expense of your local team!). I'm mostly talking about Germans who follow them and spurn their own local teams as a result, simply because Bayern never loses. That's just lame.
I know you support LA Galaxy, so obviously I'm not talking about guys like you!
TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
When people talk about "family" connections, what do they mean? If your dad is from there, that's a pretty good reason but if it's like your migrant ancestors who hopped on a boat in 1855 it's kinda silly.
I grew up attending Whitecaps games, so their my Local team that i Love
Yet started Following Fulham when i was 10, as a striker i wanted to watch a Canadian Play at the top level, and my only option was Radzinski at Fulham. Still Love them too this day for their Quirkiness and amazing History.
I trialled at a Couple of Dutch Sides when i switched to a GK at 16 so i follow their progress as well
RKC Walwijk, NAC Breda, Utrecht
Yet started Following Fulham when i was 10, as a striker i wanted to watch a Canadian Play at the top level, and my only option was Radzinski at Fulham. Still Love them too this day for their Quirkiness and amazing History.
I trialled at a Couple of Dutch Sides when i switched to a GK at 16 so i follow their progress as well
RKC Walwijk, NAC Breda, Utrecht
Edo
The Mightiest Club
I used to be a Ronaldo fan boy, but now have switched my allegiance over to Messi.
Does that count?
Does that count?
Power Man
Grrrr
YNWA14
Onbreekbaar
- Dec 29, 2010
- 34,543
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My dad, his brothers and sisters and grandparents (who I'm very close with) were born in Friesland and we still have a ton of family that live there who visit periodically (and they visit the Netherlands quite frequently also). They didn't move here until my dad was in his 20s.
Big McLargehuge
Fragile Traveler
Hey now...1870.
My family takes its Bavarian heritage really seriously, though, which is a pretty easy thing to do in a predominantly German city like Pittsburgh. The way Americans (and Canadians) treat heritage can be very weird to Europeans, but I can't change my upbringing. Melting pot and all.
Again, I'm not a chest thumper about it, but I have a tie with Bayern that I just don't with a Wolfsburg or Mönchengladbach...Pittsburgh as a whole has a pretty deep tie with Bavaria in general...hell, the amusement park there even has a ride called the Bayern Kurve (non-sequitur - this ride uses the same horn as the Edmonton Oilers use, which is why I've had a soft spot for the Oilers since I was a kid).
We agree on most things so don't take my reply necessarily as a reply to you, my posts in here are more to explain where I'm coming from because it's something that a lot of European fans simply can't fathom. There was no local team to support, the only connection I have with England is that I speak English (though like many families in Pennsylvania, I do have relatives spoke strictly German around the house), and I've moved around.
I've had multiple people tell me that supporting anyone but the Pittsburgh Riverhounds is a farce...meanwhile the Riverhounds are a lower level team that didn't exist before 1999, changed stadiums almost annually until they finally got their own stadium, and the
I have a soft spot for the Hounds because they're the 'hometown' team, but they were a joke of a franchise that went through owners as fast as they did high school football stadiums that didn't even exist until I was 13 and were on hiatus when I finally did start to get into the sport. If I were to switch to a Riverhounds fan if they ever were bumped up to the MLS I'd be a turncoat.
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Ugmo
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- Oct 24, 2011
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I understand that to a certain extent, but we're now getting to the point at which Americans (and to a certain extent Canadians) can no longer use the excuse that they had no local (or in this case regional) team to support, now that MLS has been around for 20 years. I just turned 40 - MLS launched when I was 20. People my age and over could conceivably have developed allegiances to other teams elsewhere in the world prior to MLS, but people younger than me are veering dangerously close to snob mentality, where they support massive brands from another country because those teams rarely lose and play in more glamorous leagues. And that's fine too, but expect to be ridiculed for it, you know?
Of course no one says you can't follow teams in more than one league at the same time, or even follow several leagues at the same time. As long as you don't ignore or disparage the league in your own country, there's no problem. I live in Austria. We have a very mediocre league, the teams here rarely survive European competition past Christmas, and everyone is well aware that the quality isn't great. But it's still rare to find people who ignore or disparage the domestic league in favor of a glittery foreign brand. And you don't even have to, because you can support your own crappy local team and a glittery foreign brand if you have to. Problem solved. If you follow a foreign brand exclusively you would generally be considered a poser and be subjected to the appropriate ridicule.
In your specific case, you wouldn't have to watch your allegiance back to the Riverhounds if they ever joined MLS. My guess is you would wish them well and generally wish for them to succeed, but cheer for the Galaxy in direct duels. And that would be perfectly acceptable.
Jeffrey
Registered User
Usually Ronaldo fanboys switch from him to Neymar...
Messi is too pale and not good looking enough for CR7 fanboys.
Wee Baby Seamus
Yo, Goober, where's the meat?
Living in Halifax, I don't really have a local team to support. I support the Whitecaps in the MLS just because I have lots of family on the West Coast, but I have no real local option. So even with the rise of the MLS, the whole local team thing isn't yet universal.
I started liking Real Madrid because Beckham went there, but Man U was always my favourite.
When I was younger I was a fan of the Italians, but I switched to England around 2000 when Beckham was front and centre on the team and Rooney had started moving up the ranks.
When I was younger I was a fan of the Italians, but I switched to England around 2000 when Beckham was front and centre on the team and Rooney had started moving up the ranks.
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maclean
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2014
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I still don't think the "local' aspect is comparable between NA and Europe. My impression is that these MLS teams are built as kind of NHL-style megateams, and that ticket prices are commensurate to that (I could be wrong). In Europe it's not uncommon to be able to see a game for 10€, plus you generally have over 100 years of history in the community.
Another difference is youth teams - growing up in a given community you are likely to know people who played for your local team for a bit at lower levels, and the players that came up through your team's youth programmes will have a strong tie to that community.
Another aspect is that even if you are from a smaller community, you are likely to have a professional team nearby that your community supports. If you take eastern Canada, for example, you have teams in Toronto and Montreal, but much of their respective provinces dislike those cities and the distance and cost of attending a match severely disrupts any potential feeling of affinity. In Europe if you live in a capital city you are almost guaranteed to have two or more teams to choose from from your city alone, thus the "local" identity is potentially narrowed to even your own neighbourhood. Not only can you attend every home game without much difficulty but it's quite easy to travel to away games as well.
Power Man
Grrrr
jimmythescot
Registered User
I was an Aberdeen fan until Ross County were admitted into the Scottish league system in '94. Still have some affection for them, but it's a vague 'hope they beat Celtic/The Rangers' kind of way.
Chimaera
same ol' Caps
I used to enjoy playing with United back on one of the first licensed FIFA games, but I wouldn't say I switched alliegences. They just had players who were good on the console and I hadn't completely written them off.
