Player fan vs. Team fan

[foundhockey]

I'm a Caps fan now, but I came to the Caps as an Ovie fan first. I want Ovie to succeed, naturally. But I want the Caps to succeed too. I want the cup for the Caps and for Ovie. I worry that Ovie will be like Iglina some day, chasing a cup because his first team couldn't pull it together. I'd cheer for Ovie if that happens, just as Calgary fans are cheering for Iggy no matter where he goes. But argh, I don't want that for Ovie. I want him to win the Cup as a Capital!

I've seen talk of team fans vs. player fans. Is it necessarily a bad thing if you prefer the player to the team? I've often wondered what I'd do if Ovie was traded. I've come to the conclusion that I'd still root for the Caps, always! But Ovechkin brought me to hockey as a fan, and if he does move I'll be his fan wherever he goes.

In any case, I believe any fan--whether it be for team or player--is good for hockey.

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[BrooklynCapsFan]

I started off as an Ivan Ciernik fan and I'm still here.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

I started off as an Ivan Ciernik fan and I'm still here.

Same. Still hunting for that game-worn jersey.

 

[itsjustsurvival]

As I've gotten older, I have drifted more toward watching games for players more so than teams. But for the most part still a Caps/Stars fan.

 

[ChibiPooky]

Added poll. I have my favorite players, but I'm a fan of a team first and a player second.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

Gotta support the team.

 

[Jedgi]

Team

 

[malyk]

Players come and go, teams stay.*

I grew up in NoVa, was introduced to hockey by watching the caps, parents had season tickets for a few years in the 80s and i played for the little caps. I'll always be a caps fan. Lots of memories there.

Ovi is great. It's amazing what has happened to the team/city since he's arrived. But he'll be gone some day and they'll be new players to root for.

* Generally. heh.

 

[txpd]

capitals fan. I loved bruce. I have not watched one ducks game other than v the caps. if ov was traded, I would not care one way or the other about him.

I hate skinner. I suppose that if he ended up a cap, I would find a way to cheer for him.

edit: if you watch for the specific player without regard to the team, then you really don't care who wins. Since, "you play to win the game", I would see no value in watching a game where the outcome didn't matter to me. wasted time.

gretzky was great, but when his team played the caps, I wanted him shutdown with no highlights. I was not watching the game to see him play.

 

[SashaSemin28]

Semin is gone, I am still cheering for this team for some reason.

 

[Raikkonen]

Ted is the glue, guys.

 

[g00n]

Team first, players second. Name on the front etc etc RIP Herb

 

[FloridaCap]

Semin is gone, I am still cheering for this team for some reason.

That was your chance, man!

 

[Midnight Judges]

Grew up in Nova rooting for all the home teams.

 

[g00n]

Well nobody's voting "player" and I doubt anyone would actually admit it anyway. But I do think there are a lot of people who put their favorite players ahead of the team. That goes for any team, any message board, any sport.

 

[FloridaCap]

Well nobody's voting "player" and I doubt anyone would actually admit it anyway. But I do think there are a lot of people who put their favorite players ahead of the team. That goes for any team, any message board, any sport.

I can't even have a second team I root for, in any sport, so I would have a tough time rooting for any other team. With that said, if Ovi was traded, it would be difficult to root for the Caps in the short term.

 

[g00n]

I can't even have a second team I root for, in any sport, so I would have a tough time rooting for any other team. With that said, if Ovi was traded, it would be difficult to root for the Caps in the short term.

If Ovechkin was traded on draft day I would probably howl at the moon with criticisms of the people who got us to that point, but I would not be any less of a Caps fan. I was a fan before Ovechkin, before Ted, before GMGM, before the Cup Finals run, before Rock the Red or any of that. Many of us were, and we've all seen our favorite players traded, retire, or move on. That's pro sports.

 

[OviTaughtMe]

If you become a fan because of a particular player and stay after he leaves, that's cool. However, I know a lot of ppl that follow a player from team to team. That's pretty wack

 

[RandyHolt]

Gloves asked me to vote player for him. No wonder Miller and Varly requested trades lol.

And he gave me a used dirty scratched DVD for my efforts.

“My toys are all sticky.”

--Ralph Wiggum

 

[usiel]

Team fan of course. One admires the individual players but once you have followed a team from when a prospect is drafted to when they retire its just the cycle of life with team sports.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

Team fan since the 83-84 season.

 

[OV Rocks]

Team first, but if Ovi went to another team that I can tolerate (there are very few) I would want him to succeed and probably get a jersey/t-shirt

 

[Capitals1974]

Ted is the Semin, guys.

 

[HockeyGuy73]

Sorry to crash your poll, but I voted player. I was a huge Kolzig fan, and enjoyed watching Bondra and Gonchar as well. Caps are still my favorite Eastern Conf team. Right now, I would love to have Joel Ward on the Blues team.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Semin is gone, I am still cheering for this team for some reason.

Same here. I was extremely bitter when he left. I started following the Canes last year because of that.

I still care about Ovi, Nicky, MoJo and Kuzya though. If the Caps were to win the Cup, I'd be really happy. After all, it's my second favorite team. I'm a Habs fan naturally, because it's my home town.