Northern teams vs. Southern Teams

[Excel Zero]

I woulda put this in the soapbox but this is completely sports related so here we go.

Looking at the Woot Woot post about the Cubbies, where Shan and I talk about the Cubs and Silver throws the Tigers in there, it raised a philisophical question....

Did anyone ever notice that Northern team fans in most sports are so much more die hard than southern teams? You always see teams like the Chicago Cubs (MLB), the Buffalo Bills (NFL), and others sticking with their team regardless of the team's outcome. I noticed this especially in the more arctic areas; Green Bay, Chicago, New York, Minnesota. Two examples...

The Cubs: I have rarely seen Wrigley Field not packed despite weather and despite a poor season. hmmmm

Example 2

The Cowboys: My head hurts when someone mentions this team aloud. I see fans all over the place that never even mention the Cowboys when they are losing. Then if they get into the conference or even the SuperBowl, these 'fans' comes crawling out of the wood work like a bunch of termites to claim that they have been fans of this team for years and years.

Well there ya go....and here is the question, if you also notice this problem, why do you think it happens this way??

Excel

[Shandriz]

I know how you mean! My mom is the biggest Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan every-- and you want to know the reason she gives as to why?

"They didn't have any fans back when I first started liking them. Because they always lost. But I didn't care-- I cheered for them because noone else did."

And so now they're doing really good and she's lovin' it, but she'd still be standing by them even if they weren't ^_^ Just like me'n the Cubs!

[Shino]

tomorrow night I'm seeing the Boston Red Sox take on the Atlanta Braves in interleague play!

[Silver Adept]

Whip 'em, Sox.

That being said, generally the northern areas, with the exceptions of New York and Chicago, have one team per sport in the area. Having two makes them a bit fiercer, rival-wise, but it could also be the mentality of the people there - a lot of these teams have been around for a while and have History and Tradition. Plus, the people are more likely to take a team and stick with it rather than bounce around with what's fashionable.

Everybody up here was complaining that the media was saying that the Lakers were sucking in the basketball playoffs and nobody was giving credit to the hard work of the Pistons. Even after the Pistons whupped 'em, it was still "The Lakers sucked pretty hardcore", not "The Pistons whupped 'em."

So perhaps we're a little more loyal up here because there's a lot of old teams up here.