Americans fan of Canadian Teams and Canadians fans of American teams...
Okay, so I am a Canadian, and I cheer for 2 American teams, the Philly Flyers and the Boston Bruins.
I have noticed, when I meet someone new or something, and the subject of hockey comes, and I mention I cheer Boston and Philly, I generally hear something like this "How can you cheer for one of those teams, you need to cheer for a Canadian team."
I was curious, if this happens to OTHER Canadians who are fan of American teams... AND if this happens in the USA at all, so an American who is a fan of a Canadian team do people say to you "How can you cheer for a Canadian team, you live in America" For some reason, I can't see this happen to often, not sure why, I just don't think its a big an issue for American hockey fans VS Canadian hockey fans. Canadians always seem to take things perosnal with hockey like "bringing the cup back to Canada" its ridicolous sometimes.
I think it is silly, but it is something that I generally do hear, so would like to know the concencus and if it occurs with American fans too.
Apart from geography (ie. parts of Southern Ontario cheering for Buffalo & Detroit because it's their local team) I think it comes down to cheering for individual players more than teams.
I've never seens so many Washington & Pittsburgh "fans" like I have in the past few years and certainly not when they were the doormats of the league for 6 or 7 years.
My Dad is a huge hockey fan and diehard Leafs fan, but his favourite player was Bobby Clarke. For whatever reason, that always stuck with me and I've been a fan since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
I grew up in MI my entire life and have been an Ottawa Senators fan since 1993 (since Ive been 10) I did have the pleasure of getting CBC, but I really started to become a big hockey fan that year, and I never liked the Red Wings at all, Ottawa was a new expansion team, so I pretty much adopted them as my team and the rest is history.
As an American I've never cared where a team is located...actually I think it becomes easier for me to appreciate a Canadian team than another American team since I have less hostilities to the cities, the Oilers are my (very distant) second favorite team.
Apart from geography (ie. parts of Southern Ontario cheering for Buffalo & Detroit because it's their local team) I think it comes down to cheering for individual players more than teams.
I've never seens so many Washington & Pittsburgh "fans" like I have in the past few years and certainly not when they were the doormats of the league for 6 or 7 years.
You mean bandwagon fans? Pay no attention to them. They will disappear once Crosby and Ovechkin retire.
As a canadian, I usually root for canadian teams first. However, I then find myself rooting for cities, not players or teams. IE: Minnesota is my favorite NHL and NFL (american) team.
I grew up in Toronto. I used to love the Canadiens (since, I considered them winners especially compared to the Leafs) but when Roy was traded, I realized that it was not the team who I was interested in. Thus, my loyalties shifted towards the Avs. When my favorite players either retired (Roy, Sakic) or left (Forsberg), I still remained loyal. I'm happy with the new core that the Avs are developing with Stastny, Duchene, O'Reilly, and Wolski. After suffering through last years horrendous injuried plagued season, it's been great to see them racking up wins even though I know it won't last.
I definitely got/get a lot of flack for being a Canadian Ducks fan. Part of it is definitely the success of the team and my, er, over-the-top passion for the team, but yeah, a lot of people question why I don't cheer for a Canadian team. In 2007, though, it was fun to point out that no team had more Canadians than the Ducks. That sure shut them up.
I grew up with Chicago being a Norris rival to the leafs, and got to see them play a lot more. It started with loving to watch Savard, and just grew from that. Whenever they are done, I usually always cheer for a Canadian team if they are available.
From what I've seen I couldn't disagree with you more. I catch a lot of flack for being a nucks fan living in edmonton but nobody has an issue with my other 2 teams, NJD and Philly. The rivalries are pretty intense between west coast canadian teams and I've actually had people tell me they could notc cheer for the canucks, even if they're the last canadian team in the playoffs. Posted via Mobile Device
You mean bandwagon fans? Pay no attention to them. They will disappear once Crosby and Ovechkin retire.
Its kind of funny you say this, since many fans became fans of who they are today in previous generations due to the superstar talent on teams. One fan already mentioned as a kid he was a big roy fan, and thus an Avs fan to this day. How many kids and fans are Oiler fans to this day because of Gretzky? Pens fans from Mario? etc etc.
Why is Ovechkin and Crosby any different, because youre older now?
Canadian Devil fan here, and I've been a Devils fan since I was a little child. As a kid, I didn't know who the Canadian and American teams were. I fell in love with the team and never stopped supporting them.
__________________ "Paul Martin might be the best defenseman in the league, and no one's ever heard of him..." - Bob McKenzie
From what I've seen I couldn't disagree with you more. I catch a lot of flack for being a nucks fan living in edmonton but nobody has an issue with my other 2 teams, NJD and Philly. The rivalries are pretty intense between west coast canadian teams and I've actually had people tell me they could notc cheer for the canucks, even if they're the last canadian team in the playoffs. Posted via Mobile Device
that is funny, its exactly how I feel about the leafs and habs... would never ever cheer for either of them
I think I am more anti leafs though due to living in "Leaf Nation"... and my roommate is a HUGE Habs fan so I have seen like 75% of their games the last 3 years... so I guess I would say for me Habs>Leafs.. but its like choosing from wanting to eat vomit or eating dog ****... same thing, just one you dont have to chew as much...lol (of course I am joking, I respect the fact they have storied history and bring a lot of tradition to the game... and I LOVE watching Leafs VS Habs games even though I hate both teams... its always entertaining)
Its kind of funny you say this, since many fans became fans of who they are today in previous generations due to the superstar talent on teams. One fan already mentioned as a kid he was a big roy fan, and thus an Avs fan to this day. How many kids and fans are Oiler fans to this day because of Gretzky? Pens fans from Mario? etc etc.
Why is Ovechkin and Crosby any different, because youre older now?
I'm not talking about pens fans in Pittsburgh or Caps fans in Washington. I'm talking pens/caps fans in Canada. There has been a boom of these fans since the superstars got drafted. These fans (atleast in my immediate circle of friends) fit a certain profile, and if they do not have a winning team or superstar to cheer for, they will move onto another team once these players retire.
I support the Pens, but since most of my family live there and I've always been a fan of them people that know me don't question it. But I grew up watching Lemieux and Jagr and they were my favorite players so I followed the team because of it from a really young age. Been pretty much obsessed since.
Canadian and cheer for the Bruins and LA Kings. Mostly because there are no Canadian teams around where I live, and the closest team is actually the Wild, who are 4 hours away. Plus I was born into a Bruins family.
I've lived in Montreal my whole life. I used to root for the Habs, but the Guy Lafleur forced retirement sent me away as a fan forever. Since then, I've basically been a fan of two American teams, the Pens and the Kings. The only other Canadian team I've been a fan of was the old Nordiques. I like or root for a wide variety of teams on any given day, but it usually stems more from their playing style than geography. Personally, I find it easy to root for any team if they entertain you. This is why I haven't rooted for the Devils since, well, the Sean Burke/christmas-tree days.
Here in Montreal, people will give you a hard time all the time about not being a fan of the local team. Over here, it's less about rooting for a Canadian team vs. American team, and more about either you're a Habs fan or you're against them. That said, there are more and more Montrealers that root for a different team. It's so much easier to do so now. If you purchase Center Ice, you can easily become attached to any NHL team. And for those that never saw the likes of Lafleur, Robinson, Dryden, Shutt, Savard, Lapointe, et al, it's far easier to root for someone else around here.
Edit: Habs fans fairly often will question why I am a Penguins fan. The easiest rebuttal is, "the greatest NHL player ever who was born in Montreal owns the team."
I could never cheer for an American team. That's partly why I can't follow the NFL..
The feeling is mutual. I have no desire to even visit Canada, never mind root for one of their teams. It's nothing personal against the country, but I've been to upstate New York and froze to death. Canada is colder than that, therefore my ass is staying in Las Vegas!!!!
I'm not talking about pens fans in Pittsburgh or Caps fans in Washington. I'm talking pens/caps fans in Canada. There has been a boom of these fans since the superstars got drafted. These fans (atleast in my immediate circle of friends) fit a certain profile, and if they do not have a winning team or superstar to cheer for, they will move onto another team once these players retire.
Some do, some don't. But that's been happening since forever. You don't think there were a ton of people in Canada that became Red Wings fans after they first Saw Gordie Howe play? Or how many folks from Southern Ontario became Bruins fans because of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito? Heck, when I was 10 years old and I first saw Wayne Gretzky play, I was hooked.
Most Penguins fans from Montreal date back to 1984 and when Mario Lemieux arrived. Some hopped aboard in the 1990's when Jaromir Jagr joined the team, and then there was a new wave after the lockout due to Sidney Crosby. Like everything else in life, some stick with their teams and some move on once the superstars leave. This phenomenon isn't exclusive to the new generation of Crosby and Ovechkin fans. Think soccer. How many sudden fans of Real Madrid are there this year, now that they have both Ronaldo and Kaka?
This is a by-product of sport today. We fall in love with players just as much or as often as the teams. Back in earlier days, it was pretty easy to be loyal to your team. Nobody went anywhere. We live in a far different climate today. The recent Brett Favre-Packers split is perhaps the best example.
