I grew up in Fort Worth, and have been a lifelong Rangers/Mavs/Cowboys fan. My first football memory was SB XIII, I watched the Mavs as an expansion team, and spent countless nights at old Arlington Stadium. I'll die as a fan of those teams.

I've been living in Houston for over 15 years. I have a bunch of kids, and they're starting to watch sports with me. I can root for the Texans most of the time, and especially when they play NFC teams. Rooting for the Rockets is okay, since divisions in basketball don't mean much. It's just hard to root for the Astros because the divisions in baseball are so important.

How do y'all handle raising kids in a different city from where you grew up? I know, first world problems, move to Dallas, etc....

I've actually thought about this same thing, I'm from Houston and root for Houston teams, but have lived in Fort Worth for 5 years now. I have a baby on the way in a couple of months so I won't have to deal with it for a few years, but have wondered how I will deal with it. I'm sure my kids will root for all Dallas teams, so maybe it will be a friendly rivalry in our household.

I would want my kids to be fans of the teams in their home town. Its so much more fun when they can see their favorite players in person on a regular basis.

Grew up in DFW. Lived in Houston for awhile. Didn't have a problem rooting for the Astros then because they were NL, and while I still rooted and followed the Rangers, they were abysmal with an abysmal front office (Hicks/Hart). When the Astros switched to the AL, that changed. Rangers only now.

As for the kids - they should be totally free to root for the hometown team. If they want to root for their parent's team, that's fine as well, but not at the expense of the hometown team.

at the pro level...kids are going to cheer for their home town team. The public schools really play up the local teams -- Texans, Rockets, and Astros. Coordinate events with their marketing offices and so forth.

at the college level however...the kids will tend to follow their parents' alma maters. I disliked Rice and UH early on

One of my best friends is a Packers, Yankees, and Lakers fan.

His dad is from NY and that's the team he grew up watching and rooting for. They lived a long time in LA, and when they lived in China, he said the team he saw the most was the Packers.

It doesn't matter who you identify with in pro sports. If you're from there, it feels better knowing YOUR hometown team won the title.. but there's no litmus test for pro fanhood.


Now.. people who bandwagon on to colleges are the ones who annoy me. You can actually point to a piece of paper that says you earned the right to be a part of that culture. You cant do that with pro sports.

I think you got it backwards. Pro teams the rule is you support your local team. If there is no local team, then you usually end up being a fan of whoever is good when you are a kid.

Colleges, you absolutely can root for whoever you want. Not everyone can attend a college they they love and support. What if their parents went somewhere, and its not a realistic option for them to go? A&M has plenty of supporters you would apparently snub your nose at.

This isn't to say I don't understand your point, or think it's bad, I just think college is really support whoever.

Kind of a spin off, but how far away can you grow up from your hometown team? I grew up 2 1/2 from the metroplex, but consider the rangers my hometown team (always got them on tv). Ironically enough, I was the biggest Moon/oiler fan, and then a titan fan. Going back to another thread, I probably wouldn't have been an Oiler fan had I been at a&m when they were in Houston. I find myself rooting for the Texans, more than the Cowboys, but don't care too much either way. My dad wasn't a Cowboys fan, so neither was I.

Born in Dallas. Fan of all Metroplex teams. I could care less how or why you became a fan of a team (pro or college), as long as you stick with them through thick and thin. Front runner fans are the worst.

Hometown team or GTFO. Seriously.

Born and raised in SA. So Spurs. Went to A&M. So 12th Man. Lived in HOU after college. So Texans kool aid first NFL love. Live in DFW. Stars.

Texas A&M football/basketball



San Antonio Spurs



Houston Texans
Dallas Stars

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One of my best friends is a Packers, Yankees, and Lakers fan.

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Grew up in DFW, but grandfather was only about 90 minutes from the Astrodome. Spent alot of time with him going to games in the summer. Got to see Nolan play in both places as a result.

So for awhile had split loyalties to Rangers/Astros as that didn't conflict.

Then I got to TAMU and met some people from Houston, then joined texags, and now I just wish fail on them and all their teams at a level just short of how much I'd like t.u. to fail.

Spurs are ok by me, neutral feelings on them. Fans tend to be very tolerable.

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I think you got it backwards. Pro teams the rule is you support your local team. If there is no local team, then you usually end up being a fan of whoever is good when you are a kid.

Colleges, you absolutely can root for whoever you want. Not everyone can attend a college they they love and support. What if their parents went somewhere, and its not a realistic option for them to go? A&M has plenty of supporters you would apparently snub your nose at.

This isn't to say I don't understand your point, or think it's bad, I just think college is really support whoever.

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Anybody can move cities and claim fan hood.

My neighbor across the street moved from California 3 years ago. He calls himself a Texan fan since the first day football was back in Houston. It's stupid, but who cares? It's freaking pro sports.

Bandwagon fans are fine in college, and some of them are truly lifelong, dedicated fans who deserve to call a team their own more than some graduates. But the point stands.. Graduates aren't just a fan of that school. You are one of them. It's more than just saying you share the same roads and shopping malls with the players.

I grew up watching all Dallas teams - Rangers, Mavs, Stars, Cowboys (In before someone makes an "Arlington" comment).

But I also went through phases where I liked random teams for a couple years at a time. For example, I liked the Indians for a couple of years. It's like what the heck - they weren't even good then either.

As a Cowboys fan what kind of father would you be if you allowed your kids to grow up rooting for the Texans? Might as well ban birthdays and Christmas too while you're at it.

So a Rangers fan debating on whether to be an Astros fan now that the Astros are in charge again. Typical.

I don't have kids but if I did they would be raised Cubs/Blackhawks/Bears/Bulls fans no matter where we lived.

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So a Rangers fan debating on whether to be an Astros fan now that the Astros are in charge again. Typical.

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Looks like y'all could use the help: http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

Still on the attendance smack talk...good ****ing Lord.

Says the guy talking bandwagon crap...

That bandwagon crap really hits a nerve with you Rangers "lifetime" fans, doesn't it?

Haha no not really, because it's the lamest line of smack talk there is.

"Yeah, well your team is doing so well lately that it has gained a ton of fans!"

Ooooohhhhh sick burn

This thread makes me think of the '07 playoff game between the Yankees and Indians. Lebron was in the stands wearing a freakin' Yankees cap (in Cleveland). The sideline/dugout reporter goes over and talks to him for a bit, and Lebron tells him that his favorite teams are the Yankees, Cowboys, and Bulls. How convenient for someone who grew up in the 90s.

I've never really liked him since then.

I grew up not particularly close to either Houston or Dallas, so I could pretty freely pick whichever team i wanted. As a kid pre-interleague, you could be both a rangers and astros fan and not really have any conflict of interest. I still root for both, but root for the Rangers when they play each other.

With other sports, i loved the Oilers, but never really latched on to the Texans. Spurs in basketball.

Grew up in Katy, so raised on Houston sports. Moved to Phoenix for a few years 10 years ago. Rooted for the D-Backs casually but still diehard Stros. Absolutely never rooted for the Suns, because you know, Kiss of Death, all that, they were a rival to the rockets. Have always been diehard Texans no matter what.

After a short two year stint in DFW (where of course I didn't root for any of those teams), we ended up in OKC. It was the Thunder's first season and we knew we would probably end up here long term, so we became Thunder fans. I divorced the Rockets, but everything else is still H-Town proud. I have a feeling if we moved somewhere else that had MLB and NFL teams, I'd probably still stay true to Houston. Basketball was always my least favorite sport so switching to the Thunder was easiest (mind you when I did this it was 2009 and OKC was 3-23)

I'm in the same boat. Grew up in DFW but now living in Houston, still a Cowboys and Rangers fan. I tried to make a switch over to the Texans, but a win never felt sweet and the losses never hurt. I've become a big JJ Watt fan, but I couldn't care less about the rest of the team sans The Aggies.

Honestly, I think you will start becoming a fan with whatever team your child roots for. I grew up watching the Cowboys and Rangers with my mom on a religious basis. Thanksgiving dinner was around the Cowboys game in the living room and my entire family would be together screaming at whoever. I remember my uncle bringing a new girlfriend over and my grandmother approved because she was wearing a Novacek jersey. The best sports moments are when you are around others.

If you start taking your kid to Houston venues for sports, I hope you celebrate the good moments with him.

If you're going to take your kids to games (and listen to radio, see the news, etc..., you're going to run the risk they become some sort of fan of the local team.

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This thread makes me think of the '07 playoff game between the Yankees and Indians. Lebron was in the stands wearing a freakin' Yankees cap (in Cleveland). The sideline/dugout reporter goes over and talks to him for a bit, and Lebron tells him that his favorite teams are the Yankees, Cowboys, and Bulls. How convenient for someone who grew up in the 90s.

I've never really liked him since then.

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Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Smith, Aikman, Irvin, Deion, etc..., etc... were all over our TVs, all over the newspapers, all over everything.

They were the best, they won championships, they were fun to watch and some of them had the personalities to go with it.

They were who kids wanted to be, they did what kids dreamed of doing, and if we're real honest, as the champions of their profession, they're exactly what you want your kids to be and what you dream of your kids doing.

90s kids don't owe anyone any sort of apology for being fans of those teams

(particularly for becoming a Cowboys fan when you're from Cleveland and the Browns were and continue to be gawd awful. You can't expect Cleveland kids to grow up idolizing Failed First Round QB #496 )

Now, yeah, if they drop those teams cold the second they hit rough waters for another winner, they're probably just bandwagon front runners...and lets be real, Cowboys (and Yankees) were hardly at their 1990s levels at the time of the 2007 World Series.

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This thread makes me think of the '07 playoff game between the Yankees and Indians. Lebron was in the stands wearing a freakin' Yankees cap (in Cleveland). The sideline/dugout reporter goes over and talks to him for a bit, and Lebron tells him that his favorite teams are the Yankees, Cowboys, and Bulls. How convenient for someone who grew up in the 90s.

I've never really liked him since then.

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Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Smith, Aikman, Irvin, Deion, etc..., etc... were all over our TVs, all over the newspapers, all over everything.

They were the best, they won championships, they were fun to watch and some of them had the personalities to go with it.

They were who kids wanted to be, they did what kids dreamed of doing, and if we're real honest, as the champions of their profession, they're exactly what you want your kids to be and what you dream of your kids doing.

90s kids don't owe anyone any sort of apology for being fans of those teams

(particularly for becoming a Cowboys fan when you're from Cleveland and the Browns were and continue to be gawd awful. You can't expect Cleveland kids to grow up idolizing Failed First Round QB #496 )

Now, yeah, if they drop those teams cold the second they hit rough waters for another winner, they're probably just bandwagon front runners...and lets be real, Cowboys (and Yankees) were hardly at their 1990s levels at the time of the 2007 World Series.

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Well written, but I can't agree. You need some sort of connection to a team aside from "they're winners."

I haven't seen this mentioned, so I'll bring it up. I lived in Virginia for a number of years and was stunned at the number of Cowboys fans that I met in Redskins territory (even by Cowboys standards). When I asked them why they were Cowboys fans, the number one answer I got was, "Because my dad/brother/family is Redskins fans". The logic never made sense to me, but I didn't grow up in that region of the country. Anyone else encountered this in other parts of the country?