What Local team do you support?

[Mark in Oshawa]

I think we need a thread where we can talk about our favourite sport and/or local team. Everyone cheers for a pro team of some sort probably whether it be the Premier League or the NFL, or Serie A for that matter. I am more interested in grass roots sport tho. I just went to the local Major Jr. hockey team, the Oshawa Generals play, and they lost, but there was almost a full house and I know that no matter how badly they play, they will always draw a crowd, and if I am home, my wife and I are there cheering them on.

So what is your local team and are you an ardent supporter, or is it a case of if it isn't the pro's, you are not really interested? Or is it like some of you, that the only sport is racing.....which I can grasp, but life is boring to follow just one sport....

[Easy Drifter]

Orillia Terriers and Barrie Colts.
But then I once upon a time in pre history played a couple of games for the Colts predecessor The Barrie Flyers.
Colts are up to 21 straight wins.

[Wade91]

the Tennessee Titans :D

[Mark in Oshawa]

Wade...I was thinking minor league or college teams. We all watch the big guys, but grass root sport I find more fun and accessable. The NFL plays 9 games a year at home...that is 9 days. Surely you watch something else local.

[MrJan]

THere's only one team for me, Exeter City FC. Over here we don't all support a 'big' Premier League team (although, wrongly IMO, many do) and as a born and bred Exeter lad there is only one team that I like. In fact I like them so much that I'm a part owner, it's a great feeling to stand on the terraces on a Saturday and sing "We Own Our Football Club".

Mind you it's not really 'grass roots' because we could be promoted into the Premier League in 2 years (very unlikely though). In fact we played Hull within the last decade and now they are an EPL team.

[Mark in Oshawa]

THere's only one team for me, Exeter City FC. Over here we don't all support a 'big' Premier League team (although, wrongly IMO, many do) and as a born and bred Exeter lad there is only one team that I like. In fact I like them so much that I'm a part owner, it's a great feeling to stand on the terraces on a Saturday and sing "We Own Our Football Club".

Mind you it's not really 'grass roots' because we could be promoted into the Premier League in 2 years (very unlikely though). In fact we played Hull within the last decade and now they are an EPL team.

But you treat that team as if it is part of your soul. THAT was what I was hoping for. They may get promoted to the Premier league, but they are a local team with roots that make you feel you the fans own the team.

What prompted me to ask this was the good feelling I have watching the local team. The civic pride we have in our new arena and the atmosphere of the game. If I was going to take a visitor what I loved most about where I live, taking them to a hockey game with the Generals on a Sunday night would be my choice. Big pro sports don't give you that same civic spirit.....you don't feel like you own the team.

[Sonic]

I've got a couple of smaller sports teams nearby; The invicta dynamos (ice hockey) http://www.invictadynamos.co.uk and Gillingham (football) http://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com . But I don't really follow either sport very much so the only time I go is if I want to take my son on a day out.

On the plus side Brands Hatch & Lydden Hill are both nearby for some petrol head action!

[Mark in Oshawa]

I've got a couple of smaller sports teams nearby; The invicta dynamos (ice hockey) http://www.invictadynamos.co.uk and Gillingham (football) http://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com . But I don't really follow either sport very much so the only time I go is if I want to take my son on a day out.

On the plus side Brands Hatch & Lydden Hill are both nearby for some petrol head action!

Interesting...a home grown team with mainly British players. Maybe some day the UK will be a force in the IIHF or the Olympics in hockey.

I forgot my local team's link: http://www.oshawagenerals.com

[harvick#1]

I support Northern Illinois University, not bad in Football but rubbish in Basketball

and I'll go with the Chicago Wolves too as they are the only minor league team that plays a good sport in Chicago :p :

[Sonic]

Interesting...a home grown team with mainly British players. Maybe some day the UK will be a force in the IIHF or the Olympics in hockey.


Nah! More chance of a jamaican bobsleigh team. Oh.......wait........that happened already :p

[Mark in Oshawa]

Nah! More chance of a jamaican bobsleigh team. Oh.......wait........that happened already :p

yes they did..and I hope to see the UK take on hockey....

[GridGirl]

I'm a West Bromwich Albion fan and proud of it. The company I work for has had a long association with the club. In fact it will be 125 years in 2010 and i've been fortunate to work for them in a professional capacity. As a girl I know that I would never have played for them but what I can do for them has put them in good stead I hope. :)

[MrJan]

But you treat that team as if it is part of your soul. THAT was what I was hoping for. They may get promoted to the Premier league, but they are a local team with roots that make you feel you the fans own the team.

Absolutely. It helps that my team has been through from very rough times involving 2 blokes defrauding the club, relegation to the 5th tier of English football and near extinction. Were it not for fans clubbing together, forming The Trust (http://www.ecfcst.org.uk/) and raising money as a community then I wouldn't have a club to support today. In fact were it not for a lucrative Cup draw against Manchester United we still may not have raised the money to survive. At the time of this game we were at possibly our lowest point:

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Since then we've been promoted twice and are playing in the 3rd tier now. I don't mind admitting that I shed a tier when the team ran out at the first game of the season.

But the best thing is that I watch my team most weeks. Even though we live in the South West there are blokes at work who support Liverpool, Man United, Chelsea or Arsenal, teams that are 4 hours away (that's bugger all to Canadians but they probably drive passed the stadiums of about 20 other teams to get there). The other day a Man United fan laughed at my football shirt but he soon stopped smiling when I pointed out that I was going to an away game on a Tuesday evening and would still travel about a quarter of the distance he would for a Man U home game :D :D

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I went to that Man Utd versus Exeter game :(

If I were to support my local team it would be Preston NE, or Blackpool, or Morecambe. But that will never happen.

[GridGirl]

I went to that Man Utd versus Exeter game :(

If I were to support my local team it would be Preston NE, or Blackpool, or Morecambe. But that will never happen.

At least you support a team in the same county that you live in. :)

[UltimateDanGTR]

Im a lover of the game of football but more so a lover of Ipswich Town FC. i live probably 6-7 miles away from our home stadium (Portman road) and have made my club my life. despite a rather 'obscure' season we seem to be having with a rather obscure manager we keep the faith and support our team through thick and thin, through the glaring sun and the blistering cold.

and for british towns the football club is the centre piece of the communtiy, for any town with a club in the football league at least. the exception is London because of the sheer amount of different clubs in one city at proffesional and semi-pro level.

i seem to have accidently turned this into an advert for football at club level.

but in britain, for me, supporting your local football team is one of the great, if not the greatest, pleasure in life, having so much passion effects you emotionally in both good and bad times of your club.

[MrJan]

I went to that Man Utd versus Exeter game :(

So did I, it was awesome :D :D


If I were to support my local team it would be Preston NE, or Blackpool, or Morecambe. But that will never happen.

Why not? You could actually go and see games at a reasonable cost while supporting a local club. Morecambe must be crying out for people like you to turn up (IIRC they have shocking attendances, even for lower league football).

I used to be a Man United 'fan' when I was younger but I soon realised that I would get far more from being an Exeter fan. And trust me, getting promoted out of the conference meant far more to the majority of Exeter City fans than winning the Champions league does to the majority of United fans.


On a seperate note, Henners - BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ;) :p :

[Rollo]

My "Local" team would be Sydney FC, but to be perfectly honest it's only been in the last few years that the crowds seem to have got the point of standing up on and and singing for the lads.

The closest "derby" in Australia is the Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC, and the distance between their home grounds is 77km by road; as a result, travelling fans in Australia are something of a rarity.

[steve_spackman]

Brighton and Hove Albion

[MrJan]

The closest "derby" in Australia is the Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC, and the distance between their home grounds is 77km by road; as a result, travelling fans in Australia are something of a rarity.

77km? Is that a typo, because that's only about 50 miles which is pretty much how far I'll travel to see our local derby next season against Plymouth. This year our closest team is Bristol Rovers which is 66 miles.

[Rollo]

No, That's no typo. 77km is the bona fide distance, that'sabout an hour on the expressway.

And this is from Australia's largest city, which gives you some idea that there's a whole bunch of nothing in Australia.

[Glen 320]

I support Norwich City, after years of mis management currently heading back to where we belong,well heading in the right direction anyway!

[UltimateDanGTR]

I support Norwich City, after years of mis management currently heading back to where we belong,well heading in the right direction anyway!

booooo! :p (see my previous post on this thread)

[Brown, Jon Brow]

So did I, it was awesome :D :D



Why not? You could actually go and see games at a reasonable cost while supporting a local club. Morecambe must be crying out for people like you to turn up (IIRC they have shocking attendances, even for lower league football).

I used to be a Man United 'fan' when I was younger but I soon realised that I would get far more from being an Exeter fan. And trust me, getting promoted out of the conference meant far more to the majority of Exeter City fans than winning the Champions league does to the majority of United fans.


On a seperate note, Henners - BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ;) :p :

I started supporting Man Utd when I was 5 to annoy my sister and brother as they support Liverpool. Still, at least I can get to Old Trafford in about 50minutes from where I live.

I would never support one of my closer Lancashire teams because I lived in Cumbria for a while and therefor I tend to follow Carlisle United. I will definitely be rooting for them when they play Everton in the F.A Cup 3rd round next months. :)

[Mark in Oshawa]

No, That's no typo. 77km is the bona fide distance, that'sabout an hour on the expressway.

And this is from Australia's largest city, which gives you some idea that there's a whole bunch of nothing in Australia.

A whole bunch of nothing? Heck....that is a short jaunt in many parts of Canada. Fans of the Saskatchewan Roughriders Football team in the CFL travel 500 kms or more to games in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. Heck, since most of the Province is large tracts of wheatfields or grasslands, half the fans at the home games will be travelling 200 to 300km easily into Regina. Often in the late fall, that is fraught with early snowstorms. You guys are just not hardy enough.....

[Rollo]

77km is a huge distance for the closest distance between home grounds. The distance between Goodison Park and Anfield across Stanley park is 794m

The longest distance between home grounds would be between Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix, which is 5257.56km. Even the top of the table clash between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory would require a drive of 801km.

[Mark in Oshawa]

77km is a huge distance for the closest distance between home grounds. The distance between Goodison Park and Anfield across Stanley park is 794m

The longest distance between home grounds would be between Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix, which is 5257.56km. Even the top of the table clash between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory would require a drive of 801km.

Australia and Canada are simliar. Small populations for large areas. 77km is the closest in OZ? The Vancouver based BC Lions fly 3 time zones east to Montreal, Toronto, or Hamilton and Montreal being the farthest, it would be 5200 km at least. IF the CFL finally expands to the Maritimes, you would be looking at 6000 plus km.

The stat I love is Goodison park and Anfield being less than a KM. You would never see that in most sports in North America, other than The NY Jets and NY Giants sharing a stadium, and the LA Lakers and LA Clippers sharing the same arena in the NBA.

[Easy Drifter]

The nearest road racing track to me is Mosport. About 2 hrs 15 min. Shannonville 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Calobogie about 5 hours.
Toronto Indy (and I won't go) 2 hours plus or an hour and a half to public transit and at least another hour on it. And those are all in Ontario.

[MrJan]

The nearest road racing track to me is Mosport. About 2 hrs 15 min. Shannonville 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Calobogie about 5 hours.
Toronto Indy (and I won't go) 2 hours plus or an hour and a half to public transit and at least another hour on it. And those are all in Ontario.

I'm probably about 90 minutes - 2 hours away from my nearest race track, but then I live in the arse end of the country (not to be confused with Simon Cowell who is the arse hole of the country)

[Mark in Oshawa]

I'm probably about 90 minutes - 2 hours away from my nearest race track, but then I live in the arse end of the country (not to be confused with Simon Cowell who is the arse hole of the country)

We all love Simon..love to hate him I suppose.

Race tracks? 20 minutes to Mosport, the original home of the Canadian GP, back when men were men and Bernie Ecclestone was still just a semi successful egomanical twerp. Shannoville is 1.5 hours and Calabogie 4. AS for the local stockcar ovals, well...Mosport has one, there are two 45 mins up the road in Peterboro, 2 near Barrie.....you basically can see more racing within 4 hours of me every weekend than in some parts of the US. Plus there is a proposed 7/8 to 1 mile oval to be built with a 2.5 mile road course down south of Niagara Falls, which is only 2 hours drive from here. It is pretty easy to be a race fan around here...

[ozrevhead]

Im a sports nut and there isnt a sport I dont love :D

Love my motorsport but it will always come 2nd to my first love - FOOTBALL! My Local team is Adelaide United.....not going so well atmo being 2nd last but only 4 or 5 points off 4th so its not so bad - we do need to win every game from here. We have the ACL next year and ironically we were 2nd last the year before we played.....scarey isnt it! :eek: :D CAN NOT WAIT for the World Cup in SA......going to be EPIC!

Big sporting events comming up in Adelaide are Clipsal 500(V8 Supercars) & the Tour Down Under - CANT WAIT!

I so miss the F1's - could hear them from my Gran's house and the atmosphere was electric

[Mark in Oshawa]

Im a sports nut and there isnt a sport I dont love :D

Love my motorsport but it will always come 2nd to my first love - FOOTBALL! My Local team is Adelaide United.....not going so well atmo being 2nd last but only 4 or 5 points off 4th so its not so bad - we do need to win every game from here. We have the ACL next year and ironically we were 2nd last the year before we played.....scarey isnt it! :eek: :D CAN NOT WAIT for the World Cup in SA......going to be EPIC!

Big sporting events comming up in Adelaide are Clipsal 500(V8 Supercars) & the Tour Down Under - CANT WAIT!

I so miss the F1's - could hear them from my Gran's house and the atmosphere was electric

I will pass on the World Cup...will watch in passing but I wont be getting too excited.

I agree on Adelaide being a better host for the f1's too.....I loved watching that race....

[tin-top fan]

I'm a Guildford Flames fan (http://www.guildfordflames.com), here in England. Play in the ice hockey league above the Dynamos mentioned previously. Really good fun to watch, mostly english but with 5 imports.


Mark- don't think we'll be in the olympics soon! Had a spell higher up a few years ago, but that was mostly with duel nationality canadians in our team. Think in the new country rankings we should be around the 20mark in the world. We do have an english ref- Joy tottman- heading to the olympics for a 2nd time though :-)

[tin-top fan]

Big sporting events comming up in Adelaide are Clipsal 500(V8 Supercars) & the Tour Down Under - CANT WAIT!



Looking forward to seeing Team Sky and wiggins loooking good!

[ozrevhead]

Looking forward to seeing Team Sky and wiggins loooking good!
as am I - Also looking foward to see the Evens vs Armstrong showdown (weve been trying to get them to race in the TDU for years so its going to be huge) and more importantly if Cadel's new team finally be a team that gives him decent support later in the TDF there is also Big George Hencappi and Oscar Perrera im looking foward to as well...and then the locals, noticablly teen protoge Jack Broadbrige and local legend Stuey O'Grady :D

As for the Winter Olympics alot of Aussies base themselves in Canada for the snow season so its as close to a home ground as we are ever going to get (whilstler has so many Aussie expats as well) - we just see how it goes but its alot a fun. Love the Mogals, Arials, Speed Skating, Bobbsleigh, Skeleton, Ice Hockey and Figure Skating the best

[gadjo_dilo]

I've been supporting Steaua Bucharest since I was a kid. The team was great in the 80's and in 1986 won the The European Champions Cup ( the ancient form of Champions League ) against Barvelona and the European Supercup against Dinamo Kyev. They also played the final in 1989 ( lost against Milan ) and the semifinal in 1987 ( or was it in 1988? ). In those glorious times I used to go to the stadium but these days it becomes dangerous to go there. Not to mention that the team is crap.

[MrJan]

as am I - Also looking foward to see the Evens vs Armstrong showdown (weve been trying to get them to race in the TDU for years so its going to be huge) and more importantly if Cadel's new team finally be a team that gives him decent support later in the TDF there is also Big George Hencappi and Oscar Perrera im looking foward to as well...and then the locals, noticablly teen protoge Jack Broadbrige and local legend Stuey O'Grady :D

I think that Cadel lacks both the legs and the class to be a true contender in the Tour, although he does have a gutsy determination which can go a long way. In terms of the TDF I believe that Evans missed out on his chance a few years back, now the top lads are just a bit too strong for him, especially Contador.

It's funny how Armstrong and Schumacher seem to mirror each other, both won 7 (MS got WDC and Lance had TDF victories) and then retired only to come back in a huge amount of media hype. On this basis I reckon Schumacher will come 3rd in this years championship, if only to prolong the symmetry :D

[harsha]

Deccan Chargers despite the fact that they've never won a home match :D

[Mark in Oshawa]

Deccan Chargers despite the fact that they've never won a home match :D


Now THAT is dedication!!!! Cheering for the local side despite their ineptitude!!! Then again, Chicago has done the same for the Cubs for all these years...

[Drew]

77km? Is that a typo, because that's only about 50 miles which is pretty much how far I'll travel to see our local derby next season against Plymouth. This year our closest team is Bristol Rovers which is 66 miles.

You wish! Me thinks you've forgotten about Torquay United and Yeovil Town and quite possible Bournemouth!

My team is Plymouth Argyle and we haven't played any of our local rivals in the league for quite a while, can't think why ;)