Origin of my odd sports followings

I have been questioned many times as to how I ended up following such an odd variety of sports teams, so I have decided to let you all know exactly who I follow and how it got to be that way. I have an extreme anti-New York team bias which I've never fully been able to explain but I credit most of it to my high dislike of bandwagon fans. I suppose living in the state with the team you see many more of them then rooting for a team outside the state, so I stay away from anything in New York. As far as my favorites I'll start with my biggest passion, hockey, and work my way though.

Hockey:

NHL: I was never really a huge single team fan as a kid, always more of a fan of the players. Initially it was Pavel Bure when he played for the Canucks so I followed them closely, then I became a fan of Eric Lindros and therefore the Philadelphia Flyers. I went and saw the Flyers play against the Hartford Whalers and was one aggressive move away from getting my jersey signed by Lindros. Once his career headed downwards I didn't really follow anyone until the Minnesota Wild. We were on a family vacation in the mid west during the summer of 2000 right before their opening season. We went and saw the arena but weren't able to get a tour but the energy in the entire city for the team was amazing. This sparked my interest in the Wild along with watching Marian Gaborik play. I have been to 2 Wild games so far, both in Buffalo. The first was while Gaborik was still there, I was 2 rows from the ice and it was one of the most amazing experiences ever and the other was last year toward the end of the season. I still follow Gaborik now that he is in New York but the Wild are still my team. Overall I am just a hockey fan in general, ill turn on any hockey game that's on TV regardless of who is playing just to watch some hockey. I have been to a few other Sabres games on occasion since the prices can be reasonable and nothing is better than live hockey regardless of your seats or the level.

AHL: The Rochester Americans are my adopted hometown hockey team. Being from Utica, we have had our share of semi-pro hockey teams pass through. My junior year of college at Brockport I began going to Amerks games with my roommate and got hooked. My senior year all of my roommates were hockey fans with an AHL team at home so I used Rochester as mine. I go to about twenty games a year but always keep track of how they are doing when I'm not there or they are on the road.

College: Being a student at Brockport, the Golden Eagles are naturally my favorite team. I am part of/one of the creators of the Eagles Nest Crazies, the student section for the home games. I travel across the state to support the team with my friends, causing as much trouble as we can for the opposing teams. I would love to write about the games but until I graduate and am not friends with the players anymore I will not be doing so. As far as D-I hockey goes I don't have a personal favorite team, I pull for the Bemidji State beavers since my dad taught there but once again ill watch any game that happens to be on TV. The college tournament leading up to the Frozen 4 however is like a holiday. I have been known to set up 2 TVs and a computer and watch every available game during the day.

Football:

NFL: I'm not sure when I became a football fan but I credit my dad's friend in Iowa for getting me to be a Green Bay Packers fan. Once I started following them my passion grew, I had tickets thought Brockport to see the Packers play in Buffalo my freshman year but the transportation never showed up. Obviously I started following the packers while Favre was there and loved him as a Packer. I was ok with the trade to the Jets and Favre playing there because I understand the desire to play and the teams decision to move on but the move to Minnesota crossed the line, now that he is playing there I could not like him less. I've never been to an NFL game but do hope to get to one someday soon, even if it's going to see the Bills play at some point.

College: As I'm sure you have noticed if you have read just about any blog so far I am also an avid Hawkeyes fan and hope dearly to go to a game in Iowa City at some point in my life. I have seen them play in Syracuse; some of you may remember the 4 stops inside the 4 yard line with under 2 minutes to play. This one again goes to my dad's friend who bought me an Iowa jersey when I was first born but also to my grandfather who always has an opinion about how they are playing. I was in Iowa for their Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech last year which was an experience by itself.

Baseball:

MLB: My passion for the Diamondbacks comes from my other grandfather who lived in Arizona and took me to a bunch of games when I was younger. My first game was their inaugural season and I believe it was against the Giants. I have also seen them play the Rockies, Padres, and during their World Series winning year I was them play the Astros. Chase Bank Stadium is the only MLB level field I have ever been to, thought I have never seen a game with the roof open. I am also a fan of anyone that beats the Yankees, this goes back to the bandwagon fan concept. I do acknowledge a few actual Yankee fans, but it's not very hard to be a fan of a team that finishes in the top 2 in the league year in and year out with a payroll that could pay off multiple teams' rosters.

Minor Leagues: I have attended a few Syracuse Skychiefs, and Buffalo Bison games as well as one Rochester Red Wings game but I do not follow any of them with any interest.

Miscellaneous:

I refuse to follow NBA basketball at all, though thanks to over coverage on ESPN I can name many more starters off a variety of teams then I would like to admit. I will watch some college basketball from time to time but that is usually limited to UNC/Duke games (in which I root for UNC) for the rivalry and the March Madness tournament. Most of my interest in the tournament is based on pools as well, not in the actual basketball itself. Syracuse basketball I refuse to root for…ever…because the only time you hear about a Syracuse basketball fan is when they are ranked or making a run in the tournament. I would like to see their football team do well but that is only because they don't have any bandwagon fans at the moment, I'm sure if they start winning it will fill right back up again.

A sport I would like to follow more closely is indoor lacrosse. I played lacrosse in high school and enjoyed it but never followed it a whole lot. I've been to multiple Rochester Knight Hawks games which I have enjoyed but never followed them outside of what I see at the game. I have attended multiple Rochester Rhinos games and enjoyed each one more than I expected to, since I was not previously a soccer fan. I watched as much world cup action as I could this summer as a result of the interest in the Rhinos game and nationalism. I recently found out about the Rochester Raiders indoor football team and will have to make seeing that a priority, I witnesses the AF2 championship in Iowa one year and the intensity of arena football is amazing.

I have yet to be offered an opportunity to watch a new sport that I have turned down. I'll watch anything once and generally return if given that chance. Sports have always been part of my life and will be for a long time to come. This blog is a chance for me to express my views and at the same time increase my knowledge of sports and current events in them. I hope you enjoy what I have to say and even if you don't let me know what would make it more enjoyable for you.