GA Russell Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 On 6/13/2011 at 4:31 PM, JSngry said: The team of my childhood was the Houston Astros..got over that one a looong time ago! Jim's post got me thinking. During my childhood, I thought that my favorite team was the Minnesota Twins with Harmon Killebrew, Camilo Pascual, et al. But looking back, I think that I actually was more of a Boston Patriots fan because I liked the AFL regardless of who was announcing the games, while I didn't like baseball after they took Dizzy Dean off. So...who was the one team of your childhood, and do you still root for them today? By the way, in the case of the Twins, I lost all interest in them when the players of the early 60s retired. In the case of the Patriots, my love decreased some when they changed their name to New England, and decreased a lot more when they changed their uniforms to blue with Elvis on the helmet. Quote
Unk Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 Oakland A's, 1973 +-. Sal Bando, Rollie Fingers, Bert (Campy)Campaneris, Gene Tenace, Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Ray Fosse, Joe Rudi, Blue Moon Odom, Jesus Alou, Manny Trillo, Reggis somebodyoranother. I haven't paid one bit of attention to sports since then. But in 1973... Quote
mjazzg Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 can i sneak in a transatlantic team? Reading FC, early 70s, bottom division of the national league but who cared? Quote
Larry Kart Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 The 1951 "Go-Go" Chicago White Sox, with Nellie Fox, Minnie Minoso, Billy Pierce, Chico Carrasquel, et al., managed by Paul Richards. IIRC, they were in first place as late as July 1st but finished in fourth, 17 games behind the Yankees. Great fun while it lasted. Quote
GA Russell Posted June 13, 2011 Author Report Posted June 13, 2011 On 6/13/2011 at 6:38 PM, Unk said: Oakland A's, 1973 +-. Sal Bando, Rollie Fingers, Bert (Campy)Campaneris, Gene Tenace, Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Ray Fosse, Joe Rudi, Blue Moon Odom, Jesus Alou, Manny Trillo, Reggis somebodyoranother. I haven't paid one bit of attention to sports since then. But in 1973... Unk, I visited the Bay Area in August of 1973, and took in an A's game! What I remember most about the game was how uncomfortably cool it was for a baseball game, and this was in August! I'm surprised they get a lot of people to show up in that climate, but I guess the natives are used to it. Quote
Shawn Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 Never did get into baseball, my Stepfather was a football guy, so that's what I grew up with. Even though I lived in Virginia at the time, it was around 1976 that I started watching, so of course my favorite team was the Dallas Cowboys, because the hype was so large it made it everywhere. Quote
Neal Pomea Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 I rooted for the Houston Colt 45s/Astros from their inception until 2005 when Washington got the Expos franchise. Now I am on the ground floor with this team. Quote
Free For All Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers, circa 1972 or so. Also Packers, late 60s. Quote
Royal Oak Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 On 6/13/2011 at 7:27 PM, mjazzg said: can i sneak in a transatlantic team? Reading FC, early 70s, bottom division of the national league but who cared? Was that the Robin Friday era? I read his biography a few years back. Quote
Dan Gould Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 Earliest team has to be the Cubs (and Bears) but by the time I was about 7 or so I had a strong desire to root for a winner, leading me to root, in the NFL, for the Dolphins and then the Cowboys (loved Staubach and my brother rooted for Tarkenton so that made it easy) and in MLB, the Yankees (for about two years, when Sparky Lyle was the closer) and Dodgers before the love affair with the Red Sox that started in 1975 was forever sealed in the fiery death of the 1978 dream season. Quote
paul secor Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 Baseball - New York Giants 1955-1957 - didn't start following baseball until the year after the great 1954 team. Basketball - Minneapolis Lakers 1956-1959 - I spent most of the first nine years of my life in Minnesota. Football - New York Giants 1958 - 1963 Now I follow the teams I root for, but I don't invest my heart in them. There are more important things in my life than entertainment. Quote
Jim R Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 As a 6 year old kid... Giants, Niners, Warriors. As a 55 year old kid... Giants, Niners, Warriors. A few flings in-between, though... dug the Clemente-Stargell Pirates; the "Swingin' A's" of the 70's; The Lombardi Packers... Quote
Tom 1960 Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 I started out as a New York Mets fan in the late 60's/early 70's only to move onto the L.A. Dodgers in 1974. Been a fan ever since. Growing up I had this crazy romantic idea of wanting to one day live in L.A. I was an L.A. Rams fan for awhile also until Georgia(team owner) moved the team to St. Louis. Now I'm a San Diego Chargers fan. Quote
jeffcrom Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) The Atlanta Braves. They moved to the city when I was seven, and I can still name the starting lineup of the 1966 team. I made myself a #44 Hank Aaron "jersey" with a t-shirt and a black magic marker, and got in trouble with my mom for wearing it under my white shirt to church. I can only name one member of the current team. I remained a pretty big baseball fan for years. I saw the Braves' first triple play, I was there when Otis Nixon made "the catch" (Braves fans will know what I'm talking about), and I attended a couple of World Series games in the early 1990's - a childhood dream. However, I totally lost interest in major league baseball after the 1994 strike. I don't even know who played in the World Series last year. I'll go to minor league games when I have a chance, but otherwise pro sports has lost me. I follow college football to an extent. I'm married to a Nebraska girl, so things get kind of intense around here on Saturdays during the fall. Edited June 13, 2011 by jeffcrom Quote
porcy62 Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 Oddly enough, for an italian boy, I played baseball in my childhood, there was the time of the Big Red Machine, nor that I saw a single match, there weren't stuff like satellite channels back then, I just looked at the rare news in the italian baseball magazines. A very obscure story, overall. Actually I wrote a novel about this story: a baseball team in the lost province of Italy. Sorry it isn't in english. Quote
ghost of miles Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 I blame Horace Clarke and the Civil War. Growing up in Indiana in the 1970s/80s, also a huge Indiana University basketball fan (and still one to this day, in the midst of our current Dark Ages--save us, Cody Zeller!--though it's been nice to witness the recent rise of Butler, a college that was originally situated in my childhood neighborhood before moving in the 1920s to its current location). Quote
medjuck Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 NY Yankees 1956-61. Now I'm for anyone but. Quote
Chicago Expat Posted June 13, 2011 Report Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) Baseball: Cubs of mid-late 70s. Guys like Manny Trillo, Bruce Sutter, Rick Rueschel, Larry Bitner, Ivan Dejesus, Joe Matlock, Bill Buckner, Dave Kingman, Rick Monday, Lee Smith, Willie Hernandez. Obviously, the '84 team stands out as a particular source of pain. I have been successfully divorcing myself from them the last couple years, just fed up with all the losing and heartbreak and no end in sight. This year, I've watched a couple Reds games, but that's it. Maybe an inning or two of the Cubs. I see from ESPN highlights that they're not doing too well this year. Football: Same time period as the Cubs. Walter Payton, really, is the only name worth mentioning, though I did play Bob Avelini a couple times on the playground. Still live or die with them. Basketball: Never watched it much as a kid, though I was a fan of the Bulls just because they would practice at Angel Guardian where my grandmother worked/volunteered, and since I spent most of the summer with my grandparents, I'd get to watch them practice, which was pretty cool. I remember Reggie Theus's car was the first vehicle I was ever impressed with. I didn't really start watching the Bulls until maybe '83, and really not as much until Jordan arrived. Still watch today. I also used to watch a lot of boxing as a teenager. Edited June 13, 2011 by Chicago Expat Quote
Tim McG Posted June 14, 2011 Report Posted June 14, 2011 As a kid- Angels [AL] and Giants [NL] As an adult- Giants and Angels...sorta [mostly as a distraction; Gene Mauch beat all the excitement out of me that I ever held for that team in 1986. Then they traded Mike Witt and a couple years later, Wally Joyner to make room for my soon-to-be favorite Giant: JT Snow. They traded JT [to SF] for Will "can't-hit-my-hat-size" Parker. That sealed the deal.] However, I have been a Dodger hater since birth. Is there any other sport besides baseball...? Quote
Van Basten II Posted June 14, 2011 Report Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) Habs fan, can't say that i relate to the current fans, people who riot because they win a first round series, it is just plain pathetic. Would also cheer for the Expos, still have memories of my father bringing me to the Big O, it was a lot of fun especially when the was competetive in the late 70s and early 80s. Was a big sport fan as a young lad, knew almost all the names of every NHL and MLB players, as soon as there was sport on the television, for the younger people it was before cable, I usually was in front of the set Edited June 14, 2011 by Van Basten II Quote
Noj Posted June 14, 2011 Report Posted June 14, 2011 LA Lakers, LA Dodgers, Oakland Raiders, LA Kings, and UCLA Bruins have always been my teams and always will be. Quote
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