History as a fan

[Drex]

Now that everybody jumped off the Heat bandwagon and everyone is a Warriors fan, I think we should post our history as fans.

Let me start.

Before watching games, I was a Jordan/Bulls fan, as everybody in the world.
1999, Jordan retired. Watched a couple games, didn't have a favourite team. I liked Pippen, because he played with MJ, and he was with the Rockets, but I didn't knew shit about them. Next year, he signed with the Blazers and I liked them immediately. So, that's my first team that I bandwagoned. But I noticed this small guy, who I thougt was smaller than me (at least he looked like a midget). I saw he was 6 ft tall, so I used a Pokemon card (this is serious) to see how much was that, and using my abilities in math I came up with 1.80 meters. I laughed my ass off, then I jumped in the Sixers bandwagon, and I've been a fan of them ever since. After the Blazers lost to the Lakers, I jumped off, and since then I've bandwagoned the Spurs, Detroit, Cavs & Suns, all of them in the playoffs.
(The years may be fucked up)
2000: Blazers
00-01/now: Sixers
2003: Spurs
2004: Pistons
Last year: Cavs
Now: Suns

[JaoSming]

Celtics for as long as I can remember, and I still love them, but when Yao came to the league I became a Rockets Fan as well I and follow them as well. I tend to like players more than I like the teams though so I could say I'm a Knicks, Nets, Bulls, Detriot, Suns, Miami, Magic and Spurs fan as well.

[Jackal]

I don't really remember when I started like LA exclusively. My dad and sister used to watch basketball in the beginning. I remember one game was the Bulls vs Knicks and it was kind of a war in the house because my sister's BF was a Knicks fan and my dad was rooting for the Bulls.

I remember I liked Cedric Ceballos a lot but given MJ was MJ, I suppose I could be termed as a "Bulls fan". Although I wasn't really a fan to be honest. I watched some Bulls games on NBC, but that was basically because my dad was watching it. Then Shaquille O'Neal got traded to LA and I started getting more in to sports and stuff. I remember Eddie Jones & Van Exel being on the Lakers. Cambell was there too. There was a season when Rodman also played with them, a few games atleast.

So I used to follow them whenever I caught them on TV and yeah, you keep watching long enough and you can't not fall in love with Shaq's game. The more you watch, the more you start liking the players because you know their role, their strengths and personalities. Soon enough it was the Shaq, Grant, Rice, Bryant and Harper. Horry, Fox & Fisher ofcourse also were big parts. Devean George also had a spot in my heart, I loved to play with him on Live.

I kind of took some time off from watching them when I moved out here, was kind of difficult with games being at 4 and 5 a.m. but regardless remained a fan. Made sure I watched every playoff game of the Lakers. (Thank you internet.) I was really pissed off when LA traded Shaq, but I'd never been this comitted to anything, so I wasn't about to stop being a fan because one player was traded. Players will come and go, this franchise though...it's got such a good name, so many top tier players that have worn the jersey's, how can you not be a fan?

The teams I follow now are basically the Lakers and Miami but I don't have an opinion on them as a team. I wouldn't call myself a Heat fan, more of a Shaq fan. So I hope they do well, for the sake of Shaq. Once he retires, I'll go back to just rooting for LA.

I really like San Antonio too, because of Duncan. They played LA really well too. Watch enough of a team playing against your team and you begin respecting them. That never happened with Sacramento though, I still can't watch a Kings game without thinking...bitches. Till today if I need to be just pepped up a little, I watch that Robert Horry shot that sent the Kings packing. Man, Staples Center was so loud, Horry's reaction afterwards, the confetti...that shot was almost as good as winning the Championship.

Individual player fan? Amare. He's also got that strength type game, he's added the jumpshot, but there was that one dunk over the Kandi Man and Stephon Marbury's facial expression said it all. That was plain nasty. For a kid out of HS, I was in awe of the man. Still am. Just kind of depressed he isn't a Laker.

[BigKaboom2]

Celtics fan only, though I always have one Western Conference team that I'll root for a little bit. It's been the Mavericks for a while, used to be the Kings because of Vlade.

[Anthony15]

MJ and Bulls when I was still playing Sega and didn't know much about NBA, then I started playing Live and watched some NBA games in Russia and I liked the Nets...not a big fan of them anymore. Then I moved to Denver, saw like 2 or 3 games in 02-03 where Juwan Howard was the main scorer And started to follow them all the time after they switched to Light blue unis and drafted Melo.

[Axel]

I've been a Heat fan since I started watching the NBA about 5 or 6 years ago. I still have my old Eddie Jones jersey, which still fits since I got it about 2 or 3 sizes too big at the time.

My other favorite team in the eastern conference is Toronto. I have absolutely bandwagoned them this year, but how can you not like TJ Ford over Charile V??

There are a few western conference teams that I like. This year (this year only really) I really rooted for New Orleans/OKC with all their injuries and because they ended up falling out of it last year. I also wanted to see OKC in the playoffs, but unfortunately that didn't come to pass.

Also in the western conference, I'm a Suns fan. I always liked Shawn Marion esp when he played with Stephon Marbury... became a bigger fan though once D'Antoni took over, and knocked Skiles out.

The other team I like in the west is Golden State. I always pulled for them as an underdog, but kind of stopped once they ditched Jamison and Arenas. But once they picked up Nellie at the beginning of the year, I picked them to finally make it back in the playoffs. I'm probably one of the ones this thread is referring to, but I really don't give a shit. I picked this team at the beginning of the season and defended the trade midseason. If that suddenly makes me one of these playoff bandwagoners, so be it.

[[Q]]

I was born a Lakers fan. Kareem, Scott, Worthy, Magic, and Riley are my team. Magic will always be my favorite player of all time.

I even stuck it out with them when they sucked in the 90's.

My first real NBA game (on tv) was the 1995 playoffs. for some reason i began liking Reggie Miller. I grew out of that around 98.
I was a big Grant Hill fan as a kid.
I started to like Gary Payton around 97 because I could appreciate someone who played good defense.
I started not liking the Lakers when they got all cocky and won the championship in 99-00.

I seemed to bandwagon onto every team that Payton is on, but it looks like he's done after this year so I'll have to latch on to young guys like Chris Paul & Brandon Roy

[Jackal]

You could just return to being a full time Laker fan. LA isn't as cocky as they once were and Bynum's got a lot of upside.

[Jing]

I suppose I've been a Celtics fan since coming to America, though since Yao has come into the NBA I've been a fairly big follower of the Rockets... still hoping that the Celtics can start playing well again, I still support them, just not as much anymore.

[Indy]

I've been a Pacers fan since 1989. I went to my first Pacers game in 1990. I got season tickets for the first time in 1998, and I've had them since then.

I've never wavered one bit, and I was living in Chicago during the entire Jordan run.

[---]

Cool idea.

My team was the Bulls when I was very young, I'm gutted I never kept any of the championship videos my mum used to buy from the video store for me.

I was born in 89, and have watched them foras long as I can remember. I remember the second three peat a hell of alot better than the first for obvious reasons. I do remember when my mum told me Michael Jordan had retired, I saw it all over the news too and I was shattered. The only reason I continued following the Bulls and the NBA in general during Jordan's first retirement was Scottie Pippen and the fact I was a big fan of Horace Grant. When Michael came back I remember having a huge discussion at my primary school about how many more championships "we" will win. I got sent out of class for talking to much

During the second threepeat I was a hardcore Bulls fan, I still have the T-Shirt I wore to school pretty much everyday, along with my Bulls jacket and Bulls cap, which I got tricked into trading for a Suns cap because the guy said it was worth more because it had more lines of stitching

I remember being a fan of Shawn Kemp but never admitting it because I didn't want to make it look like I like anyone on another team. When MJ retired for the second time I lost interest in basketball as a whole and started playing rugby, barely following the NBA. I lost interest in the Bulls because they were so awful, but they sparked a little interest from time to time, especially when they drafted my favorite college player in Ben Gordon and a guy I was very happy to see in a Bulls uniform rather than Phoenix in Luol Deng.

That season, I followed the Bulls a bit because they seemed to have improved alot, but I wasn't that interested in them, mainly because I hated Kirk Hinrich. Then I saw the Pistons, and loved watching them play. I went out and got a Ben Wallace jersey and rooted for them in the finals. The Bulls making the playoffs was nice, but I wasn't really convinced.

It stayed that way until they got Ben Wallace this offseason and drafted Tyrus Thomas. I was pissed of that they didn't keep Rodney Carney because I love the guy, but I see Thabo can really play, so I'm not so pissed off now. My interest in the Bulls is way up again and I really think a Finals appearance could be in the cards.

Other than Chicago I tend to follow players more than teams, so I watch alot of the Rockets (TMac), Nuggets (Carmelo). Other than that I have loved watching Phoenix ever since the drafting of Amare Stoudemire and because I am a fan of Stephon Marbury, but I really started watching them alot when they became this amazing run n' gun team. Golden State is alot of fun to watch too.

[Drex]

I'm probably one of the ones this thread is referring to, but I really don't give a shit. I picked this team at the beginning of the season and defended the trade midseason. If that suddenly makes me one of these playoff bandwagoners, so be it. Rolling Eyes

Not really

[maes]

I feel you should root for your home teams, in good or bad weather. I grew up in Chicago, and then worked for 6 years in Seattle so i take an interest in anything Bulls/Sonics.

I don't have negative feelings towards Heat bandwagoners because it has nothing to do with the Heat and everything to do with Shaq. Shaq was a pretty popular player, i think it's natural for people to root for his new team. I know two guys from LA (both in Chi now) that constantly argue whether it's legitimate for one of them to root for the Heat and hate LA (since Buss drove Shaq out of town).

There's so much drama & free agency nowadays a fan's loyalties can get complicated.

[---]

I feel you should root for your home teams, in good or bad weather.

I agree. For that reason, if I ever move to he US which I hope to do, I think I will become a fan of that cities team and non other. I have always been a fan of only the home town team in NZ sports, so I don't think it would be any different if I was over there.

[Pistol]

I like this idea...very nice...

TEAMS
Well when I first started watching the NBA I wasnt really big on it (I am a HUGE Baseball fan, basically all I watched as a youngin, in which I know just about anything about baseball, serisouly I think I am the book of baseball, lol) anywayz, when I sorta watched I was a fan of the Bulls, like every other american, but no cause MJ like everyone says, I LOVED RODMAN and the defensive monster Pippen, I loved those two guys, I still love Rodman and wish he woulda stayed in the NBA a tad bit longer. I still to this day wait for reality shows featuring him because I love him so much. When I really started watchin the NBA and getting into I was a Kings fan (I'm from Cali) and loved them back in the day when it was J-will, Webber, Peja, Martin, Williamson, Divac. I remember to this day almost tearing up hearing that J-Will was traded away for Mike Bibby, who I came to start liking. I really liked the Kings in the Keon Clark, Gereald Wallace days too. I remember when my dad lived in town we would goto restaurants and watch the Kings vs Lakers playoff games, and every year we lost, I remember in one game specifically, cant rember if it was game 6 or 7 but I think it was for the Kigns to win the series or the LAkers to win the series I just remember with around 5seconds left Divac instead of grabbing the rebound swatted it out to the three point line right into the hand of Robert Horry and him shooting the 3 to win, damn him to hell! I stayed a King fan until recent years when the Bobcats came to the NBA, no real particular reason I switched, but I think the biggest reason was, I could be a fan of a franchise that just started, I could watch them from the start of their franchise till my death, how cool! Then what reallly carried me to the Bobcats was former King Gerald Wallace, ooooo man. I love that guy, Okafor is great. The asst. coach GAry Kloppenburg is from my home town, which is in the middle of no where and I recently was in a relationship with his daughter, lol. So I've been pretty much BUlls, then Kings, now Bobcats...I love to watch the Wizards though mostly becauseof ARenas and in their recent palyoff run I have enjoyed watchin the small line-up of the Warriors which I keep trying a small line-up on my 2k with any different team and I never reach playoffs (simming, lol)

Fav Players
Okay as stated started as a big Rodman fan than when I started watching Kings it was J-will and when he got traded it was all about C-Webb, Gerald Wallace, and Peja. I used to tell my dad I was the next Peja and rain threes all day. I loved the dominating force of C-Webb (back in the day) and the high flyer ability of Gerald Wallace. Though my most fav was Peja though. Then when I started watchin the Bobcats I loved Gerald Wallace he is my fav and I also like Jason Kapono. To this day I still love Gereald Wallace and recently drafted Adam Morrison, but I have jumped onto the GIlbert Arenas bandwagon. Impossible is 0...My all-time favs havta be Pistol Pete, Wilt the Stilt, and The Worm. Can't forget LARRY BIRD.

[Lamrock]

Nice topic idea. Anyway, I started watching the NBA in the 99-00 season, so I was six. So, in my younger days, I really bandwagoned a lot of teams.

2000: The Blazers; I lived in Oregon for most of my early childhood, so I rooted for them. I really liked the whole team, and Sheed was my favorite player for a long time. I was heartbroken in Game 7.

2001: The Raptors; I liked them in 2000, but I really liked them in the 01 playoffs when V-Cart and Co. took out the Knicks and pushed Philly to 7 games. Carter was my favorite player for a long time after that. I've been rooting for them since then. I also really liked the Bucks that year. I'm 3-11 in favorable Game 7's

2002: The Kings; By then, I hated the Lakers. But I followed the Kings entire playoff run, and I began to like their entire team. I really liked C-Webb and Bibby then. That playoff series was so heartbreaking. I also liked the Mavs after that second round series, and Nash.

2003: The Mavericks; The Mavs and Raptors were my favorite teams other than Sacramento that year. When Webber went down, and the Raptors sucked, Dallas was my favorite team. I loved the Big 3 and their style of B-Ball. It is a shame the Spurs got the best of them, but I was relieved the Lake Show lost. I still like the Mavs today.

2004: The Pistons; Another team that I still like. When they got Sheed, I had them to win the East, and they did. When they won the title, I was ecstatic. It was the only time I was happy about the champions. Their style of basketball is EFFECTIVE, and I liked all their players.

2005: The Pistons; Still liked them. I remember after the Finals that year I got i trouble because I discussed my wishes to kill Horry with my teacher who was a basketball fan. Arenas' Wizards also intrigued me.

2006: The Mavericks; I saw them as one of only 2 potential Spurs-killers (the other being Detroit). After that crazy 7-game series, and Detroit doing terrible against Cleveland, I bandwagoned them. Again, they disappointed me by losing in 6.

2007: The Mavericks; What a season. It is a pretty sad time to be a Mavs fan (though I still think the Mavs are winning the series) and I'm losing faith in Dirk, but they are my favorite good team this year. Though I'd rather Toronto, Phoenix or Washington win the title, this is my realistic pick to win the title. Come on Mavs! Fuck...

[Mark.]

Ive always been a Magic fan since I first started following the NBA, mainly since when I was at primary school and there was limited coverage they were one of the few teams I knew about. I sorta took a break from NBA during the time that Shaq had just left the Magic. I really started following the NBA again once I started playing ball again, this was around the time that T-Mac started dominating for Orlando and I immediately fell in love with his game.

I still am a Magic fan through and through, but I also watch and support the Rockets a bit due to T-Mac. Im still gutted that the Magic traded T-Mac, but I guess some things just have to happen.

There are of course other teams that I like to watch and see do well, for example the Suns, its great to see such an entertaining type of basketball winning.

[Cable]

Gotta support the Candian teams ... I've been a Raptors fan for as long as I've followed basketball. I'm also a Mavericks fan mostly cause Steve Nash used to be there (again, Canadian ties here), but as I learned a bit more I became a huge Nowitzki fan cause he's big and I was big for my age, and he can shoot and I though I could shoot.

So Raptors and Mavericks, and Steve Nash, although not so much the Suns.

[Drex]

Forgot to add. Now that Iverson is gone, I'm rooting in secret for him and the Nuggetes to do well (but don't tell anybody), and that's about it.

[Laxation]

I chose Detroit when I first got NBA Live 2005, and knew absolutely nothing about basketball. I think I chose them because they had a high rating, but I didnt expect to stick with them forever.

It was funny, the next 5 months I constantly was asking my friend "is McDyess any good? Should I trade him?"
"How about Ginobilli? Should I get him?"

Now I know more about NBA than him so its good fun

[Matt]

before i got a "team" i was a general fan. Then i noticed a cpl of players that i really liked and started to follow that team.....Grant Hill & Joe Dumars. The rest is history.

where are all the heat "fans" btw?

[hammertime23]

I was born in Charlotte so I was given the Hornets at birth. I even went to many Charlotte games as a child. When the hornets drafted Baron Davis itr just made me a bigger fan. When they lost him I was pissed, but I didn't mind them moving to Oklahoma City that much cause I already moved to New York. Then when they drafted Chris Paul It made me more of a fan, and the rest is history...

[cyanide]

I've started off as an Orlando Magic fan during the Penny-Shaq era, first and foremost. I think Reggie Miller was my favorite player before I followed Orlando and subsequently became a Penny Hardaway fan. Orlando was my favorite team until whenever the Raptors became a franchise, which wasn't far off I don't think, that I became a fan of the Raptors (Grizzlies were around, but I prefered the Raptors). I've had a couple favorite teams during that time (Phoenix and Indiana) but I've always been a fan of the Raptors but never really followed them closely till the Vince Carter era, then again this year I became much more excited once Colangelo unloaded practically everybody.

[Riot]

Wolves fan forever and it hurts.

[Buckley]

where are all the heat "fans" btw?

Probably jumping on some bandwagon as they got old.

As for me I started following NBA and the Sixers in 2001 when AI won the MVP. I've been following the Sixers ever since, though i was pissed about the late season push but ultimately not making the playoffs, even though it showed that we are better then we showed in the first 20 games.