Page 11 of 15 FirstFirst ... 910111213 ... LastLast
Results 101 to 110 of 145

Thread: My year of sports fandom!

  1. #101
    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    10,216
    Quote Originally Posted by SteveinMN View Post
    Waaaaay back in my youth I was a Cincinnati Reds fan (back in the days of The Big Red Machine). Living 1200 miles away, though, meant tuning my AM table radio (now I really am dating myself) to WLW to listen to the games. Baseball is a game made for radio; much more so than football, basketball, or hockey. It's fine on TV, but those other sports just move way too fast to get a grip on what's going on through the radio.
    How and why did you become a Reds fan and then how and why did you become a fan of another team?

  2. #102
    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Saint Paul, Minnesota
    Posts
    6,618
    Quote Originally Posted by Ultralight View Post
    How and why did you become a Reds fan and then how and why did you become a fan of another team?
    Umm...

    Becoming a fan: I grew up in the New York City. My brother was the New York Mets fan and my entire family despised the Yankees. To be contrary, I guess, I chose another team. I liked the National League more than the American League (Yankee dislike may have fueled that). The Reds were winners -- and going with a winner was as easy as going with a loser (hello, Mets and Astros!). And I really liked Johnny Bench, a great athlete who's been a class act for 40+ years now.

    How: The paper printed box scores every day and sometimes even a blurb about each game around the leagues. I was a subscriber to Sports Illustrated at the time (and, if my memory isn't too hazy, my brother was reading The Sporting News on a regular basis)(oh, the irony, for both of us). At night it was possible to tune in clear-channel WLW for many games. I even sent money and bought the yearbook (do teams even make those anymore?). And, of course, sometimes the Reds played the Mets so it was possible to see them live. Good times.

    Fan of another team: It wasn't so much becoming a fan of a different team as it was becoming a fan of a different sport. My dad always was a hockey fan and I was one, too. In college I played some hockey and, after that, baseball seemed like a very s l o w game and I lost interest. I now pay attention pretty much only to hockey; primarily local (not just Minnesota's NHL team but the local college and high-school teams; men and women). Good hockey is good hockey and I've enjoyed watching the women Gophers as much as watching the Wild.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

  3. #103
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    9,389
    Quote Originally Posted by Ultralight View Post
    How and why did you become a Reds fan.....
    How could you not be a Reds fan during the early 70's? The Big Red Machine had Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Davey Concepcion, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Ken Griffey, George Foster and Cesar Geronimo, each of them budding legends. They also had the benefit of being broadcast on one of the few (at the time) 50,000 watt clear channel radio stations in the country during an era of no internet, no cable TV or other national sports media, which provided them a potential market of nearly the entire country.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  4. #104
    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    10,216
    Quote Originally Posted by SteveinMN View Post
    Umm...

    Becoming a fan: I grew up in the New York City. My brother was the New York Mets fan and my entire family despised the Yankees. To be contrary, I guess, I chose another team. I liked the National League more than the American League (Yankee dislike may have fueled that). The Reds were winners -- and going with a winner was as easy as going with a loser (hello, Mets and Astros!). And I really liked Johnny Bench, a great athlete who's been a class act for 40+ years now.

    How: The paper printed box scores every day and sometimes even a blurb about each game around the leagues. I was a subscriber to Sports Illustrated at the time (and, if my memory isn't too hazy, my brother was reading The Sporting News on a regular basis)(oh, the irony, for both of us). At night it was possible to tune in clear-channel WLW for many games. I even sent money and bought the yearbook (do teams even make those anymore?). And, of course, sometimes the Reds played the Mets so it was possible to see them live. Good times.

    Fan of another team: It wasn't so much becoming a fan of a different team as it was becoming a fan of a different sport. My dad always was a hockey fan and I was one, too. In college I played some hockey and, after that, baseball seemed like a very s l o w game and I lost interest. I now pay attention pretty much only to hockey; primarily local (not just Minnesota's NHL team but the local college and high-school teams; men and women). Good hockey is good hockey and I've enjoyed watching the women Gophers as much as watching the Wild.
    Okay, cool! I appreciate the explanation. Also: The Wild is a cool name for a hockey team!

  5. #105
    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    10,216
    Quote Originally Posted by Alan View Post
    They also had the benefit of being broadcast on one of the few (at the time) 50,000 watt clear channel radio stations in the country during an era of no internet, no cable TV or other national sports media, which provided them a potential market of nearly the entire country.
    Really interesting tidbit of sports/media history! Thanks, Alan! Much appreciated.

  6. #106
    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    10,216
    Well, I am certainly learning what it is like to support a losing team. The Orioles are 8-27. The Reds are only slightly better at 9-27. haha

  7. #107
    Senior Member KayLR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    SW Washington State
    Posts
    2,756
    Was smiling from ear to ear last night as Seattle's James Paxton (Big Maple) threw his first no-hitter complete game, the first Canadian ever to do that on Canadian soil. So cool for him---even the Toronto fans were supporting him in the last innings---true fans.
    My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!

  8. #108
    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    10,216
    I think that people trust sports fans more readily than non-sports fans.

  9. #109
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Posts
    4,769
    Quote Originally Posted by Ultralight View Post
    I think that people trust sports fans more readily than non-sports fans.
    IMHE, it is because there is something common to talk about, to get the feel for the person.

  10. #110
    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Posts
    10,216
    I am still having fun with this Year of Sportsball lifestyle experiment!

    I will be watching the Orioles on MLB TV tonight. And tomorrow I am going to Clippers game (the Triple A team of Columbus, OH).

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •