Let Us Know Who Your Favorite NFL Team Is And Why!

:Loco:

Welcome to GIF!!!

 

Born & raised in Lincoln Square in Chicago. Became a Bears fan at a very young age.

Not sure but I think drugs were used...

 

:flyinghigh:

 

Who is my favorite team?
Raiders.
Why?
Umm...good question.

 

I challenge you to a duel.

 

Still baffles me that there is that high number of pats fans but there not here.

 

They are yet to be enlightened.

They will find their way here.

:wise:

 

patriots all day

 

That list was created a few years ago....

 

Who scared them away?

 

My guess is.....18-1 :icon_cheesygrin:

 

My guess is that I brought them to Arrowhead.

 

um..because the redskins suck? j/k

 

Ive been a Redskins fan since I was 11 years old. Im now 24 and this is will be my 14th season rooting for the Burgundy & Gold. It takes alot of guts to stick with the Skins through all of the painful years. Hopefully the Skins can win their first NFC East Title since 1999 this season. arty2:

 

I have been a Ravens fan ever since I remember. having 3 older brothers and a Dad who are into football I kinda just fell into loving football. I guess when they needed an extra in backyard football I was always the tackling dummy. :) Actually I believe they took it easy on me most of the time and my oldest brother pretty much ran the whole show on my team. So since the ravens were the teams and my brothers were always talking about football I began to watch the games and really started to enjoy it at an early age. I am now hooked on the game.

 

I'll give you all the treat of my verbally incontinent ramblings on this subject when I get home. Be prepared. It's as long winded as Madden verbally fellating Farve, but fans of the greatest sport there is will get it.

 

Here is the War and Peace edition of why I am a Steeler fan...answering the below questions, posed by a fellow member of Steeler Nation.


They were posed to a whole group of us really...and I of course decided that becoming verbally incontinent was the best course of action..LOL.


Here goes everything.


I want to understand why we are such an imposing presence among fan bases.

Why are you drawn to the Steelers, and so f*cking proud to be a fan?

What is your connection to Pittsburgh, if any?

Why is Steelers Nation so kickass?

Basically, why are we better than the other fanbases?




The glint in the eyes of the Black and Gold clad Gridiron warriors was matched in intensity only by those in the stands, ready to pour every ounce of energy into an afternoon of reckless abandon. Clouds of hot breath clinging to the air and the smell of adrenaline marked the coming of the Life and breath of Pittsburgh. The spine-tingling roar that rose from the crowd, as the Pride of Steeltown USA took the field, was deafening yet exhilarating all at once. A game was a spectacle to behold, and what I as a diehard fan would give to have experienced just one during the Superbowl era, could not be put into words.

A team whose identity IS the people, can do nothing but get complete admiration and undying loyalty from the group whom they represent so unfalteringly on the field. The Chief was brilliant in creating a team, a legacy if you will that so closely paralleled the City. The Steelers stubbornness to achieve their best, and put all possible effort into doing so, won them loyalty from not only their hometown crowd but from fans nationwide.

The Men in Black and Gold carried a pride and dignity in their stride, as they do today. This swagger struck home with every man, woman or child that had ever encountered adversity in their lives. The approach the Steelers took in overcoming obstacles reached out to the men and women who laid it on the line everyday to put food on the table. When the Steelers won, it was almost a moral victory to the fanbase.

Over the decades, the same has rung true. It has also flowed over to the white collared fans as well as the people who just love football. Their smash mouth, grind it out style, brings physicality to a whole new level in the game. The toughness of a team that would rather run straight through instead of around connects with the animal in all of us. The team who was never a store bought, shiny new Cadillac but a winter beater that will make it through the worst storm, showed that you didn't have to be the high dollar earner to make it big in this life.

Winning four Lombardi's in the late seventies brought more than just national awareness to this wunderkind of the Burgh, it rewrote the rules of the game, so people could combat the most fear instilling defense to ever take the field. Nobody could deal with the Steel Curtain. Every time my memories drift back to this stalwart D, one major point sticks out. NOBODY ate their lunch or even thought about anything besides coming out in one piece after a play. That in itself, brought tears of pride to many a member of the Steeler Nation.

As a youngster, going through the later years of elementary school near the border, I was more of a hockey kid than anything. Being only 13 in the late eighties, and my first time on my own at a boarding school, I was struggling to find something to occupy my spare time (which apparently was in great abundance). Of course, being a teenager, I turned to boys. I had many friends, but none were close. The one night I was outside, rolling my skateboard down the drive while fighting off a large bout of homesickness, this spunky senior decided to befriend me. His name was Anthony Renda Jr. I developed such an enormous crush on the man, and he was fantastic to a young girl who must have driven him insane with the attention.

One Sunday afternoon, I was bored and the newfound love of my life was nowhere to be found. Chin in my hands, bored to tears, I sat in the courtyard waiting to find something to do with my time. All of a sudden my knight in shining armor arrived. Tony called me over and asked if I would like to spend some time with him. By answering yes, my Sundays from that day forward, were changed forever.

I was introduced to the wonderful sport (which in turn, would take me forward to meet many interesting people in life) of NFL football. Now as I sat patiently, Tony described the basics of the game. Back in the late eighties, we were lucky to catch two games a weekend on the tube. But before he ever tried to tell me about QB's and O-lines he told me the one most important fact about the game. You find yourself a team that you relate with, and stick with them no matter how horribly they play, or how many Super bowls they win. I was lost as the only thing that I knew was if you win the big game you get a CUP not a BOWL. What kind of wacky football did the Americans play anyways?

Now the one thing I didn't share with you about my sweet Mr.Renda jr. was that his hometown happened to be Sewickley PA. His family business was Renda broadcasting Corp. Tony had been raised on Steeler Ball going to many home games and such, and his love for the game projected that connection on to me. That first year watching the game, getting a feel for what goes on and who does what, was being like a small child on Christmas morning. From what my friend had told me, the best team EVER was the Steelers. This was contested daily by my classmates, as they all grew up on the border as die hard Bills fans. The Kelly era was taking place, and the string of SB runs were in the process of beginning. It was the only time in my memories of actually hearing a Bengals fan say anything about winning as well. Oh, the irony of it.

As he finished school, and I moved away, my Sundays of watching the Steelers continued. Being up here, in the great white north, it was much easier to find CFL games to watch but the drive to follow the best team in NFL history had been born. I read up on the history of the team, and found out about the Lombardy's. How did Tony fail to mention these?? I guess the pride in a team, that was not only comprised of football players but local legends, would make him assume that everyone would know what a storied career his boys in black and gold had.

As the years went by I watched and learned more about the wondrous entity that is the NFL and how simple colors could bring people, who have never met, together. Even in Canada, where it's more common to run across a person or car clad in Leafs paraphernalia than anything, the Steeler Nation stands tall and proud. Directly north of Niagara is a city called Hamilton. The city has its own CFL franchise, clad in the same black and gold colors. The Hammer, as it's affectionately known by its inhabitants, is a steel town as well. The people are hard core fanatics for their team, but also identify well with their American counterparts.

Nowadays, even during the off season, there are many fans adorned in their Colors. Going to the grocery store, a smile spreads across my face with the mere glimpse of the Steel workers union symbol. Every time I see those hypocycloids,
I fill with pride. I generally strike up conversations with complete strangers on game day, while out for some snacks. While fully clad in Black and Gold, driving my yellow car with Steelers die hanging from my mirror, I always honk when I see Steeler fans. There is always a wish of good luck, or questions of what that guy thought he was doing (Maddox slights of course). Even while surfing the net, on my constant quest for more football knowledge, I meet our fans in the oddest of places.

I don't know if I've ever encountered a fanbase (NFL of course) that has the tenacity in its love for its team, or for that matter the drive to know more about the group of 53 men and their leaders. The people that affiliate themselves with our proud tradition, most likely can't pinpoint exactly WHY they are the strongest and most vocal supporters of their franchise. They do know, however, that even being one small voice in a cast of millions is the most electrifying feeling on a cold December day while the Warriors of the Gridiron once again step foot onto the field.

P.S this was written PRE SB XL.

 

i've had the privilege of seeing many teams in person and meeting fans of every team in person at games, outside of games, and on message boards. I've been an nfl fan and have been meeting and talking to fans of the league for 30 years. I don't have a favorite team, so speaking from a neutral stance, I cannot argue that Steeler fans are possibly the most passionate and classiest in the league.

Among some of the other most CONSISTENTLY passionate (whether winning or losing) are the Browns, Packers, Vikings, Broncos, Raiders, Eagles, Cowboys, and Redskins fans.

The Dolphins and 49ers used to have large fan bases back in the 80's and 90's but they have really dwindled.

New England didn't even know they had a professional football team back in the 70's and 80's, but Robert Kraft has changed that, and it's easy to support a team that has played in 5 of the last 13 super bowls. i would like to see how much the support would wane if they failed to make a super bowl for 24 years (the time between the eagles appearances).

 

I've been a raiders fan since i was 8, my moms then-husband was a huge raiders fan and i liked to watch football with him, it just took off from there.

 

Cards. Have to route for the home team!