Nico Bonifate- Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL)- One of my many passions in life has always centered around sports. Even as I've grown, I have gotten into additional interests, sports still hold a special place in my heart.
My favorite sport is ice hockey, and my favorite hockey team is the Vancouver Canucks. I am not from Vancouver... I don’t have any relations to Vancouver or even to Canada for that matter.
But for me, the colors, logo, team location, history were good factors for me when picking my favorite NHL team.
My favorite player at the time also played for Vancouver, Bo Horvat.
There are many reasons people pick their favorite sports teams even if they aren’t in the same region.
A historically great team usually garners attention from people who are not from that region.
A good example of fanbases that fit this stereotype include the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Lakers, etc.
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These fans are often called “bandwagon” fans and they are notorious for their allegiance to teams who are consistently successful.
Loyalty to a team is something that can be passed down through generations, even with the non-regional aspects being a factor.
Some fans don’t have any local teams and choose to root for non-regional teams. There are many reasons why sports fans root for their teams.
Jerseys styles and colors play a major role in sports fandom.
One trend I have noticed around Lakewood Ranch High School is students wearing soccer jerseys from teams that are located in Europe.
Now, knowing that soccer is a pretty popular sport, I was still curious on what lead to their fandom for the team.
Responses included “I like the style, it blends with the colors”, “My favorite player plays for them”, and “I just like wearing soccer jerseys.”
Whatever the reason, I think it is important for sports fans to come together for the love of sports, something that truly represents passion.
