Who counts as a native of a particular place?

[JayhawkCO]

Do you root for the local sports teams? If you do than native. If not, not a native.

Not that simple.

I consider myself a Minnesota native. I still cheer for the Twins and Vikings. I finally switched allegiances and became a Nuggets fan instead of the Wolves since that franchise has been in disarray for decades. I was a North Stars fan before they moved to Dallas, but wasn't going to cheer for them once they ditched Minnesota. Then the Avs came after I already lived in Colorado. Never felt any attachment at all to the Wild.

You are either a native, a non-native, or a bandwagon sports fan.

Well, the only thing you could maybe call me bandwagon on is the Nuggets, but I started going to more games five years ago, before there was the vision that Murray/Jokic could be the core of a champ. The others I was fans of as soon as was possible (birth for the Minnesota teams and relocation for the Avs).

[Max Rockatansky]

I can't say that I blame Detroit area fans for giving up on the Lions long ago.  Call it bandwagon if you want but that's a case where a team has done close to nothing to retain a fan base.  The only reason I'm still a fan is because that's always been my team.  That and despite the ineptitude by the Lions front office management they never really struck me as trying to deliberately tank.

[mgk920]

I have always said and still firmly believe that if you were not born and raised anywhere within the state of Illinois north of I-88 and its logical eastward or westward extensions and you say that you are a fan of the Chicago Cubs, then you are nothing more than a 'bandwagoner'.

Mike

[1995hoo]

I always considered one to be a "native" of the place they spent the most time between the ages of 0 and 18.

How do you account for people like children of members of the Armed Forces who are constantly being transferred around and don't necessarily have any one particular place where they spent the most time?

I have always said and still firmly believe that if you were not born and raised anywhere within the state of Illinois north of I-88 and its logical eastward or westward extensions and you say that you are a fan of the Chicago Cubs, then you are nothing more than a 'bandwagoner'.

I find arguments like that to be somewhat silly because they don't account for people whose parents are from a given city, grew up rooting for a team, and then moved away but continued to root for them. Earlier in the thread I mentioned my brother-in-law who grew up in Ohio but moved to Arizona and retained his allegiance to the Cincinnati Reds. He and his wife never had kids, but if they did, why wouldn't he raise (or at least try to raise) his kids as Reds fans? That wouldn't make them "bandwagoners."

BTW, my wife's parents still live in San Diego, and they still root for the Padres (as does she), but are now bitter over the Chargers' relocation to "evil" Los Angeles.

My relatives from Brooklyn remain disgruntled about the Dodgers folding after the 1957 season.

[JayhawkCO]

I always considered one to be a "native" of the place they spent the most time between the ages of 0 and 18.

How do you account for people like children of members of the Armed Forces who are constantly being transferred around and don't necessarily have any one particular place where they spent the most time?

They're not a native of anywhere. They're an army brat.

My sense of "home" is different than a lot of people. My wife lived in the same house in Olathe, KS from the time she came home from the hospital until she left for college. I, however, moved when I was 1, 6, 12, 17, 18, 22, 25, 26, and 34. I went to three different elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools. I still call myself a "Minnesota Native" because all of my extended family is there and my "Midwestern sensibilities" help my personality probably align more with Minnesota than any other place I've lived. That said, what's it mean to "go home"? I have no idea.

[Roadgeekteen]

I can't say that I blame Detroit area fans for giving up on the Lions long ago.  Call it bandwagon if you want but that's a case where a team has done close to nothing to retain a fan base.  The only reason I'm still a fan is because that's always been my team.  That and despite the ineptitude by the Lions front office management they never really struck me as trying to deliberately tank.

If the Lions ever become good again, all of the "fans" that stopped rooting for the team would jump back on the bandwagon and pretend to be lifelong fans.

[Max Rockatansky]

I can't say that I blame Detroit area fans for giving up on the Lions long ago.  Call it bandwagon if you want but that's a case where a team has done close to nothing to retain a fan base.  The only reason I'm still a fan is because that's always been my team.  That and despite the ineptitude by the Lions front office management they never really struck me as trying to deliberately tank.

If the Lions ever become good again, all of the "fans" that stopped rooting for the team would jump back on the bandwagon and pretend to be lifelong fans.

I'll believe it when I see (if I see it).  My family has waiting something like that to happen since the late 1950s.

[Big John]

I can't say that I blame Detroit area fans for giving up on the Lions long ago.  Call it bandwagon if you want but that's a case where a team has done close to nothing to retain a fan base.  The only reason I'm still a fan is because that's always been my team.  That and despite the ineptitude by the Lions front office management they never really struck me as trying to deliberately tank.

If the Lions ever become good again, all of the "fans" that stopped rooting for the team would jump back on the bandwagon and pretend to be lifelong fans.

I'll believe it when I see (if I see it).  My family has waiting something like that to happen since the late 1950s.

They have high expectations this year.

[abefroman329]

I have always said and still firmly believe that if you were not born and raised anywhere within the state of Illinois north of I-88 and its logical eastward or westward extensions and you say that you are a fan of the Chicago Cubs, then you are nothing more than a 'bandwagoner'.

Mike

The Cubs have fans scattered to the four corners of the Earth because their games were carried on WGN, which was/is a superstation.

[Big John]

I have always said and still firmly believe that if you were not born and raised anywhere within the state of Illinois north of I-88 and its logical eastward or westward extensions and you say that you are a fan of the Chicago Cubs, then you are nothing more than a 'bandwagoner'.

Mike

The Cubs have fans scattered to the four corners of the Earth because their games were carried on WGN, which was/is a superstation.

WGN has turned to News Nation around here.

[abefroman329]

Gatekeeping is stupid; let people enjoy the things they enjoy.

[NWI_Irish96]

I have always said and still firmly believe that if you were not born and raised anywhere within the state of Illinois north of I-88 and its logical eastward or westward extensions and you say that you are a fan of the Chicago Cubs, then you are nothing more than a 'bandwagoner'.

Mike

The Cubs have fans scattered to the four corners of the Earth because their games were carried on WGN, which was/is a superstation.

WGN has turned to News Nation around here.

WGN split into separate over the air and cable/satellite stations in the 1990s, prompted by professional sports leagues prohibiting national distribution of local teams, with the programming eventually becoming entirely separate.  The national WGN station became WGN America and eventually, NewsNation. The over the air WGN still exists and is available in this area, with  their live newscasts available nationwide on the WGN smart TV app.

[Rothman]

Gatekeeping is stupid; let people enjoy the things they enjoy.

I enjoy gatekeeping, gatekeeper.

[jgb191]

Do you root for the local sports teams? If you do than native. If not, not a native.

I have been a Houston sports fan for about as long as I can remember despite not being from the area, and the same goes for a good portion of Corpus Christi.  Despite my city being larger than several other sports cities with teams, Corpus Christi does not have a major sports organization so we have to look to the closest ones like in San Antonio and Houston.

[Max Rockatansky]

I can't say that I blame Detroit area fans for giving up on the Lions long ago.  Call it bandwagon if you want but that's a case where a team has done close to nothing to retain a fan base.  The only reason I'm still a fan is because that's always been my team.  That and despite the ineptitude by the Lions front office management they never really struck me as trying to deliberately tank.

If the Lions ever become good again, all of the "fans" that stopped rooting for the team would jump back on the bandwagon and pretend to be lifelong fans.

I'll believe it when I see (if I see it).  My family has waiting something like that to happen since the late 1950s.

They have high expectations this year.

And that's different from all the other years they had "high expectations"  with the likes of Barry Sanders or Matt Stafford?  The deal with the Lions is that they hook you in with hope after a 9-10 win season.  Things usually go south from there and backtrack to 5-6 wins.

[Henry]

I have always said and still firmly believe that if you were not born and raised anywhere within the state of Illinois north of I-88 and its logical eastward or westward extensions and you say that you are a fan of the Chicago Cubs, then you are nothing more than a 'bandwagoner'.

Mike

The Cubs have fans scattered to the four corners of the Earth because their games were carried on WGN, which was/is a superstation.

What, then, would be your argument for GA? If someone were not from the Atlanta area and still is a Braves fan, would they be called bandwagon fans, based on the fact that the Braves games were televised on the TBS Superstation? (Same would go for Mets fans who have never lived on Long Island, including Queens and Brooklyn, from the days when superstation WOR carried their games.) I find your assessment of IL inane, because there are several people north of I-88 who do not like the Cubs. And BTW, everyone has a right to root for any team they want, even if it's not tied to where they come from. JayhawkCO is a perfect example of such, as he's originally from Minnesota (Twins and Vikings) but now lives in Colorado (Avalanche).

[bwana39]

My wife is a native of Texas. I will never make the mistake of disputing that again...

She was born in Mississippi. Moved to Texas when she was 5.  Spent a year back in MS when she was around 10 and three years in Louisiana when she was around 12.  She has been here non-stop since she was 15.

I on the other hand have been here for 62+ years.

[bugo]

That's an awesome shot.

Thanks! I don't consider myself to be a good photographer, but I think I've taken some decent pictures. Dumb luck, mostly.  I just point the camera and push the button, and if I'm lucky, it will turn out to be good.

I will be happy to not have to worry about the sky trying to kill me every spring, but I will miss the regular thunderstorms. At least you can live stream most of the OKC stations when it's storming to get your fix of the mets getting themselves all in a tizzy.

I like thunderstorms as well, but since the deracho that hit Tulsa last month, I'm a bit more apprehensive about it. Tornadoes don't scare me very much because they are so localized and usually affect only a small area. The straight line winds that hit us were widespread and affected a large area. That's why I'm more afraid of hurricanes than tornadoes. Tornadoes damage a small, localized area, while hurricanes damage huge areas. I get asked all the time how I can stand living here with the tornado threat. I grew up 12 miles from the Oklahoma line, so the weather there is similar to the weather in Tulsa, except Tulsa tends to get more snow because it's further north.

[dlsterner]

Do you root for the local sports teams? If you do than native. If not, not a native.

So you're saying that somebody who doesn't follow nor care for sports is not a native of anywhere?

Just a homeless soul wandering aimlessly, without a place to call "home" ...