how do I pick a NFL team to become a fan of?

Question

I live in NJ. we don't have a team -- who can I follow and how do I pick a good team. I just like indiv. players but I want to follow a team....what about Houston Oilers or Minnesota Vikings? How did u find ur team? also - how i know how good the teams are, rankings wise?

Answer 1

Method #1: Go to nfl.com and look at all of the helmets/jerseys. Pick the best looking logo, one that you wouldn't mind wearing every day. You have sucessfully picked your favorite NFL team.

Method #2: You indicated that you already follow individual players. Pick your favorite player. His team is now your favorite team.

Method #3: This is has been repeated serveral times already. Pick the closest team to where you live. You'll be able to buy a lot more merchandise and attend more games if your team is close. (I moved from Dallas to LA and now I'm not able to buy anything for the Dallas teams [Mavs,Stars, no, not the Cowboys])

To see how good a team is: look at their records from last few years.

Answer 2

I live in (and always have) northern Ohio and I am a die hard Miami Dolphins fan. The Cleveland Browns are for sure my second favorite though. I just ended up being a Dolphins fan ever since I started watching football because I was a huge Dan Marino fan. I then became a fan of the whole team and stayed a Dolphins fan since. They continue to get players I like and I continue to be a die hard Dolphins fan, even though they haven't given me any reason to cheer, here lately. And the Houston Oilers are not around anymore. They moved to Tennessee and are the Titans. The team that ended up replacing them in Houston a few years later was the Texans. All in all I say pick a team that has a player that you enjoy watching play the game or a team that has maybe a player that went to your local high school or something. Orlando Pace of the Ohio State Buckeyes and now St. Louis Rams grew up about 8 miles from me. Charles Woodson and Joe Jurevicious are pretty close to. Just don't jump on a bandwagon and pick a team just because they win allot. You know like all the new Patriot fans over the past few years. Yeah they were all Cowboy fans before. lol.

Answer 3

Usually someone picks their favorite team by where they live or watching the team of their favorite player. Living in NJ you have many teams to choose from- if you are looking for a "home" team. The Giants, Jets, Eagles, Patriots, Bills, Redskins, and Ravens are very close and would be easy to follow locally. I live in Minnesota and would discourage following the Vikings- they do not have a star player and are not a very good football team. They used to be fun to watch in the late 90's and early 2000, but now it pains me to watch them. I am a Denver Broncos fan. I started following the Broncos because John Elway was my favorite player. The more I watched the entire team, the more I became a Broncos fan and not just an Elway fan. There is no right or wrong way to choose a team. Many people start watching a team because they like the helmets or uniforms. If you go to any major sports site, they have team rankings during the season- based on how good the team is doing. Hope this helped. Good luck in finding a team.

Answer 4

Go with that one team that appeals to you the most. Make sure though not to be a bandwagon fan. Don't go with a team because they have success. The Chiefs have the largest fan base in the entire nation. (Over 40% of seats are season ticket holders from 48 of the 50 states and also the UK and Canada, The 2 states that do not have season ticket holders are New Hampshire and Alaska) But the Chiefs haven't won a Super Bowl since 69' and haven't won a playoff game since 93'. The point Im getting to is that you should pick that one team that appeals. Whether it be the underdog, the tradition, or whatever. Maybe you should look into the history of the teams you are interested in.

For your second question, you find out who good teams are by checking stats at nfl.com. Team wise, the most important stats for offense are total yards and points per game. Same with defence.

Answer 5

Most people become fans of teams that play in the city they live in. In your case, even though they're called New York, both the Jets and Giants play in East Rutherford New Jersey (though the Jets are moving soon), so in that respect you may want to become a fan of either of those teams.

The Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee nearly a decade ago to eventually become the Tennessee Titans, btw.

To see how good teams were this past season, just go to any sport site's NFL section and check out the standings, as well as the playoff bracket that site should probably still have up.

Answer 6

South Jersey or North Jersey?

If you are closer to Philly than NY, I'd recommend the Eagles.

If you are closer to NY then the Giants unless you want to suffer as the Jets get whipped by the Patriots and generations of frustrated Red Sox fans ask you when was Super Bowl III again?

If you are in a mixed area for Giants and Eagles, pick the Jets so you don't get caught in the crossfire and your ignorance gets exposed. (Not an insult, your new and a casual fan, but someone will blast you for not knowing your team's history.)

Answer 7

I'm from Philly, so my team is the Philadelphia Eagles. Geographically speaking, if you are in North Jersey, you'd have your pick of the New York Giants or New York Jets. If you are in South Jersey, then the Eagles would be the closest team to you.

As far as how good teams are, it often varies in the NFL from year to year. You can find the NFL standings for last season here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_NFL_season. At the bottom of the page you can check out the records for previous seasons.

Answer 8

You have two teams in New Jersey: The New York Giants and the New York Jets. East Rutherford is not in New York. Plus, for South Jersey fans, there's the Philadelphia Eagles.

On the other hand, the Houston Oilers have been in Tennessee for 10 years. If you're not aware of this, then maybe you should pick a "sport" that requires less attention-paying than football. Try NASCAR.

Answer 9

Well if you want a local team that you can go watch play then either the Jets or Giants. But if you aren't planning on going to games then just pick the team with your favorite player and follow them. Just so you know you don't have to like only one team. My favorite teams are the Bengals, Patriots, Texans, and the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers because I grew up by them. The Patriots because they're my uncle's favorite team and i lived with him for a while so I ended up liking them. I've loved the Texans since they formed because I like underdogs and I've LOVED the Bengals for a long, long time back when they were also underdogs. Also if you want to know how good the teams check out this site that ranks them.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/powerRankings

Answer 10

Usually, fans tend to root for the team closest to them. I'm from Chicago and therefore I'm a Bears fan. However, I've met people that like a certain player and root for their team because of it. There really isn't a right or wrong answer. Whatever team you choose, stick with them. Otherwise you would be known as a bandwagon fan!