When did you become a fan or why?

[chezboots]

Do you remeber how, when or why you became a fan of your favorite team? Heres my story.

It's 1985 I'm 10 years old I'm in my room in suburban New Jersey, watching my little black and white TV and this game is on. I do not remember the opponent but I remember bases loaded and George Foster at bat. I remeber starting to get into it and saying boo he's a strike out king he'll strike out and then crack it's back, way back out of here Grand Slam Home Run! Thats all I remember I do not know the final score but I remember that as the moment I became a Mets fan.

Later that year my first trip to shea to see the Mets and Pirates and then the Magical '86 season, A great '88 season, The subway series in 2000 and now hopefully another great season 20 years later. I have never waivered or looked at another team as a favorite, I kind of liked the A's in the late 80's early 90's but not in the same way as the Mets. There my team no matter what the score or the games back or ahead they are. Let's Go Mets!

[duckdodger215]

I was a sophomore in high school and went to visit my aunt and uncle in Vero Beach during spring break for a few days. Went to Pt. St. Lucie and, of course, Dodgertown. The rest speaks for itself. That was about 7 and a half years ago.

[sfgiantsflgators]

Originally, I was a Mets fan (when I was between about 5-. I was born in Memphis and for some reason we got the Mets television station. Unfortunately, it was also at this time I was first subjected to that jackass Tim McCarver.

Anyway, I watched the 1986 series and followed the Mets until I moved to Missouri. I wasn't able to get Mets games at all anymore and fell out of contact with them. I never liked the Cardinals and Royals, so I just watched games on WGN and TBS to get my baseball fix (never really cared about the Cubs either and, being a former Mets fan, I of course didn't like the Braves).

At the age of 13 though, I became a Giants fan. I had watched many Pirates/Braves games as they fought for and in the playoffs; and due to my previous affiliation with the Mets, I always cheered for the Bucs. Well, in 1993, a certain Buc was signed by the team that featured two of my all-time favorite players in it's history - Christy Mathewson and Willie Mays. Not too mention one of my favorite plays of all-time: the Shot Heard Round the World.

So, when Bonds signed and had his press conference standing next to Willie Mays, I was hooked. Been a fan ever since (13 years now).

[chezboots]

I was a sophomore in high school and went to visit my aunt and uncle in Vero Beach during spring break for a few days. Went to Pt. St. Lucie and, of course, Dodgertown. The rest speaks for itself. That was about 7 and a half years ago.

My Mom lives in Vero and went there for spring training a few years back and went on the field before the game and met some of the players. That was cool, thats where I met James Loney 18 years old and twice the size of me it was crazy. we had a good conversation and now I have a soft spot for him. Hence my trying to make a cyberface of him.

[kgbaseball]

My favorite team is the Brew Crew, but I grew up with the Braves. I remember that I first really got into baseball when I was 8 during the 95 WS when the Braves played the Indians. I always loved Maddux/Smoltz/Glavine and of course, Chipper. They still remain my #2 team behind the Crew.

[chezboots]

Unfortunately, it was also at this time I was first subjected to that jackass Tim McCarver.

GOD I HATE McCARVER!!!! I watch the Fox game of the week with SAP on just so I don't have to hear him babble. Sorry of topic, I could go on and on about how much I hate him. Deion Sanders is still on of My Favorites for dumping water on him and making him whine like a girl.

[jhoff80]

My dad always liked the Cardinals (no idea why, being that he was from Connecticut), so I was always a fan of them. However, the defining moment came when I was probably 8 or 9. We went to a Mets-Cards game at Shea, for my brother's and my birthday (3 years and a day apart). My dad had told us that he had talked to Ozzie Smith on the phone and that he would sign something for us. Of course, we thought he was completely bs-ing us. To make a long story short, after the game we go towards him and my father says something about calling him, and Ozzie turns to us, says something like "Oh yeah, its your birthdays, right? And signs our hats: "To Joe (and one for my brother as well) Happy birthday, Ozzie Smith."

From then on, I'd say it was pretty much cemented in stone for me.

[BigDom]

In the house I live in, sports were a given.... you hadda like sports, they wore on you, and evwen since I was young the hometown teams have always been who I root for.... the tigers are finally doing awesome for the first time in my life, and it's so awesome to watch.... the redwings have won 3 stanley cups, and the pistons have won 3 also.... but it is time soon for the lions, but doesnt seem like this year.... but thats also what i said for the tig's too....

[kgbaseball]

My dad always liked the Cardinals (no idea why, being that he was from Connecticut), so I was always a fan of them. However, the defining moment came when I was probably 8 or 9. We went to a Mets-Cards game at Shea, for my brother's and my birthday (3 years and a day apart). My dad had told us that he had talked to Ozzie Smith on the phone and that he would sign something for us. Of course, we thought he was completely bs-ing us. To make a long story short, after the game we go towards him and my father says something about calling him, and Ozzie turns to us, says something like "Oh yeah, its your birthdays, right? And signs our hats: "To Joe (and one for my brother as well) Happy birthday, Ozzie Smith."

From then on, I'd say it was pretty much cemented in stone for me.

Great story!

[hunteroo2]

Grew up in Seattle, and I do believe it was game 5 of the ALDS against the Yankees, and, well, you know.. :lol:

[JoeyMcM93]

I grew up with the Giants and the A's. Both of my grandfathers love the Giants and the A's. My Dad loves them both. My Uncle loves the Giants. If you haven't gotten it yet, if you don't like the bay area teams in my family you're an outlaw. I went to my first game when I was 5. A's vs Red Sox. A's win 7-3. I was intranced by the ballpark. I loved everything about it. I'm happy to say that a streak began that day that still hasn;t been broken. The A's are 45-0 when I am at the game. I need playoff tickets...

[BigDom]

I grew up with the Giants and the A's. Both of my grandfathers love the Giants and the A's. My Dad loves them both. My Uncle loves the Giants. If you haven't gotten it yet, if you don't like the bay area teams in my family you're an outlaw. I went to my first game when I was 5. A's vs Red Sox. A's win 7-3. I was intranced by the ballpark. I loved everything about it. I'm happy to say that a streak began that day that still hasn;t been broken. The A's are 45-0 when I am at the game. I need playoff tickets...

lol.... I've been on a streak too, for the last 4 years of going to random tiger games, they have won.... ironically my last was on 7/23, when my Tig's beat your A's... :D

[mdewals]

when I was an exchange student in the states I found out that Scott Radinsky was also playing Major League Baseball and at that time (1997-1998) he played for the dodgers and since then I'm a dodger fan.

Never followed him to the cards or indians. but untill 2-3 months ago I couldnt watch any games live or in rerun anyways.

[UncleMo]

8th grade. The year is 1991.

Everyone in class keeps talking about the Braves. The teachers, students, and I notice there is a strange buzz all over town. I go with my mom to get her nails done and there is a Braves game on TV vs. the Dodgers and it is an Atlanta home game. The crows is insane chanting some crap over and over again: OOOOOO-O-OOOOO-O…you know the drill. Anyway, I thought that was cool so I figured that I’d check it out. I started watching games when I heard the Braves won their division. Kids are wearing this Braves T-shirts and are always talking about the team. I started watching the playoffs a bit, but don’t remember much of it. I was totally hooked to the game when I watched the Braves go on to the WS in 1991 because each team won their home game. Can you imagine the thrill and excitement and close games? I saw things in that series that I’ll never ever see again, little did I know. I learned a lot about baseball, the basics of course, because the announcers talked baseball during the game. That made it easy for a newcomer to pick up the game real easily. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Things that you may remember:

1. Lonnie Anderson almost making it to 3rd or home but got tricked on the strangest play you’d ever see and then being caught in a rundown.

2. Kent Hrbeck pulled Ron Gant off of first base and some how chose not to punch him. Gant was called out by mistake.

3. Gladden crashing into our catcher and the catcher being flipped so that he was standing on his head, crunching his neck. See pick below.

[hsa613]

8th grade. The year is 1991.

Everyone in class keeps talking about the Braves. The teachers, students, and I notice there is a strange buzz all over town. I go with my mom to get her nails done and there is a Braves game on TV vs. the Dodgers and it is an Atlanta home game. The crows is insane chanting some crap over and over again: OOOOOO-O-OOOOO-O…you know the drill. Anyway, I thought that was cool so I figured that I’d check it out. I started watching games when I heard the Braves won their division. Kids are wearing this Braves T-shirts and are always talking about the team. I started watching the playoffs a bit, but don’t remember much of it. I was totally hooked to the game when I watched the Braves go on to the WS in 1991 because each team won their home game. Can you imagine the thrill and excitement and close games? I saw things in that series that I’ll never ever see again, little did I know. I learned a lot about baseball, the basics of course, because the announcers talked baseball during the game. That made it easy for a newcomer to pick up the game real easily. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Things that you may remember:

1. Lonnie Anderson almost making it to 3rd or home but got tricked on the strangest play you’d ever see and then being caught in a rundown.

2. Kent Hrbeck pulled Ron Gant off of first base and some how chose not to punch him. Gant was called out by mistake.

3. Gladden crashing into our catcher and the catcher being flipped so that he was standing on his head, crunching his neck. See pick below.

I remeber those plays well. I was living in Savannah Ga. at the time and the whole state was going crazy. One thing it was Lonnie Smith. Lonnie Anderson was the chick from WKRP in Cincinnati. The play you were talking about was Smith paying attention to the secondbaseman and not his base coach. The play the fielder made (knoblach I believe) is a play taught to all middle infielders once you get into competitive ball.

It was great to see the fans going so crazy. Now the Braves don't even sell out playoff games.

[xiberger]

Growing up in Austria, I didn't get in contact with baseball during my childhood at all. At the age of twelve, however, I came across a baseball set (small bat, kid’s glove, ball) at a local sports department store. I instantly fell in love with the game, but was in dire need of a baseball cap to complete my gear. In that store were only two different caps available: one of the Cincinnati Reds, and one of the Toronto Blue Jays. Blue being my favorite color, I bought Toronto's, and I haven't regretted that decision ever since.

[adonis2109]

For me it was probably the first time that I saw Roger Clemens pitch in a Red Sox uni. He wasn't even my favorite player at the time. Everyone in my family was either a Cubs fan or a Braves fan. Living in Orlando, FL and not having a team until the Marlins came in was tough, and I wasn't a bandwagon kid so when I saw Clemens pitch, I was instantly a Red Sox fan. Then when I got older and read Red Sox lore, I was hooked.

[Bama]

hmmm...well...Growing up, I lived for a while in Chicago. My uncle is a landlord for an apartment that he owns in Chicago on N. Clark St., about a couple of blocks from Wrigley Field. I remember when I was young, walking to the baseball games with him and sitting in the stands, cheering for the Cubs, all the while not really knowing too much of what was going on.

Eventually, we moved to Alabama, where I currently reside, which made it kind of hard to keep up with the Cubs. I was also kind of a social outcast in a way at school being a Cubs fan and all. So, I jumped ship and became a Braves fan. I think Chip Caray's stalking me.

[duckdodger215]

My Mom lives in Vero and went there for spring training a few years back and went on the field before the game and met some of the players. That was cool, thats where I met James Loney 18 years old and twice the size of me it was crazy. we had a good conversation and now I have a soft spot for him. Hence my trying to make a cyberface of him.

didn't happen to be spring training '04 did it? i do believe that i was there during "meet the players 15 minutes before the game" day. they let all the little chumps on the field first, tho! Lasorda was entertaining some Japanese big-wigs that day, too.

[chezboots]

didn't happen to be spring training '04 did it? i do believe that i was there during "meet the players 15 minutes before the game" day. they let all the little chumps on the field first, tho! Lasorda was entertaining some Japanese big-wigs that day, too.

It was 04, And I remember Japanese press being there and them having Japanese players on the team at the time. I just looked at my pics and I have one of the player with the Japanese press in the background. Very small world if you were actually there also.

[Tidalwav90]

for my first birthday i got a set of 1990 topps (i was born that year), i couldn't open it until i was older. that made me a baseball fan then. for some reason i cant remember i was a sox fan until i was 8. then the homerun chase happened and i was forever a cubs fan. though i now realize that most of the homers were cause of steroids

[yourhomiejosh]

Well... back in the early 90's, I liked the A's. Canseco was my favorite player on the team at the time. Then I went to a couple of Greenville Braves games along with a few games in Atlanta. So after that, I became a Braves fan. I used to go and spend the night with my grandma and we'd watch games together.

Fast forward a while. The homerun chase is going down, and I'm pulling for Sosa. This kind of sparked the idea of being a Cubs fan. After I hit middle school, I kind of gave up on baseball until I hit the summer before high school. I started liking the Red Sox then, because Pedro was my favorite pitcher. After they won the Series, everybody liked them all of a sudden, and that made me not want to be associated with them.

So... my uncle Roger is an avid Yankees fan. My uncle Tony is a Cubs fan. My grandma still likes the Braves. My dad is at a tie between the Astros and the Cubs. We all watched games together, and somehow I ended up liking the Cubs. I still like the Braves a little because they're the closest professional team, and I still like the Red Sox because our minor league team is their affiliate.

[ixcuincle]

I didn't follow baseball much until the final days of Cal Ripken Jr's Orioles career , so for the first 15 or 16 years of my life I had no knowledge of baseball , or any other sport. But I seriously started to follow baseball around 2001. After 9/11 , I realized what a beautiful game baseball was , watching the Yankees on TV and Bush throwing first pitches and what-not , and I have followed baseball ever since.

[Yoghurt]

one year ago, my brother suggested to try mvp baseball 2004 for pc. we never had any contact with baseball, but i liked the idea and became very curious.

we both like ice hockey, basketball, football, and then we decided to have experiences with baseball.

mvp baseball 2004 amazed us, we liked it to play and began to learn the game.

and the team we chose were the new york yankees. to tell the truth, it was the only baseball team we have ever heard of, beside the cleveland indian (thanks to charlie sheen ).

then came mvp baseball 05, and baseball was shown on german television.

we watch as many games and news as we can and we fell in love with the game. we even found a baseball club near our town were we made our first real baseball experiences. and we realized, that playing baseball isn't as easy, as it seems on television *g*

conclusion:

mvp baseball 2004 brought me (and my brother) to baseball and made us yankee fans.

[Snowdrake]

2002 World Series that is all I can say. After that day I became a Giants fan