Choosing a team.

Recently I started at a new job, I had not been there very long when one of my work mates asked me what team I support? "South Adelaide" I replied, I got a blank look and then the comment, "no, in the AFL"? My response to some disbelief was that I don't actually closely follow the AFL. I do sometimes watch a portion of an AFL match if it is on TV and I do cast my eye over the results at the end of the weekend and some of the headlines.

The fact is that I really enjoy sports in general and of all the sports that I follow, South Adelaide are my first team and Sheffield Wednesday my second. I don't often get to watch Sheffield Wednesdays matches on fox, yet it is interesting to reflect on the fact that wherever I am if I hear that Wednesday have won a match I feel instantly happy and if they have lost then its a feeling of sadness or anger - for a club that I have never even see play live!

I look forward to watching Judo matches on Foxtel when they are on and I will often watch an NRL match if I do happen to have the time, I confess that I did record and watch the Bulldogs vs the Rabbitohs last week on Good Friday as well as the Panthers, perhaps for no other reason than it turned out to be a good day to watch sports!

I don't hate nor openly dislike the AFL, my view is that it would be a good thing if it did become a truly national competition I think doing so would likely give it some credibility. As it stands there is more than just a whiff of unprofessionalism about the intent of the administration of the competition which lets it down when it counts.

I think people connect themselves to all manner of different sports and clubs for all manner of different reasons and its a good thing to do that. Why be told by the Murdoch press what sports you should like and who you should support in those competitions? One of the good things about our current age of multi media is that you can pretty much watch or listen to whatever sport you please in your own home and along those lines I think it is great to see the number of international fans that support clubs in the SANFL and if I lived overseas I suspect I might do exactly the same and likely for the same reasons.

I can't tell you why I chose my SANFL team, simply because I have always supported the club. Perhaps you are in the same bag, you support your team simply because you always have, or perhaps for another of the myriad of reasons that people connect themselves into sporting clubs. Please feel welcome to share your own thoughts on choosing a sport and a team to follow, I would be interested to know what you come up with!

Well, for me it is West Adelaide, born and bred, even tho I was brought up in St. Marys, (remember when Souths Clubrooms were in Pinn st. - that's going back!!) The AFL? "money doesn't talk, it swears...." (Dylan) Sport is now tied to Money and advertising, but yes, you can make your own choice at the press of a button. Love nothing more than close up at a SANFL game, couldn't care less about AFL... Another Failure Looming! (Just my 2 bobs worth!)

I was raised West Torrens my dad tried out for them in the 1950s when he moved here from broken hill . They asked him to try out the next year he didn't.
Where I grew up was Torrens now it's westies area
While I follow the crows and I went every week in year 1
I went back to the Eagles clubs like us have what AFL clubs want community support . I don't care how much port screams they lost it
All day every day Eagles
I know people don't get it
I don't care
My one eye is green gold and blue

Great story, Ben.

Never been any doubt for me, it's just the way it was always meant to be.  I also grew up in South's area, but my grandparents lived in the West End of Adelaide. My grandfather was West's timekeeper for 54 years, which might be the League service tecotd.  He's in the WAFC Hall of Fame.

I started going to watch Westies with my fsther when I was a young kid and never stopped. I've probably seen 90% of West's games since then, a long period of time.

I was hopeless at footy, but played and coached cricket all my life and wasn't involved with West at all, except as a supporter from the outer.

My brother, also a Life Member, persuaded me to help out at the Bloods 27 years ago, first as a property steward, then a trainer.

It's been a great ride, first as a trainer, Head Trainer for 12 years, stats caller, now League Team Manager for 7 years, Board Member, Match Committee member and Finance Director.

I've had a crack at nearly every volunteer job, from cleaning the rooms, filling water bottles up at 5.30am on a Sunday morning 'punishment' training session to preparing the club's financial statements.

It's all been a labor of love, but how do you explain such things?

One thing I've never forgotten is that I was a supporter from the outer for much longer than I've been an 'insider' and I miss that often.

On the other hand, I wouldn't swap the experiences I've had. My club was laughed at by a few for a lot of years, but 2015 made it all worthwhile and many of the critics are still waiting.

All power to those who support their club through thick and thin.

Often say that quite regularly a person doesn't choose their club, their club chooses them

Yes, totally agree.

Like lee, i was allways going to be a westies supporter. My grandfather is alife member and my uncles all played for westies at different levels.

My father was a life member with 52 years of service (full respects to stud harradine) and i am lucky enough to be a life member after 30 years time keeping and property steward.

I do not take a great interest in the afl but given i would back a south australian team in marbles against victoria i am happy when either adelaide or power wins -- probably greatest interest with afl is following westies kids career after being drafted.

Sanfl for ever

For me I had a football mad Dad - not bad for someone who had been in the country roughly 10 years when I came around.  Not only that, he was the sort that had his priorities right - had me learning the names of Centrals players over more essential words for my vocabulary.

With the advent of the AFL, as a (then) 7 year old, naturally I flocked to the Crows.

I try and support both sides with as much passion as I can give, which can be interesting and challenging given the perception that for many people in SA you can support one or the other but not both.  For me, there's no need to choose.  They're two different teams in two different competitions - one the elite professional competition, the other a fantastic second-tier competition, where you can see a melting pot of aspiring AFL players, those pushing for a spot in an AFL side (in the case of Adelaide/Port) and those who won't be AFL standard but still playing in the best league for their skills and talents.

It's somewhat like my recent love for ice hockey.  I've always had an interest in the sport from the Mighty Ducks days, and in the past couple of years have taken an interest in the Pittsburgh Penguins (largely from the NHL 24/7 series leading up to their Winter Classic match against Washington in 2011).  Somewhat by default, this has also seen me take a loose interest in their AHL feeder team Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  From a distance, there doesn't appear to be anywhere near the animosity between the top tier NHL and the various second-tier North American competitions that you get here.

In terms of other teams I've follow - following my choice to follow the Penguins in the NHL, I decided to adopt Pittsburgh as my US city, which lead to me following the Steelers in the NFL and the Pirates in the MLB (the Pirates have been doing a Richmond of late - ended a long finals drought a few years ago only to get knocked out in the first round repeatedly). Interestingly, and I only cottoned onto this after choosing to adopt Pittsburgh, they're the only city in the US where the city's colours (black and gold) are used by all 3 professional teams - the Steelers and Pirates use the same 'Pittsburgh gold' as on the city flag, while the Penguins currently use 'Vegas gold' (but their 50th anniversary logo for next season and alternate strip is in Pittsburgh gold, so there's every chance they will revert to Pittsburgh gold next season).

I've also taken a loose following of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. This goes back to the 2 games they played in Adelaide in 2010-2011. The first game I went to in 2010 purely because it was on the way home from Unley (where Centrals had played earlier that afternoon). The game was an epic against the Melbourne Storm, with a botched scrum by Melbourne on the siren saw the Bulldogs win. With the Adelaide Oval redevelopment, the Bulldogs ultimately moved these games to elsewhere in the country, but I still keep a loose following of the side.

From a different perspective.
How do you choose a team (ie footy tips) with results going like they did today?

Chambo Off To Work We Go wrote:From a different perspective.
How do you choose a team (ie footy tips) with results going like they did today?

I suspect it may be an early indication of an unpredictable season ahead. Having seen the Eagles deal with Sturt 6 days earlier, I was obviously surprised at their result. Perhaps 2 games in 6 days may have played a part?
With regard to Ben W's original post, I quite often encounter that assumption, particularly when I'm interstate.
"So ya follow the footy mate. Who d' ya support, Power or Crows?" "Er..Sturt actually." ...."Who??" Says it all really.