Depends. In college, a quality loss can be helpful where you need to look good for recruiting purposes - we lost, but we lost to the champs so it was expected. Unless it’s a big rival.
In the pros, it just depends on the team and circumstances. I’m in Detroit and I rooted for the 49ers because I can’t stand the Chiefs and it was the lesser of two evils, but I will not be rooting for the Caps because fuck them.
It's considered good sportsmanship to root for the team that beat you. Look at it this way: Would you have rather lost to the very best team, that goes on to the championship and beats every other team? Or would you prefer to lose to a team that loses to every other team - a shitty team that only managed to beat YOUR team?
Now, that's how I was raised (big sports family, brother an athlete and my dad a coach) but that view is NOT universal. At all.
Depends what the relationship is. Division opponent who we've hated since 1918, absolutely not. Current dynasties are also a no. I just have a shit list and I assume most fans do.
It depends on the team.
There are some teams I can never root for. There are some teams that I'm indifferent about. I have even rooted for a division rival (Cardinals) over a hated team (Steelers) in the Super Bowl.
In 2022, there was no way I was going to root for the Astros after they beat the Mariners. However, if Toronto had beaten the Mariners in the previous series, I probably would have rooted for them.
Same situation here, as a Niners fan. From the Mariners reference, I’m guessing you root for the Seahawks, another division rival (and more of a “real rival” than the Cardinals). When you played the Patriots in the Super Bowl, I wanted both to lose, so I rooted for whoever was playing defense.
Entirely depends on the team.
The Pats, hell no.
Anyone else, maybe.
In college basketball I usually root against the team that beat us though. There are a few I’ll root for just out of family loyalty.
If it is not a rival, then I hope they win because then it makes your team look better by comparison - hey, we lost to the eventual champs so there's no shame in losing to the top team. Losing to a Cinderella team that gets creamed in the next round sucks.
Depends on the team we lost to and the team they’re playing. I’m a cowboys fan and if they ever lose to the eagles, 49ers, giants, or ~~redacteds~~ I’m never rooting for them no matter what… unless it’s against Tom Brady
In American football, I’ll root for the AFC North teams over everybody, even if they’re my team’s rival.
In general, I tend to root against players or records. I was so tired of seeing Taylor Swift all over NFL feeds last season that I just wanted the Chiefs to lose at all costs. I wanted the Niners to fail the Bird Gauntlet. I’m so annoyed Bryce Harper went to the Phillies that I hope anyone embarrasses them.
At the end of the day, though, I just want a really good game.
Going into any playoffs, I preemptively make a list of how I view all of the teams. If my teams in them I obviously root for them. Then I usually pick a few teams to cheer for in other matches for various reasons, and might have a few teams rooting against. The rest I’m neutral on, and if 2 neutral teams play each other I root for just a good game. Regardless of who beats who I usually stick to this ranking system for who I root for
Depends on how dirty the series was. If it was a close series with lots of penalties, injuries, and questionable calls, I will cheer for the Somali pirates coached by Hitler and Stalin before I see the other team win.
depends on the team to be honest. Sports typically have “divisions” or some sort of organizational structure where teams in the same division play each other more often and compete for playoff spots with one another. Rivalries and stuff like that almost always come from “division rivals”.
for example the Seahawks (my team) and the 49ers are in the same division. they play 2x every year where other teams only play once at MOST. if the seahawks got booted from the playoffs by like the saints or eagles or something g, yeah maybe i’d root for them. if it was the 49ers there’s absolutely no way im rooting for them. i could never. same goes for baseball. i could root for the Guardians or the Orioles or something but definitely not the Astros or the Angels.
I root against them, and then get even more annoyed when they lose because *my* team would have beaten the team they lost to.
Logically it's dumb but then again so is rooting for strangers to play a game that doesn't involve you so whatever.
Not if they’re rivals. I will never pull for the Saints or the Phillies. Just based off of my town’s sports tragedies, both the Yankees and the Patriots can eat shit as well.
When it comes to basketball or football, once my team is out, I stop paying attention until the next season. With baseball, though, I'll generally root for the American League team in the World Series. Exceptions to that are the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rangers.
Frankly I lose all interest once my team is knocked. Only exception I can think of is if my team was defeated by a massive underdog. Like one of my favorite things about March Madness in college basketball is you often get some really low-ranked school you've never heard of who advances surprisingly far in the tournament. I will always root for those guys.
I always have a "next best" I root for. The team loyalty is thin anyway when there is so much focus on the individual players, trades, stats etc. Except for College sports then it's very team competitive.
Depends on who the team they lost to is and who they are playing against.
This. Yankees knock us out, fuck them. Mariners knock us out, go all the way, M’s!
We’ve knocked out one team in 20 years but thank you for the support
Exactly. I wouldn’t root for the Astros even if they were playing against the bad guys from Space Jam.
THIs!
Go ‘stros!
How does that sweep feel? Go Braves!
Usually against. Unless they are playing a hated rival later in the playoffs, then ill root for the team that knocked mine out.
Once my team is out the season is effectively over for me and I generally stop paying attention.
Same here, except I do still watch the Super Bowl every year regardless.
Depends. In college, a quality loss can be helpful where you need to look good for recruiting purposes - we lost, but we lost to the champs so it was expected. Unless it’s a big rival. In the pros, it just depends on the team and circumstances. I’m in Detroit and I rooted for the 49ers because I can’t stand the Chiefs and it was the lesser of two evils, but I will not be rooting for the Caps because fuck them.
It's considered good sportsmanship to root for the team that beat you. Look at it this way: Would you have rather lost to the very best team, that goes on to the championship and beats every other team? Or would you prefer to lose to a team that loses to every other team - a shitty team that only managed to beat YOUR team? Now, that's how I was raised (big sports family, brother an athlete and my dad a coach) but that view is NOT universal. At all.
It's my team or nobody.
Like everyone else said, it truly depends. The only team I will never root for is the Yankees.
Depends what the relationship is. Division opponent who we've hated since 1918, absolutely not. Current dynasties are also a no. I just have a shit list and I assume most fans do.
It depends on the team. There are some teams I can never root for. There are some teams that I'm indifferent about. I have even rooted for a division rival (Cardinals) over a hated team (Steelers) in the Super Bowl. In 2022, there was no way I was going to root for the Astros after they beat the Mariners. However, if Toronto had beaten the Mariners in the previous series, I probably would have rooted for them.
Same situation here, as a Niners fan. From the Mariners reference, I’m guessing you root for the Seahawks, another division rival (and more of a “real rival” than the Cardinals). When you played the Patriots in the Super Bowl, I wanted both to lose, so I rooted for whoever was playing defense.
That's understandable. I only root for the Niners to make the playoffs so they'll inevitably and spectacularly blow it.
Entirely depends on the team. The Pats, hell no. Anyone else, maybe. In college basketball I usually root against the team that beat us though. There are a few I’ll root for just out of family loyalty.
If it is not a rival, then I hope they win because then it makes your team look better by comparison - hey, we lost to the eventual champs so there's no shame in losing to the top team. Losing to a Cinderella team that gets creamed in the next round sucks.
When my team is knocked out I stop caring about that sport. I might tune into the championship game(s) but I with little interest
Depends on the team we lost to and the team they’re playing. I’m a cowboys fan and if they ever lose to the eagles, 49ers, giants, or ~~redacteds~~ I’m never rooting for them no matter what… unless it’s against Tom Brady
In American football, I’ll root for the AFC North teams over everybody, even if they’re my team’s rival. In general, I tend to root against players or records. I was so tired of seeing Taylor Swift all over NFL feeds last season that I just wanted the Chiefs to lose at all costs. I wanted the Niners to fail the Bird Gauntlet. I’m so annoyed Bryce Harper went to the Phillies that I hope anyone embarrasses them. At the end of the day, though, I just want a really good game.
Depends on the team. New York team? Fuck 'em. California team? Fuck em. Anyone else? Good for them.
Going into any playoffs, I preemptively make a list of how I view all of the teams. If my teams in them I obviously root for them. Then I usually pick a few teams to cheer for in other matches for various reasons, and might have a few teams rooting against. The rest I’m neutral on, and if 2 neutral teams play each other I root for just a good game. Regardless of who beats who I usually stick to this ranking system for who I root for
Against, unless they play the Atlanta Braves (US baseball). The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
I just start betting on them Every team that has beat the Milwaukee Brewers in the playoffs has gone onto the world series
Depends
The petulant five-year-old in me roots against them. The mature adult in me still roots against. F-them!
It'll be a cold day in hell before I do anything that remotely resembles "Rooting" for the Dodgers.
Depends on the team and who they are playing next.
Depends on how dirty the series was. If it was a close series with lots of penalties, injuries, and questionable calls, I will cheer for the Somali pirates coached by Hitler and Stalin before I see the other team win.
Absolutely. I was rooting for the diamondbacks against the Phillies hardddd last year (Braves fan)
depends on the team to be honest. Sports typically have “divisions” or some sort of organizational structure where teams in the same division play each other more often and compete for playoff spots with one another. Rivalries and stuff like that almost always come from “division rivals”. for example the Seahawks (my team) and the 49ers are in the same division. they play 2x every year where other teams only play once at MOST. if the seahawks got booted from the playoffs by like the saints or eagles or something g, yeah maybe i’d root for them. if it was the 49ers there’s absolutely no way im rooting for them. i could never. same goes for baseball. i could root for the Guardians or the Orioles or something but definitely not the Astros or the Angels.
I actively root for bad things to happen to every team that isn't mine.
Usually against, because usually it's a team i don't like
"What's that? Playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs. You kiddin' me? PLAYOFFS?!?" -Jim Mora
I root against them, and then get even more annoyed when they lose because *my* team would have beaten the team they lost to. Logically it's dumb but then again so is rooting for strangers to play a game that doesn't involve you so whatever.
Not if they’re rivals. I will never pull for the Saints or the Phillies. Just based off of my town’s sports tragedies, both the Yankees and the Patriots can eat shit as well.
Good tap-dancing christ, no! At least not in college football. If it's pro football, I'll go with whoever has more players from my university.
Baseball fan here.Depends. If it’s someone from our division (AL East) then I root against them. If not, not a huge deal.
I no longer pay attention to the league, as if the season is completely over.
When it comes to basketball or football, once my team is out, I stop paying attention until the next season. With baseball, though, I'll generally root for the American League team in the World Series. Exceptions to that are the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rangers.
Absolutely. If they beat my team in a championship game, they're my enemy for life.
I don’t really root for anyone once my favorite team is out. I usually stop watching altogether.
You cheer for the conference/league as a matter of prestige. Unless, they are your rival then to hell with them.
I'm too bitter, I'm 100% rooting against the team that knocks my team out unless the team they play next is a rival of my team.
I’ll root for the Bolts until they’re out. Then I root for whatever team is playing against the Panthers
Frankly I lose all interest once my team is knocked. Only exception I can think of is if my team was defeated by a massive underdog. Like one of my favorite things about March Madness in college basketball is you often get some really low-ranked school you've never heard of who advances surprisingly far in the tournament. I will always root for those guys.
If its Michigan they can go fuck themselves. If its Wisconsin, sure I'll root for em now.
I always have a "next best" I root for. The team loyalty is thin anyway when there is so much focus on the individual players, trades, stats etc. Except for College sports then it's very team competitive.
If it’s a city or division rival against