So as I contemplate ceremoniously putting away my Illini flag to replace it with my Cubs flag, I began to think what it must be like to root for teams that are perennial winners. But, I couldn't imagine rooting for a different team.

So, I came up with this question. If the team you root for was taken away for whatever reason, that team is no more. What team would you root for?

I love the sports so I would still watch and I imagine I'd have a team. So for me, if the Illini, Cubs, Bears, and Bulls were gone, I think I'd go -

ND football
DePaul basketball
Red Sox
Packers (yeah I hate them now but I love FB tradition)
Jazz

Sorry, I'm not a hockey guy.
But, I might go #8 car if we want to talk NASCAR.

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You know me like that.

I'll go with just major sports:

Baseball: Marlins
Basketball: Pacers
Football: Broncos

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I'm bringin Sellars back..

Penn State Football (They are the other team in the big ten that I will root for)
North Carolina Basketball (to piss off my duke alum friend)
Oakland As (I root for them in the playoffs)
Los Angeles Clippers (a perennially bad team? sign me up!)
New Orleans Saints (same reason as Penn State)

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Well, since I despise Steve Alford (and rumors are heating up that he is leaving), I would root for Wisconsin basketball. I also like Paul Hewitt at Georgia Tech so I'll go for them too.

Now college football, give me North Carolina State if for nothing more it will stop my good buddy from pissing and moaning all football season when they suck.

Baseball: Toronto Blue Jays

Football: Seattle Seahawks

(Not sure why I liked these clubs when I was a kid, but they dont piss me off)

Basketball: Mavericks (whom I already root for)

Football: Eagles

Baseball: Tigers or Twins - flip a coin

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Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

With the teams as they are currently constructed, here is who I would root for.

Yankees (I hate them, but I think Jeter is the ultimate pro and will root for him until he retires). I'll watch baseball no matter what, though, and just root for good play. That's why the World Series was so painful to watch this year.

Phoenix Suns (Just because they are so much fun to watch)

Green Bay (I respect the hell out of Favre)

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

OUT:_______________IN:
Buffalo Bills__________NY Jets

White Sox___________Joliet Jackhammers

Buffalo Sabres________Toronto Maple Leafs

Jeff Burton___________Casey Kahne
(and his bro Ward
if you can find him)

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CSFMB: Home of the small minded

Excellent topic.

Baseball

Major League Baseball could not continue without its most glorious and storied franchise, the mighty New York Yankees. Therefore, I shan't consider this question.

Football

Life without the New York Giants is simply unthinkable. As an intellectual exercise, however, I suppose I would manage to root for the potent Tom Brady and his roving horde of Patriots.

Hockey

If the Rangers sunk completely into oblivion (admittedly, a very short trip), the Sabres would be the beneficiaries of my cheers.

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1923-1927-1928-1932-1936-1937-1938-1939
1941-1943-1947-1949-1950-1951-1952-1953
1956-1958-1961-1962-1977-1978-1996-1998
1999-2000-2009
----------
XXI - XXV - XLII - XLVI

Cubs => ChiSox
Bears => Steelers
Illini => Irish

If I couldn't root for the Bears it would be the New Orleans Saints until Drew Brees leaves.

If I couldn't root for the White Sox I would probably choose the Tampa Bay Devil Rays because they deserve to have someone rooting for them.

Bulls->Mavericks because I wish I was Mark Cuban.

Boilermakers-> Even though they don't run a program that is the definition of clean I would probably choose Ohio State, with Penn State being close.

Teams I could never root for:
ND
Knicks
Yankees
Red Sox
Vikings
Packers(even though I still respect Brett Farve)
Any team with Kobe Bryant
Indiana University

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Out------In

White Sox-----Oakland

Avalanche-----Calgary Flames

Bears-------Seahawks

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

Brewers
Supersonics
Wild
Steelers

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The Saints
Marquette Warriors (or burito golden eagles)
Notre Dame Football

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SideshowBob311: "Sadly enough, I think we're the "intelligent" portion of the sports radio fanbase".
"I make fun of whoever sucks, including me"- Harry 11/30/07

College: Purdue
NFL: Bengals
NBA: Mavs
MLB: I hate baseball
NHL: Maple Leafs
Soccer: Arsenal

The above replace:

Illinois
Packers
Bulls
ibid
Hawks
Liverpool

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Back off, Warchild. Seriously.

My Fav teams _

NHL -Hawks by a thread
NFL -Bears
MLB-White Sox
NBA-Indifferent

College Football- Northwestern
College Hoops- Illini

High School-Romeoville

NHL -Red Wings
NFL- My fantasy football team or the Packers
MLB - I'm one of the very few Sox fans that will root for the Cubs .
NBA- Could care less about the NBA .

College football - Illini
College Hoops -SIU

High School -Joliet Catholic

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"You can't put a bounty on a man's head"!

If forced, I would go with-

Dodgers- my Dad was a Brooklyn Dodger fan
Steelers- the teams of the 70s made them my AFC favorite
Celtics- I can't be accused of being a frontrunner
DePaul basketball
Tennessee football

However, I enjoy being miserable with the teams I root for now, thank you very much.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

What's interesting is I'm seeing a lot of people picking their favorite team's rival to be a fan of....

OUT:_____________________IN:
Indianapolis Colts__________Chicago Bears

Chicago Cubs______________Minnesota Twins

Chicago Bulls______________Cleveland Cavaliers

Iowa Hawkeyes____________Louisville Cardinals

NFL- 49'ers
MLB- Brewers (I live about 3 miles from Miller Park)
NBA- Celtics
College Football- Oklahoma
College Basketball- Marquette
NHL- I used to be a Bruins fan during the "Bobby Orr & the Animals" era so if I ever took pro hockey seriously enough as a sport again I suppose I'd go back to Boston.

Whoever plays the Cubs!

Honestly, if the slate were clean, I think I would jump on the bandwagon of one of the traditionally great teams. I don't want to start being a long suffering fan if I don't have to.

man that is an issue that keeps coming up for me football wise...and i hope to god it never comes to fruition (hear me, tom benson?)

out:

new orleans saints, philadelphia 76ers, philadelphia flyers, chicago cubs, LSU, blackburn rovers

in:

philadelphia eagles, chicago bulls, toronto maple leafs, boston red sox, penn state, chelsea

Applying the technology from "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind", feel free to erase the last 25 years of memories & replace with:

1) Red Sox - Cards (really it s/b the Yanks, but I just can't type it)
2) Bulls - Lakers
3) Bears - Cowboys (following the path of da coach)
4) Illini basketball - Duke
5) Illini football - any D1 program including SMU

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

Cubs-->Twins
Bears-->Colts
Bulls-->Jazz (I've always liked Sloan and Stockton, whom I bet will be their new coach eventually)
Blackhawks-->Penguins (It's such a perfect hockey team name)

I don't follow college sports.

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Some interesting responses...

Cubs Atlanta
Redskins Raiders
Blackhawks LA Kings
Kyle Bush Logano
Illini Northwestern

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

Cubs > Giants
Bears > Panthers
Bulls > 76ers
Blackhawks > Canadians
Irish > Illinois or NU