The Maryland/Duke Drinking Game

[Nuclear Dish]

I've kept my mouth shut until now, as this isn't my fight. But for the record, I'll throw in my opinion:

1. The initial act of becoming a Dook fan when SG was a local kid was no doubt an act of bandwagon jumping. How anyone could argue otherwise is beyond me. If my kid ever rooted for the local Blue Jays, I could live with it. But if he ever rooted for Dook or the Yankees, I'd disown him. In my family, we had such an issue, as my brother attended Maryland for 2 years and openly rooted for the Terps, although he was torn whenever UNC and Maryland played head-to-head. But rooting for the Terps was deemed acceptable. He'd have never even considered going to Dook, though. (FYI, he transferred to Towson after 2 years, thereby solving his own internal demons.)

2. The fact that he's been a loyal fan for so long is all well and good, and he's certainly beyond bandwagon fan now. It's highly unlikely that he would ever root for Maryland after openly rooting againt them for so long, no matter how bad Dook ever got (please God!).

3. The Yankees analogy is apropos, but the Ravens one is not. It's not inconceivable for SG to start rooting for Towson if they became a national power, and still have a warm place for Dook in his heart. A move from the Niners to the Ravens is not so wrong, since the local team sprouted out of nowhere and was never a direct rival of the Niners.

4. I still maintain that no matter how much SG may root for Dook, he still will never "get it" about the depths of the rivalry with UNC, choosing instead to hate the local Twerps more, simply because that's his frame of reference. He'll never be a fan to the depths of his being the way those of us who grew up in a Dook or UNC household or attended the school are. That's not a slight of him - he is still a terrific fan for his team, but just a comment on the fact that there is such a thing as "insider status" in this case.

5. That having been said, he is the premier Dookie in this specific forum, and to that end, he does his job of banner waving exceptionally well. And generally, he is respectful of the hometown majority. However, the issue he sometimes can't resist running into is the snide comment of trash talk or the needling joke posted in the Maryland sports forum. I used to do that, but I quickly learned that I was trolling, and that was unacceptable. Fortunately, Tony created the NCAA forum, so I have a place to (respectfully) trash talk, debate, or boast.

So to summarize:

Becoming a Dook fan in the first place, even as a kid - BAD

Remaining a Dook fan for so long - ACCEPTABLE

Trash tallking in the Maryland forum (even when they play Dook) - BAD

Trash talking in the NCAA forum - GOOD

[mweb]

Dish, I was simply bringing up the Ravens to see his reasoning in making them his primary team over the 49ers, I wasn't ripping that choice. Good post.

[Sports Guy]

I've kept my mouth shut until now, as this isn't my fight. But for the record, I'll throw in my opinion:

1. The initial act of becoming a Dook fan when SG was a local kid was no doubt an act of bandwagon jumping. How anyone could argue otherwise is beyond me. If my kid ever rooted for the local Blue Jays, I could live with it. But if he ever rooted for Dook or the Yankees, I'd disown him. In my family, we had such an issue, as my brother attended Maryland for 2 years and openly rooted for the Terps, although he was torn whenever UNC and Maryland played head-to-head. But rooting for the Terps was deemed acceptable. He'd have never even considered going to Dook, though. (FYI, he transferred to Towson after 2 years, thereby solving his own internal demons.)

2. The fact that he's been a loyal fan for so long is all well and good, and he's certainly beyond bandwagon fan now. It's highly unlikely that he would ever root for Maryland after openly rooting againt them for so long, no matter how bad Dook ever got (please God!).

3. The Yankees analogy is apropos, but the Ravens one is not. It's not inconceivable for SG to start rooting for Towson if they became a national power, and still have a warm place for Dook in his heart. A move from the Niners to the Ravens is not so wrong, since the local team sprouted out of nowhere and was never a direct rival of the Niners.

4. I still maintain that no matter how much SG may root for Dook, he still will never "get it" about the depths of the rivalry with UNC, choosing instead to hate the local Twerps more, simply because that's his frame of reference. He'll never be a fan to the depths of his being the way those of us who grew up in a Dook or UNC household or attended the school are. That's not a slight of him - he is still a terrific fan for his team, but just a comment on the fact that there is such a thing as "insider status" in this case.

5. That having been said, he is the premier Dookie in this specific forum, and to that end, he does his job of banner waving exceptionally well. And generally, he is respectful of the hometown majority. However, the issue he sometimes can't resist running into is the snide comment of trash talk or the needling joke posted in the Maryland sports forum. I used to do that, but I quickly learned that I was trolling, and that was unacceptable. Fortunately, Tony created the NCAA forum, so I have a place to (respectfully) trash talk, debate, or boast.

So to summarize:

Becoming a Dook fan in the first place, even as a kid - BAD

Remaining a Dook fan for so long - ACCEPTABLE

Trash tallking in the Maryland forum (even when they play Dook) - BAD

Trash talking in the NCAA forum - GOOD

I agree with alot of this post but hey, talking trash is part of being a fan.

The part i bolded was hilarious.

Balt Bird, at some point you will be able to have an adult conversation. We are all on pins and needles waiting for that to happen.

[Sports Guy]

Dish, I was simply bringing up the Ravens to see his reasoning in making them his primary team over the 49ers, I wasn't ripping that choice. Good post.

They are my team because they are the home team that i chose to get behind. They did not immediately become my favorite team because they were still the Cleveland Browns playing in Bmore but as they began to get their own identity and get "Ravens players", they became my favorite team.

[mweb]

I agree with alot of this post but hey, talking trash is part of being a fan.

The part i bolded was hilarious.

Balt Bird, at some point you will be able to have an adult conversation. We are all on pins and needles waiting for that to happen.

But as Dish said, trash talking on the MD forum is basically trolling in many instances.

[mweb]

They are my team because they are the home team that i chose to get behind. They did not immediately become my favorite team because they were still the Cleveland Browns playing in Bmore but as they began to get their own identity and get "Ravens players", they became my favorite team.

Ok, so when did they become your favorite team?

[Sports Guy]

Ok, so when did they become your favorite team?

I would say it took 2 years...So, that would be what? 1998??

BTW, i certainly talk my stuff but i also get jumped on alot and lots of shots are taken at Duke in that forum, so i will stick up for them.

ND...If the same was done towards UNC, you would do the same thing.

[Sports Guy]

Something tells me if i were a Clemson fan, no one would care.

[mweb]

Something tells me if i were a Clemson fan, no one would care.

You wouldn't be jumping on the bandwagon in that case, so not as much, but it would be quite odd. And people would care if you were talking a lot of trash due to Clemson beating MD 3 times last year.

[mweb]

I would say it took 2 years...So, that would be what? 1998??

BTW, i certainly talk my stuff but i also get jumped on alot and lots of shots are taken at Duke in that forum, so i will stick up for them.

ND...If the same was done towards UNC, you would do the same thing.

So you picked the Ravens because they are the local team right?

[BaltBird 24]

Balt Bird, at some point you will be able to have an adult conversation. We are all on pins and needles waiting for that to happen.

Ofcourse, my post was similar to this one written by someone we will not name.....

For the Terps fans....Not all of you went/or are going to COllege Park...So, why did you pick the Terps as your team? Why not GTown? Towson? Loyola? Coppin? Morgan? UMES?

[Sports Guy]

So you picked the Ravens because they are the local team right?

As i said, the Ravens are a local team that i made the choice to root for.

[mweb]

As i said, the Ravens are a local team that i made the choice to root for.

Ok, that's fine as long as you had them leap over the 49ers before the 1999 season. But why go with some local teams and not others?

[Sports Guy]

Ok, that's fine as long as you had them leap over the 49ers before the 1999 season. But why go with some local teams and not others?

What happened in 1999??

To be honest, i am not really sure. Really, the Terps are the only local team(of the "main" teams) i do not root for. And really, it is not until recently where i started to totally root against them. I used to be ok with them when they played anyone else but now i THINK i dispise them more than the Heels, which is saying something.

[mweb]

What happened in 1999??

To be honest, i am not really sure. Really, the Terps are the only local team(of the "main" teams) i do not root for. And really, it is not until recently where i started to totally root against them. I used to be ok with them when they played anyone else but now i THINK i dispise them more than the Heels, which is saying something.

1999 is when the Ravens started becoming good, going 8-8, while the 49ers starting becoming quite bad going 4-12. So if that's the year you switched your primary allegiance, that would be pretty bad.