EHM The Blue Line

I'm just a hockey fan from europe who loves the game, but has no team to cheer for.
I wonder if it would be more fun to support not just the game but a team.
But whenever i try to focuss on a certain NHL team i find an aspect of another team that i like, too.
Now time has passed and i find myself to be fan of 30 teams.

This may be the wrong theme to post here, but maybe some of you hockey fans could describe
why you favour a certain nhl team and what's special about that team and this way could help me choose.
Or would you think that it's impossible to be a true fan if i did not choose when i was a child?

Personally I'am big fan of Philadelphia Flyers. Have been since 1996.. I think.
Before that I was Red Wings fan, but I sold all of my Detroit hockey cards to my big brother for Eric Lindros special card.
And nowdays I really hate Reds.

Big reason, why I started to like Flyers is The Next One and Legion of the Doom - The gratest line-up ever.
In my opinion Flyers had been always "bad ass team".

I'm think that you can't choose favourite team.. it just pops up.

I've been a fan of the Rangers since the late 80's but I can't remember how it got started.
Just keep following tha game and a favourite will turn up. Just don't change it.

I also support the Philadelphia Flyers, as well as the Cardiff Devils (who play in the Elite League in the UK).

I've only been a flyers fan for the last 8 years or so. But I became a fan because of players like Peter Forsberg, Eric Lindros, and John LeClaire.

I am a born and bred Leaf fan. It never occured to me to support any other team.

For a few years I was a big Whalers fan (when i was a kid) but that was more to do with their awesome team logo than any stylistic or player favouritisms!

I've always been a Boston Bruins fan. I was born and raised (and still live in) Massachusetts. By default, everyone here is a Red Sox (baseball), Celtics (basketball), Patriots (football), and Bruins fan. I enjoyed watching the Red Sox and Celtics when I was a kid but I don't really enjoy those sports anymore. I love my Patriots and Bruins though.

Quite simple for me: life-long, die-hard, Flyers fan by locational default. I'm about 45 mins. north west of Philadelphia, but it's all still hard-core Philly sports fans territory.

I've became a Flames fan initially for their logo, when i discovered the NHL back in 1994. I always had a special attraction for both ice and fire... So a flamed logo for a ice hockey team was a perfect match-up.

Pretty soon, i started to admire guys like Theoren Fleury, Joe Nieuwendyk, Al MacInnis, Robert Reichel, Mike Vernon, and all those guys with a Flames jersey in the first half of the 90's. Fleury was by far my favorite though. So small... But giving so much energy and enthusiasm everywhere on the ice, combined with great skills... He was working so hard that his size was no longer a real disadvantage. Then there has been a bad period where the team missed the playoffs 7 or 8 years in a row, before they came back in 2004. Not only in the playoffs, as the 6th seeded in the West, but gone to the Finals - lost to the Lightning though -. Now i can cheer for guys like Iginla, Kipper, or Phaneuf. Mostly Iggy. He works hard. No matter how the game is going, no matter who the opponent is, no matter what the score is, no matter what his teammates are doing, no matter if it's a special game or not. He just works hard. Always. And he's gifted as hell.

And i also learned that the Flames are just slightly older than me... They arrived in Calgary in 1980, and i was born in 1982.

My only regret so far with this team is that i wasn't a hockey fan in 1989, when they won their only Stanley Cup - i discovered hockey during the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France -

I'm also slightly fan of whatever team Cristobal Huet is playing for. He is the only French guy in the NHL, so i have to support him

But you shouldn't worry about not having a specific team to cheer for. If it doesn't come to you, you can't force things to happen. Sure, you probably miss a part of the emotion. It's a very special moment when you watch your favorite team play. It becomes something bigger than a hockey game. There's some magic in it. But also more frustration when your team is loosing. And well, being fan of all of the 30 teams is not a bad way to go... At least, you're happy with every champion

If not by location, the way you pick your favourite team is for what ever reason you personally see in them - and these reasons may sound really silly to an outsider.

I think my reason to go for Caps, back like ten or so, years ago, was because Washington has a more European / Finnish style city skyline (meaning there are no skyscrapers in the downtown area), and for some reason this appealed to me; maybe I thought it looked more familiar - like home - than any other NHL city. Plus, I really liked Adam Oates and Peter Bondra, and don't get me started on Gonchar and Konowalchuck! .

It sounds silly afterwards I know, but like I said we all had our reasons, and most of them come from the whim of the moment. Eventually you will start to know their players and history better than that of any other team, and you will start feeling attached to it, no matter how silly your initial reason for supporting them was.

As for Finnish SM-liiga, I support Espoo Blues, and this is mostly due to location.

Personally, I find it's a lot easier to follow a team if you find something about the city, like Tasku did. That way, you'll have a permanent reason for following the team, as opposed to liking them for certain players, staff, philosophies, etc. which can all turn on you very easily(which leads us to the discussion on team loyalty in another thread).

Good example... I became a big Liverpool fan a couple years ago, but I didn't know a thing about the team when I did. I became a fan simply because it's Liverpool - home of The Beatles - my tied-for-first-all-time favourite band... so that kind of made it feel like my home team.

Anyway, that's how I like to do it.

First of all thank´s for every reply to this topic and good luck for the new season and new signings.

Following B. Stinson´s reply i have had the impression that most hockey fans choose a favourite team
because of specific players, playing styles etc.
But players move on and with new staff the team philosophy changes.
If i would identify with a player i couldn´t just say: "Now his team is my favourite, all the other teams are loosers."

That was the main reason why i posted this topic and with your help try to find the "unique" about a team,
that could last forever and i can identify with e.g. flair of a city or the history of a franchise.
(also motivated me to start the discussion on team loyalty).

I always have been, and always will be, a diehard fan of the Calgary Flames.

I picked the Pens in 1988, for no real reason other than I liked Mario Lemieux's name... yeah I know it's shallow.

I don't have a favourite NHL team, and I never had.

When I was younger I used to cheer for Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa was always fighting for the highest spots while Columbus was just a small club struggling.

But now, I don't have a favourite one. I cheer for teams where are slovakian fellas playing,...the famous ones...Gaborik's Wild, Budaj's and Svatos' Colorado, Satan's Islanders, Zednik's Panthers, Chara's Bruins, and so on...I was never fan of Hossa's Trashers, but it wasn't a stanley cup contender anyway. Now he's in Detroit, I suddenly cheer for Red Wings. Well, actually I always liked Red Wings. I used to play NHL 2002 with them. And then there are teams that I played with on EHM and made a succesfull dynasty - Blackhawks, Rangers, Sharks. Oh yes, I really like Blackhawks, that's probably my favourite NHL club right now . Rangers are fine, not so much fan of Sharks anymore. And I can't forget Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers. Phoenix Coyotes has it's own spot in my hockey heart too.

So to sum it up, I rather mention teams that I never liked and will never like. Devils, Ducks, Trashers, Lightning. But mostly Devils. I just...don't like them...no sympathy for the Devil(s) at all.

I'm fine with other teams. There'ya go

Ok, if one of your favourite slovakian players (chara or gaborik maybe)
should ever play for the Devils would you still hate them?

Formally and still somewhat a Red Wings fan. Now a Canes fan due to geography (I live in NC...have my whole life)

I am, and always will be a Vancouver Canucks fan. I was born in North Vancouver and I live not far from Vancouver (One or two hour drive.) I also support the Florida Panthers as my second favorite team, and favorite eastern team. If I had to pick a thrd, I would go with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Yes, I do like pretty bad teams. =^__^=

Well, when I discovered the NHL back in the 80s it was quite hard for a swiss/spanish guy to get any information about the league and there was hardly any TV coverage and there wasnt any internet.

So I remember to search my city for places where I could get any american newspaper to get some infos.

When I could get some videos from friends I first liked (pretty normal) Wayne Gretzky and the fabulous Oilers, the St. Louis Blues (still one of my favorites), the Islanders or the Flyers...then, a bit later I used to like the Canucks with Pavel Bure, Fleury's Flames, Mogilny's Sabres, Lemieux's Penguins or the Capitals....but then I soon discovered two guys who were playing in Boston named Ray Bourque and Cam Neely and I fell in love with them.

Since then I follow the Bruins and they are and will always be my favorite team...but I have to confess that I still have simpathy for the Blues and the Penguins.

Florida Panthers, The choice was pretty simple

When I first started paying attention to hockey in the early 90's I really didn't have a favorite team, but I liked the Flames, Blackhawks, Penguins, and Sharks. Mario Lemieux and Jeremy Roenicke were my two favorite players. However I only followed the sport loosely. In 2003 I was living in Minnesota and the Wild were making their big playoff run and I got caught up in the fever, not only did I become a huge hockey fan, but the Wild became my team. Gaborik became my unquestioned favorite player, though Mikko Koivu is now challenging for that spot.

Atlanta Thrashers, they have Lehtonen, Kovalchuk, and young prospects coming.

But i think they need better player for same line where kovalchuk is, there was Marian Hossa, but no more.

Maybe center who is playmaker.

My favourite team has always been the Toronto Maple Leafs. My favourite player growing up was Felix Potvin and Tie Domi. My other favourite player is Gary Roberts. I love the leafs, but yet, i don't. ....too hard to explain.

I don't really support any team in the NHL, mainly the Finns who play in the league. And usually i like the teams more who have finns in their line-up than the teams who don't. If i had to pick one team though, it would be Montreal Canadiens, as i've always loved Saku Koivu. All in all, that's pretty much the only reason I somewhat follow NHL, if there weren't any finns, i probably wouldnt be interested. Don't know why though, the level of hockey is far better than in SM-Liiga. Then again, who of you has ever, or will now follow KHL ( ?), the new league in russia?

eme wrote:Then again, who of you has ever, or will now follow KHL ( ?), the new league in russia?

I might, if they'd show it on telly.

Canucks all the way. Even though I live in Calgary now, my heart is for Vancouver. If they're not in the NHL play-offs, then I will cheer for Canadian teams except the Oilers. I hate them with a passion