Gee, I feel much as you do. I know I'm stabbing my Phialdelphia brethren in the back each time I root for an eagles loss. That's just the way it's gotta be. Especially as I sit with most of my mortal enemies at Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games. I look at my Cards fandom as a quirk. A good one, but a quirk nevertheless.
Same here.
Typical new PHX resident response.. Most tend to accept the Suns because of their past.. Yet, they never accept the bad teams here citing they were raised around the other teams from a distant state.. I could easily do that and say Im a Packers fan since I was born their and talk tons of smack since I was born there.. But, I live in AZ and this is my home and the family I have in WI wouldnt have it any other way even though they are Packers fans..
I root for the Phillies, Flyers and Sixers because of where I grew up. Seven months in AZ does not automatically remove a loyalty that was instilled in me since, well, birth.
I remember listening to the 73-74 & 74-75 Flyers championship seasons on LP when I was five years old because my dad loved to listen to it. Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" is one of the greatest things ever.
I remember my family going absolutely nuts in 1980 when Pete Rose, Schmidty and the Tugster won the World Series. I wore #14 in little league because I loved Petey so much.
I remember my 5th grade reading teacher wheeling a tv into class during 5th period so we could watch the 76ers parade down Broad Street in 1983 when they won the NBA championship.
Those memories don't go away. All of those teams are now not that great and, honestly, I have no more room in my broken sports heart for crappy AZ teams right now. That said, since I moved here, I have seen all four professional sports teams play at least once. And I do root for them to do well ... as long as they ain't playing the Sixers (who lost to the Suns), Flyers (who were shut out by the Coyotes) or Phillies (who the Diamondbacks recently swept).
Have I adopted the Suns? Hells yeah, cause they are fun as heck to watch. (And, Chad, you know I started following the Suns during the 2006 playoffs, way before I even decided to move here.)
Old allegiances die hard. I rooted for the Cards instead of the Eagles when I lived in South Jersey and I took very little crap for it.
