Rooting for the front runner...

[Spitball]

I was talking to a group of young people tonight and was surprised by how many of them were rooting for the Miami Heat. How does that happen? Are we no longer a society that roots for the underdog??? I was very surprised.

[Boston Red]

Do you not remember the Michael Jordan years and all the Bulls "fans"? Not exactly a new phenomenon.

[Spitball]

Do you not remember the Michael Jordan years and all the Bulls "fans"? Not exactly a new phenomenon.

I am a retired teacher and remember the Bulls' era very well. There have been several front runners eras before then and since then.

I question why this happens.

[Australian Red]

There will always be band wagon supporters, just look at all the Man united 'fans'!

[blumj]

How young were these young people? Because teens and even college kids are just like that, and most of them do outgrow it.

[improbus]

It is just as interesting to understand why we love the underdog so much. For example, in the NCAA tournament, in games where we have no rooting interest (either through fandom or gambling), we root for the underdog. Why? Generally speaking, the further underdogs go the worse the basketball played in the later rounds will be (try to rewatch the two Butler finals, I dare you.) So, for those of us who are fans of the sport, why root for an inferior product?

[reds1869]

It is just as interesting to understand why we love the underdog so much. For example, in the NCAA tournament, in games where we have no rooting interest (either through fandom or gambling), we root for the underdog. Why? Generally speaking, the further underdogs go the worse the basketball played in the later rounds will be (try to rewatch the two Butler finals, I dare you.) So, for those of us who are fans of the sport, why root for an inferior product?

Which one featured the bad basketball? Perhaps the one where Duke won by 2 points and a last second shot that would have won it for Butler clanked off the rim?

[cumberlandreds]

Which one featured the bad basketball? Perhaps the one where Duke won by 2 points and a last second shot that would have won it for Butler clanked off the rim?

The UConn game was horrible. Bad display of basketball by both teams. The Duke game was a good game. Usually when there are a lot of early round upsets the later rounds and Final Four are not that good. That's why I don't always root for a lot of upsets in the NCAA tourney. In 2011 there were a lot of upsets. No one seeds made the Final Four. None of the three games in the Final Four were anything to write home about either.

[improbus]

Which one featured the bad basketball? Perhaps the one where Duke won by 2 points and a last second shot that would have won it for Butler clanked off the rim?

I didn't mean drama. I meant that they shot a combined 39% in that game. Butler shot 34% and shot a combined 26% in the two finals.

[reds1869]

I didn't mean drama. I meant that they shot a combined 39% in that game. Butler shot 34% and shot a combined 26% in the two finals.

Those teams also played some tremendous defense. To each his own, I'll acknowledge I prefer the sloppier play of college ball to the higher skill play of the NBA. I fully admit professional players are a marvel to watch but the NBA to me is like watching paint dry until the playoffs. I like drama and atmosphere, and college ball delivers that on a level the NBA doesn't for the first 82 games. In the end, every other sport is just a time filler until baseball season for me any way.

[Revering4Blue]

It is just as interesting to understand why we love the underdog so much. For example, in the NCAA tournament, in games where we have no rooting interest (either through fandom or gambling), we root for the underdog. Why? Generally speaking, the further underdogs go the worse the basketball played in the later rounds will be (try to rewatch the two Butler finals, I dare you.) So, for those of us who are fans of the sport, why root for an inferior product?

So, if last year's Florida Gulf Coast uniforms instead read "North Carolina" and Wichita State's uniforms read "Kentucky" or "UConn", the "quality" of play would have improved?

[UKFlounder]

People like to associate themselves with winners. It's not just sports either - I suspect there are at least some people who vote for candidates who are likely to win in various elections too. That's why so many campaigns will show poll #s that favor their candidate - to try to get support from the bandwagonners.

Even on this board, watch the "top 40 prospect" polls in winter - in several of them you will see postes say "I like prospect X best but he has no chance to win, so I will choose prospect Y."

[RiverRat13]

I think the NBA lends itself to having people (especially kids) root for players more than teams. It a superstar-built league more than the others. You're always going to have front-runner fans, but a lot less people jumped on the Broncos bandwagon once Manning left Indianapolis than when LeBron left Cleveland for Miami.

[wolfboy]

Not really a huge NBA fan, but is San Antonio really considered the underdog here? I know Miami's team has plenty of star power, but San Antonio had the third best record in the NBA and they've won three championships in the last ten years. Again, I don't follow the NBA that much, but that doesn't seem like the typical pedigree of an underdog.

[Chip R]

Not really a huge NBA fan, but is San Antonio really considered the underdog here? I know Miami's team has plenty of star power, but San Antonio had the third best record in the NBA and they've won three championships in the last ten years. Again, I don't follow the NBA that much, but that doesn't seem like the typical pedigree of an underdog.

Compared to Miami they are.