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minimax

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Sorry to trouble you all with such a trivial, personal question, but I figured it's June so people won't hate me too much.

I'm a lifelong resident of the Hawkeye state (sigh) who has rooted for the Gophers my whole life because of generations of Gophers on my dad's side.

This fall, I'm going to Saint Louis University, which has no football team. Is it OK for me to still cheer on Kill's Gopher's from MO?

I know it's silly, but maybe this situation raises larger questions of college loyalty vs alma mater, whatever. Thanks in advance for the advice, and I will banish myself if need be.
 

Of course! My son went to a private school in MN and wore Goph stuff the whole time.
 

Of course. Some people chide others for cheering for a school they didn't attend (which is not the case in your situation since SLU doesn't have football), which I never understood. I grew up with my Dad having a deep passion for the Gophers, that was passed on to me and despite living in 5 different states and attending undergrad and grad school at other Universities with major college sports, I never once lost an ounce of my Gopher pride. In fact, I found living outside the state and living around fans of other schools, only intensified my passion for the Gophers.

Go Gophers!!
 

Easy yes for football. For other sports you should support your school. There is nothing worse than university of minnesota students wearing badger gear around campus.
 

minimax said:
Sorry to trouble you all with such a trivial, personal question, but I figured it's June so people won't hate me too much.

I'm a lifelong resident of the Hawkeye state (sigh) who has rooted for the Gophers my whole life because of generations of Gophers on my dad's side.

This fall, I'm going to Saint Louis University, which has no football team. Is it OK for me to still cheer on Kill's Gopher's from MO?

I know it's silly, but maybe this situation raises larger questions of college loyalty vs alma mater, whatever. Thanks in advance for the advice, and I will banish myself if need be.
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A Golden Gopher is way cooler than a Billiken. Their mascot doesn't even move the needle. billiken_mascot_close_175[1].jpg

Actually, you'll find a nice contingent of Gopher Fans in St. Louis.
 


corcoran1 said:
Of course! My son went to a private school in MN and wore Goph stuff the whole time.
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Thanks. Seems like there are plenty of small, private schools in MN that are on a totally different athletic magnitude than the U.
 

BleedGopher said:
Of course. Some people chide others for cheering for a school they didn't attend (which is not the case in your situation since SLU doesn't have football), which I never understood. I grew up with my Dad having a deep passion for the Gophers, that was passed on to me and despite living in 5 different states and attending undergrad and grad school at other Universities with major college sports, I never once lost an ounce of my Gopher pride. In fact, I found living outside the state and living around fans of other schools, only intensified my passion for the Gophers.

Go Gophers!!
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This was very cool to see. I plan to stay a Gopher fan, because it really does seem like it is part of me. But I will also be a Billken, so hopefully I will be able to balance these two loyalties.
 

Always support your school, even if they're playing the Gophers.

Cheer for your original team if not playing your school.

I went to the U, my brother went to the Air Force Academy. When they opened TCF in 2009, my parents wore the hat of one, the shirt of the other, & stood & clapped all game long for everything! Hooray everybody! Hooray college sports!
 

AO54 said:
Easy yes for football. For other sports you should support your school. There is nothing worse than university of minnesota students wearing badger gear around campus.
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Definitely going to put the Gopher apparel-wearing to a minimum. And I plan to fully support Billiken hoops.
 



Rescooter said:
A Golden Gopher is way cooler than a Billiken. Their mascot doesn't even move the needle. View attachment 3540

Actually, you'll find a nice contingent of Gopher Fans in St. Louis.
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Haha, I think the Billiken and Golden Gopher are both pretty unique mascots.
Maybe I'll run into some fellow Gophers.
 

I went to a different school. My loyalty will always be with my alma mater first. But, I grew up a lifelong Gopher fan. Thankfully, my alma mater is D3 so it rarely competes with the Gophers, and when it does it is in things like golf or tennis and NEVER football. It makes my loyalty pretty easy to manage. Thankfully, my wife at least got a grad degree at the "U" so I can sort of claim that as a direct link (considering I was in on paying for it).
 

I guess I've never understood the thought that you had to support the college that you are attending. I have been a gopher fan as long as I can remember and spending four years at a school wouldn't make me suddenly stop cheering for them and rooting against them if my school played them.

Also, I agree with bleed I spent sometime away from Minnesota and that is probably when my fanhood got more intense.
 

Cheering for your Alma Matter makes a lot of sense to me. That being said, go ahead and cheer for both. I've seen plenty of gopher fans doing it with other teams, and I would like to think we have fans at other schools too.
 



tonestang said:
I guess I've never understood the thought that you had to support the college that you are attending. I have been a gopher fan as long as I can remember and spending four years at a school wouldn't make me suddenly stop cheering for them and rooting against them if my school played them.

Also, I agree with bleed I spent sometime away from Minnesota and that is probably when my fanhood got more intense.
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There's nothing wrong with maintaining loyalty to teams you've loved your whole life, but your alma mater should always be #1. That's where you went to school and is the team that you have a real, tangible tie to. If I had attended Wisconsin (shudder) then I'd be a Badger fan who still likes the Gophers except when playing for the Axe. Fortunately, that's not what happened!
 

I was a Packer fan before the Vikings were in existence.

I still am.

I am also a Viking fan.

I root for the Packers, I root for the Vikings.

When they play each other I drink heavily and cheer for both.
 

I grew up in MN, attended Augsburg College in Mpls (coming from a home town of 1,000 people, the U just seemed too big for me at the time). I have since lived and worked in IA and WI, but I always followed the MN teams. When I lived in IA, I did follow Iowa State just to tick off all of the stinkin' Hawkeye fans. Moved back to MN in '97 and have since become a much more avid Gopher fan. (even if they do drive me nuts at times........)

Bottom line - root for the team that is closest to your heart. Geography is secondary. My boss grew up in WI, and he roots for Notre Dame, the Cubs, and the Detroit Lions. (don't ask me why........)
 

Dr.Don said:
I was a Packer fan before the Vikings were in existence.

I still am.

I am also a Viking fan.

I root for the Packers, I root for the Vikings.

When they play each other I drink heavily and cheer for both.
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The amount that you drink will be a telling sign of which team you really cheer for :) and if you drive home after drinking then there's no question which team.
 

I've been a Gopher fan since at least age 9 and got my undergraduate degree from Minnesota. I then got a law degree from UCLA. I root for both schools, but my real passion is Minnesota and I always root for Minnesota in head-to-head matchups between the two.
 

Anyone that is from Minnesota should be a life-long Gopher fan.

The Gophers are more of a Minnesota team than the Vikings are.
 

I will always be a Gopher fan over a U of South Carolina fan (my alma mater). However, I now work at UNLV and did not know how I would feel when the Gophers and Rebels played. To my surprise I found myself pulling for the Rebels. I think it was mostly because I had had a couple of the guys on the team in class who were good kids, and a guy in the athletic dept gave me tix to the game played in Minneapolis. Perhaps a part of it was guilt. Except for that instance I am 100% Gophers! There are a couple of UNLV football players in a current summer class that I am teaching. Yesterday I received a message from their academic counselor. In part it read: I hope your summer is off to a great start. I wanted to send an email to you to let you know that Coach Tony Sanchez, his assistant coaches, and I are committed to ensuring our football student-athletes are doing what is expected of them in the classroom this summer. This consists of maintaining academic integrity, arriving to class early, sitting within the first three rows of the classroom, removing all headwear (hats, hoods, headphones, etc.), actively participating in classroom discussions, and being respectful to professors and classmates.

To his credit Coach Sanchez is trying to change the culture around here. Go Gophers!
 

Root for both. I try to follow the Diamondbacks because I miss baseball's day to day pace and they have one of the top 5 players in the game. I rationalize because they are an NL team. If they play the Twins it's Twins all the way.

My dad graduated from SCSU and got his Masters from the U. He says its win win every game.
 

My son goes to UMich, and I grew up in Minnesota. I root for both - except when they play each other. Then I just hope for a good game, and follow the good doctor's advice by drinking heavily.

Not directly on point, I know. But going to another school (or having a child that does) does not have to end your loyalty. You just have to adjust a bit.
 

I live within walking distance of SLU, and my wife is a Ph.D. student there. Even in football, the Bills and the Gophs rarely play each other. There's not a whole lot of conflict there. You'll be fine supporting both! (Also, SLU has a GREAT soccer team/tradition. You should absolutely check out a game!)
 

I am guided by, and believe others should be guided by,

The college team you root for against all others is the team of your undergraduate university. If you transfer as an undergrad, it's the team of the school you graduate from. In all other contests root for whomever you wish, especially a team you grew up supporting!

The pro teams you should root for against all others are the local teams you supported as a child - no matter where you move as an adult. There is no switching allowed unless a team leaves town (North Stars) or comes to town (Timberwolves). I.e. If you move to Milwaukee and become a Packer fan you have no soul.
 

I went to DePaul and still followed MN bball closer than DePaul and tay was before DePaul was completely terrible
 

It would be rude not to cheer for the Gophers.
 

Cheer for the Gophers and St. Louis. The key is to not be a d-bag. Be respectful of your new university but "wear" your maroon and gold with pride.
 

Born in Oklahoma and grew up in Colorado. Followed the Sooners. My Mom, Aunt, Uncle, and Great Grandma were Nebraska alums. I visited ever summer and got Nebraska sweat shirts every year. Moving to Chicago I was a Husker fan. Graduated from Nebraska, and when I returned from the Service I landed in Minnesota. I thought it was cool the University of Minnesota was in the Twin Cities. Division I football on Saturdays was my weekend treat from 1972-1979. I witnessed the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I became a committed Gopher fan. So it doesn't matter where you are from its all about your passion. The thing that slays me, when I am out and about I have to be careful about asking, How About Those Gophers? Too many strange looks, in Minnesota.
 

husker70 said:
Born in Oklahoma and grew up in Colorado. Followed the Sooners. My Mom, Aunt, Uncle, and Great Grandma were Nebraska alums. I visited ever summer and got Nebraska sweat shirts every year. Moving to Chicago I was a Husker fan. Graduated from Nebraska, and when I returned from the Service I landed in Minnesota. I thought it was cool the University of Minnesota was in the Twin Cities. Division I football on Saturdays was my weekend treat from 1972-1979. I witnessed the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I became a committed Gopher fan. So it doesn't matter where you are from its all about your passion. The thing that slays me, when I am out and about I have to be careful about asking, How About Those Gophers? Too many strange looks, in Minnesota.
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That needs to change ASAP.
 

oleboy41 said:
I went to DePaul and still followed MN bball closer than DePaul and tay was before DePaul was completely terrible
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uchicago. passed the fullerton stop every day on the trip down south, lincoln park was the hipsertest place in all of chicago. kinda interesting tidbit to know about you.
 

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