What Kind of Sports Fan Am I?: My Favourite Teams & Why

Darius Fuladi
Aug 25, 2025
14 min read

How do you pick a team?...

Was it that legendary playoff moment you witnessed as a child?...Was it that limited edition retro jersey that was gifted to you by a loved one?...Or was it as simple as rooting for your hometown heroes?

Whatever the reason, a fan’s journey is shaped by personally significant experiences. The reasons may be unpredictable, but one thing is certain: we all carry our own allegiances.

As I begin my journalism efforts, I understand that remaining impartial within my analysis is an important factor to maintaining credibility. With that said, it would be remiss of me to not disclose that, shockingly, I am a fan of various teams across different sports. Let’s take a look at who I support in each sport:

HOCKEY

Growing up in Canada, Hockey was always destined to be my first love. I remember the excitement that would buzz through the classroom as me and my friends would hurry outside and play during recess.

I’m a little jealous of past generations who got to witness legends like Lemieux and Jagr, or Gretzky and the Oilers dynasty. Still, I feel lucky to have grown up watching incredible talent like the Crosby-Malkin-Letang-Fleury Penguins and their battles with the Great 8, Alex Ovechkin. More recently, Connor McDavid’s quest to bring the Oilers back to the promised land has been the main topic of conversation in my circles.

Vancouver Canucks

Instead of taking the easy way out and picking a legendary team, I opted for my local team the Vancouver Canucks. Outside of a few good years in the early 2010s, which included a run to the Stanley Cup Final, growing up a Canucks fan has been rough.

As I was just becoming a fan in the mid to late 2000s, the Canucks were coming out of their west coast express years led by the trio of Bertuzzi-Naslund-Morrison. Their next era, led by the Sedin twins Daniel and eventual captain Henrik, featured some of my fondest memories as a fan of any team.

During this period, the Canucks had a real identity that included a high powered offence from the leading scorers, grit & toughness from the depth guys, and when it all failed, an elite goaltending tandem to rely on. This eventually culminated in their Presidents’ Trophy win and Stanley Cup Finals appearance in the 2010-11 season. Although they didn’t seal the deal by winning the cup, it felt like winning mattered to the organization and the players.

The same can’t be said about the years that followed. After Jim Benning was hired as team general manager in the mid 2010s a slew of poor managerial decisions meant that the Canucks would be diving head first into almost a decade of mediocrity making the playoffs only twice from 2014 to 2023.

Now these years really tested my commitment as a fan, but thankfully a few bright spots on the team meant it wasn’t the end.

In back-to-back drafts in 2017 and 2018, the Canucks drafted Elias Pettersson, a highly skilled centre from Sweden, and current captain Quinn Hughes, an offensively gifted defenceman from the U.S. Hughes and Pettersson are the faces of the Canucks’ youth movement that powered the team back into the playoffs in 2020, ending a five-year drought.

In just five years since his first full campaign, Hughes has established himself not only as one of the NHL’s top defenceman but also as one of its elite players overall, highlighted by his appointment as Canucks captain and his Norris Trophy win in 2023–24. Pettersson, meanwhile, has struggled in recent years, riddled with injuries, inconsistency, and locker room drama despite flashing superstar potential with a 102-point season in 2022–23.

While the new-age Canucks have been fun to watch, it’s time to put in results. The Canucks followed up one of the franchises most successful seasons in 2023-24 by missing the playoffs in 2024-25 and the clock is ticking on a contract extension for the team’s superstar captain. While I’m still confident Pettersson can get back to his Superstar form, I’ve begun to question management’s ability to turn this franchise into a perennial playoff team.

I’d like to say I’m confident about the team’s chances going into 2025-2026, but truthfully I foresee another mediocre year plagued by an inconsistent offence and a lack of effort on defence. I think they have a chance to make the playoffs as a wildcard, but they’ll be banking on top performers playing up to their contracts and heavily relying on depth guys to have career years.

Los Angeles Kings

After Vancouver’s soul-crushing loss in Game 7 of the Cup Finals in 2011, I needed a bit of a pick-me-up as a hockey fan. Admittedly, as the naive child I was, I betrayed my hometown team by rooting for the squad that would go on to eliminate them the following year on their way to the cup.

In my defence, the Kings were easy to root for. That year, LA had fired their coach midseason, making their postseason run an achievement in itself. The team was also star-studded with superstars like Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty, and newly acquired Jeff Carter.

I was definitely rooting for them to win their first cup in 2012, but I wouldn’t have called myself a fan until their 2014 Cup run. One of my earliest and greatest successes as a self-proclaimed sports psychic came during the first round. After the Kings fell down three games to none to their in-state rivals the San Jose Sharks I told anyone who would listen that LA was going to come back and win the series. Sure enough, my prediction held true and LA became just the fourth team in NHL history to rally from a 0-3 deficit.

By this point, I was hooked on the Kings and cheered them on all the way to their second Cup victory in three years. I mean, how could you not root for a team that won three Game 7s on their way to the championship? That level of supreme focus in the clutch is historic.

After a few years of struggle in the late 2010s, the Kings have risen back to consistent playoff appearances, but have unfortunately lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round four years in a row.

I really felt that last year would be the year they finally slayed their Oilers demons and went on a deep playoff run, but I still expect the Kings to make the playoffs again in 2025–26. Still led by team legends Kopitar and Doughty, the squad’s up-and-coming youth is beginning to develop into stars ready to step into leadership roles themselves.

BASKETBALL

If hockey was my first love, basketball was the second. My connection to the sport, however, is unlike any other. To me, basketball, more than any other sport, is an art form.

Plays unfold like choreographed performances, with the most skilled players putting on the greatest shows. Yet the finesse and artistry by some is sharply contrasted by the sheer force and physicality of others.

Portland Trail Blazers

After being a Portland Trail Blazers fan for over a decade, I’ve been lucky enough to witness my team make deep playoff runs both as scrappy underdogs and as legitimate contenders. While it was easy to pick Portland since they’re the closest team geographically, it was Damian Lillard’s 2012-13 rookie season, along with his 2014 series-clinching buzzer-beater over the Houston Rockets, that truly sealed the deal for me.

Lillard’s marksmanship from way behind the three-point line meant a quick rise as a superstar and as my favourite player in the league. Lillard’s game winner over the Rockets was the first time in over fourteen years that the Blazers had won a playoff series and it quickly became his team as he would go on to lead them to eight straight postseason appearances.

The first NBA game I ever attended was a Blazers game versus the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2017. As much as I was excited to see my favourite team in person for the first time, I was also excited to see young Canadian star Andrew Wiggins and rising star Karl-Anthony Towns in his sophomore season. Wiggins and Towns both had solid but not particularly special games as they were still young and adjusting to the league. On the other side, Dame poured in 21 points but his backcourt counterpart C. J. McCollum stole the show that night with a 32-point performance that included four three-pointers.

This game was emblematic of Portland’s over-reliance on the dynamic duo of Lillard and McCollum to find scoring during the 2010s. The issue was that both Dame and C.J. are small guards who could be exploited defensively, leaving at least one defensive liability on the court at all times in order to generate offence. This was not a recipe for success, especially in the 2010s Western Conference when their matchups would be against elite guards like Steph Curry, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook.

Portland’s closest effort to a championship during my time as a fan came in the 2018-19 when they reached the Conference Finals but they were unfortunately swept by the Golden State Warriors dynasty. What followed was consecutive back-to-back first round exits and a losing season that would see the firing of head coach Terry Stotts, as well as the decision to trade away McCollum. To add insult to injury, after yet another year of missing the playoffs the unthinkable took place, Lillard requested a trade, and his wish was granted.

The departure of their star leader meant a new identity for the Blazers as they began building a new core focused on the future. The young talent they have acquired, highlighted by Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara, have been entertaining but it’s now been four years since Portland has placed better than 12th in the western conference.

Fortunately for the team, Lillard’s stint in another uniform proved disappointing, and he chose to return home, signing back during the 2025 offseason. He’ll look to be a mentor for Portland’s youth movement and guide the franchise back to success this upcoming season.

Los Angeles Lakers

One of my earliest basketball memories was tuning into the 2010 NBA finals and wondering who was the man wearing number 24 in purple & gold. That man, of course, was the late, great Kobe Bryant. Visually Kobe’s style of play stood out to me more than anyone on the court.

As my love for basketball grew, so did my admiration for Kobe. His determination, work ethic, and signature ‘Mamba Mentality’ made him my all-time favorite player.

Unfortunately, Kobe’s dominant years alongside Shaquille O’Neal came just a little too early for me to witness firsthand. I can still recall catching glimpses of Kobe’s dominant performances on TV every so often, but my true days as a Lakers fan began just as he started to decline and the organization itself was unraveling.

In true Lakers fan fashion, I endured the rough years when the only entertainment came from the misplays of Robert Sacre and the like, rather than the team’s play.

Through it all, I stayed loyal to the Lakers. In the end, I was fortunate that stars still dreamed of playing in Hollywood as LA won the title in 2020 when LeBron James and Anthony Davis joined forces, their first since 2010.

Since 2020 the Lakers have kind of been just alright. Outside of a Conference Championship appearance in 2023, they’ve lost in the first round three times and missed the playoffs entirely once.

The mid 2024-2025 season acquisition of superstar Luka Dončić has sparked new life into Lakers fans and organization. Still, LeBron’s age left fans questioning whether or not it was worth it to re-sign him for one more year. Is running it back one more year with the duo of James & Dončić best for the team’s championship aspirations? or building towards a future where the team surrounding Luka adequately compliments his style of play?

As crazy as it may sound, if I were running the Lakers I would have done whatever possible to get a return for LeBron James before his inevitable retirement. Trading for Luka was a clear shift in the current squad’s identity but pairing him with an aging James feels like a half-measure.

It will be difficult for the Lakers to be better than they were last season where they finished 3rd in the West and won their division, but hopefully after a full year of playing together Luka and LeBron can will the Lakers at-least past the first round.

FOOTBALL

I always enjoyed watching football and the rules came easy to me. I would usually tune into the Super Bowl but because my friends weren’t into it and it wasn’t that big in Canada, I didn’t really start following it as a diehard fan until later in my life.

Still I’m glad to say that I can vividly remember historic moments like David Tyree’s ‘helmet catch’ in Super Bowl XLII, or James Harrison’s 100-yard pick-six in Super Bowl XLIII. Eventually, I did make a friend who was more interested in football and he made a pretty good case for who my favourite team should be…

Dallas Cowboys

Generally, I would say most of my favourite teams are fairly respectable. Usually they are teams without a history of repeated success or a flashy brand. The Dallas Cowboys are an exception to that.

My friend, who happened to be a diehard Cowboys fan, told me the tales of the great Aikman-Irvin-Smith dynasty and of course, the most infamous owner in the NFL, Jerry Jones. He told me how they had won five super bowls in their history, including three in four years in the early-to-mid 90s. But I wasn’t quite yet obsessed with this so-called ‘America’s Team’. In fact I still wasn’t obsessed with football.

Fortunately, by coincidence, that year (2014) the Cowboys had come out of the regular season with a 12-4 record and I was keen on following the NFL playoffs a little closer than years past. After an incredible 10-point comeback to defeat the Detroit Lions in the wildcard round, the Cowboys faced off against the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round in what would become the ‘Dez Caught It’ game. I was hooked.

Seeing the over-the-top drama the NFL has to offer at that moment, with a team I was just starting to become a fan of, was special. It was my first taste of what I now know is the greatest reality show on television.

Despite the scrutiny that comes with it, being a Cowboys fan is pretty fun. I’ve gotten to cheer on some incredibly talented players through a variety of highs and lows, even if the lows often show up when it matters most. But overall I’m thankful we’ve got a quarterback that is capable enough to keep us from being a complete laughing stock by leading us to some pretty successful seasons.

In the 2025-26 season, I expect the Cowboys to play well enough to be fighting for a playoff spot under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer. I think the team’s lack of capability to run the ball, as well as defend the run on the other side, will be the biggest x-factors for this upcoming season.

BASEBALL

I love baseball, but truth be told, it’s never been a sport I’ve followed closely across every team in the league. Maybe that’s another thing I can chalk up to growing up in a community where it often took a backseat to other sports.

I never played in an organized league, but I still appreciate the sport’s rich history and deep roots across America. The postseason is always a fun watch, and I especially enjoy watching games with my family, who follow baseball more closely than I do

Toronto Blue Jays

My love for baseball came from Canada’s only team the Toronto Blue Jays. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, you might think I would have been a Seattle Mariners fan, but with Toronto as the only Canadian MLB team, every Blue Jays game was broadcast on TV. Don’t get me wrong there are definitely Mariners fans around but how can you not cheer for Canada’s team?

Almost every day throughout my school years, I’d get home, have a snack, and settle in front of the TV just as the Blue Jays game was starting. In the early years as a fan, the Blue Jays, while entertaining, were never really a top tier team. Now at the time, I didn’t really care that the Blue Jays weren’t making the postseason since I was a pretty casual fan. But as they started to develop a core with talents like Bautista, Encarnación, Pillar, Donaldson, and Stroman, I couldn’t be satisfied with no results.

There’s a reason the Blue Jays 2015 postseason run was so special for this country. It was the first time the Blue Jays had made the postseason since their World Series victory in 1993, and with the new core leading the team to a division title fans knew we had a real shot at becoming champions once again. Sadly, it wasn’t to be as the Blue Jays lost to Kansas City in the ALCS but Jose Bautista’s iconic bat flip in the ALDS will forever be remembered as a symbol of resilience in Canadian sports history.

After 2015, my spirits as a fan were high and it felt like the Blue Jays would be a powerhouse for at least the next few years. However, losing once again in the ALCS in 2016 and failing to make the postseason in 2017 & 2018 meant that the Blue Jays would shift away from the core that brought them success in the mid-2010s and build towards a new future.

Nowadays, that new future is arriving led by talents like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. The new core has led the Blue Jays to the postseason three times in the 2020s but have failed to make it past the wildcard on all three occasions.

Currently in 2025, the Blue Jays sit as one of the top teams in the American League and are poised for another postseason run. While I’m uncertain whether or not they have the talent to live up to my hopes of clinching their first postseason series win since 2016, one thing is certain: they’ll have the passion and support of an entire country behind them.

SOCCER

Soccer, known to most of the world as football, has established itself as the greatest sport in human history. Having played for more than a decade growing up, it’s the sport I understand most intimately.

I followed the sport closely during my playing days but drifted away in recent years. Lately though, I’ve found a renewed love for the game and have started following it more closely again.

Chelsea Football Club

I take plenty of heat for being a Chelsea supporter. I’m not from Chelsea, I have no personal ties to the club, and blue isn’t even my favourite colour. My fandom began simply because I was a kid who wanted to back a winning side with players that kept me entertained.

Drogba, Lampard, Terry, Čech, Cole, Mata, Luiz, and Torres are players that added fuel to my passion for football as I watched them lead Chelsea to a Champions League title in 2012.

As I grew with the club, new stars like Hazard, Costa, and Willian kept my fandom alive. My gradual drift from the sport, however, coincided with Chelsea’s own fall from grace, as the club hasn’t lifted a league title since the 2016-17 season. Still, I took pride in their Champions League win in 2021 and their Club World Cup victories in 2022 and 2025.

Today the outlook for Chelsea is looking brighter. On the back of their aforementioned Club World Cup victory this summer, the Blues look primed for a successful season led by superstar Cole Palmer and new additions João Pedro and Liam Delap. I’m hoping they can secure at least a top three finish in the Premier League and have a deep run in the Champions League.

FORMULA ONE

I was very late to the party when it came to motorsports. Then again, it's just cars driving around…how cool could that be right?

Like many new generation fans of Formula One, my introduction to motorsports came through Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive to Survive. The series does a great job of showcasing the drivers while pulling you into the drama that unfolds around every race.

McLaren Formula 1 Team

My first full season as a racing fan came in 2024 and I chose to back McLaren. Even before becoming a fan of motorsports, I was a fan of McLaren sports cars, and their homegrown talent Lando Norris felt like an easy driver to rally behind.

Ironically, what started as a casual choice quickly looked like a bandwagon move, as McLaren developed the fastest car on the grid and capped the year with a Constructors’ Championship.

My accidental bandwagoning has continued into the 2025 season since yet again McLaren is clearly the dominant team of the field and looks to be on track to capture both the Drivers' and Constructors’ Championships.

I’ve been conflicted during this season as the story has been the rivalry between McLaren’s drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. In just his third year, Piastri has developed into one of the most poised drivers in the sport, currently leading the Drivers’ Championship going into the summer break. But despite several mistakes including a DNF during the Canadian GP, teammate Lando Norris is not far behind in second.

My dilemma lies in who to support for the Drivers’ Championship. I became a fan of McLaren due to Norris’ kind but playful attitude, but I was unaware of his lack of focus on track that I’ve seen time and time again through 2024 and halfway through 2025. On the other hand, Piastri’s humble and modest personality doesn’t draw attention, letting his driving do the talking instead.

Ultimately, I think I will have to stay loyal as a Norris fan and hope that he can overcome his past struggles to win over his teammate by the end of the year. In any case, I’ve been very lucky to have joined the motorsports fandom at a time where my favourite team is the best in the sport.

...and there you have it. My favourite teams from the various sports I follow closely and hope to cover on this website and hopefully on TV one day. I did unfortunately omit individual sports that I do follow such as golf, MMA, or tennis but that doesn't mean I don't have favourite athletes I support in those as well.

Thank you for reading.