Tag: profile

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

Jacksonville Jaguars – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – American Football Conference (AFC)
• Division – AFC South
• History – The Jacksonville Jaguars were a surprise choice to join the Carolina Panthers as expansion teams for the 1995 season. The first set of expansion teams in 20 years, Jacksonville was thought to be the least likely of the four or five cities vying for a team. The team’s miraculous nature continued early on with trips to the playoffs in four consecutive years starting with their second season in 1996. Since 2000, the miracles went dry and the team has been among the worst in the league.
• Championships – The Jaguars have never won a championship.
• Rivals – The Jaguars fiercest on-field rivalry is with the Tennessee Titans, fellow members of the AFC South. Their fiercest off-field rivalry is with the Carolina Panthers, who came into the league at the same time the Jaguars did. The drawing of a jaguar in the team’s logo has a teal tongue (the color of the Panthers) to show how the Jaguars will kill and eat the Panthers franchise.

The Jaguars came out of the gate fast and were almost instantly a more than respectable NFL franchise. That type of success was virtually unprecedented for an expansion team and it certainly seems like whatever deal with whatever entity or deity the Jaguars made to achieve it has backfired over the past fifteen years. Since 2000 the Jaguars have sunk into the deepest despair possible and their team frequently tops lists of teams rumored to be moving to Los Angeles or even London. The words most commonly used in association with the team these days are “futility” and “dismal.”

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Shahid Khan purchased the Jacksonville Jaguars in January, 2012 for an estimated $760 million. That’s not peanuts, but it’s also not pie for the naturalized Pakistani-American Khan whose net worth is around $4.6 billion. He also owns the British Premier League soccer team, Fulham F.C. Khan is a rare example of the American Dream at work. Having started working at an automotive parts company while in college, he eventually rose to start his own similar company which eventually purchased and consolidated the original one. The resulting company, Flex-N-Gate manufactures bumpers for the vast majority of cars in the market. Khan is the first ethnic minority to own an NFL team.

Where do the Jacksonville Jaguars play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a Jacksonville Jaguars fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

Your date has a well-practiced ability to roll with the punches. Once you’re in a relationship with them, they’ll be there for you no matter what happens in your life.

What will make a Jacksonville Jaguars fan squirm?

Even with a bunch of other teams rumored to be potentially moving to L.A. or elsewhere, Jags fans are more worried than most. Casually mention how interesting you think it would be for the Jaguars to move to London.

Buy Jacksonville Jaguars Swag!

What do the Jacksonville Jaguars look like?

Team colors are black, teal, gold, and white. Their current uniforms look like this.

Current and recent teams

Coming soon — a post about the 2015 Jacksonville Jaguars including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

Indianapolis Colts – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – American Football Conference (AFC)
• Division – AFC South
• History – The Indianapolis Colts are a team with a split history. They played in Baltimore as the Baltimore Colts from 1953 to 1983 before moving to Indianapolis. The move was (and is) a source of great controversy. Although the team had been one of the strongest in the league during the 1960s and early 1970s, the late 1970s and early 1980s were bad for the Colts. That set the context for a conflict between the owner of the Colts, who wanted Baltimore to fund a new stadium, and the city and its people, who did not want to fund a stadium but also didn’t want to lose their team to another city. It’s impossible to say who fired the first shot, but in the winter of 1983-84, the owner of the Colts and Baltimore engaged in a war to see which could happen first — moving the team to another city or the passing of a law that would enable the city to seize the team based on eminent domain. The Colts owner won and on March 29, 1984, moving vans literally moved the team out to Indianapolis under cover of darkness. By morning, nothing of the team would be left in Baltimore. Indianapolis, whose residents cannot be blamed for how they acquired their team, have embraced the team magnificently and it has thrived since moving there.
• Championships – The Colts won two NFL championships in Baltimore in 1958 and 1959 during the pre-Super Bowl era, one Super Bowl in Baltimore in 1970 and one Super Bowl in Indianapolis in 2006.
• Rivals – The Colts major rival is the New England Patriots. This rivalry has thrived despite the teams being in different divisions since 2002. Since the late 1990s, the two teams have been consistently at the top of the AFC and often perceive each other as the biggest challenge in making the Super Bowl.

The Indianapolis Colts have a proud history which traces back to their Baltimore past, even if the move was divisive. Their simple, elegant, blue and white uniforms have barely changed since the 1950s. They are a largely stable organization that has had incredible luck (no pun intended) and skill in transitioning from one franchise quarterback to the next. They play in a dome, which lends itself to offense and passing oriented football.

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the Indianapolis Colts?

Jim Irsay is the current owner of the Indianapolis Colts. He inherited the team from his father, who purchased the Colts when Jim was 12. After college, Jim went to work for his father and the Colts and has been there ever since. He became General Manager and Vice President a month after the team left Baltimore (perhaps his Dad was protecting him from having to be involved with that ugly chapter) and he took over completely in 1995 when his father suffered a stroke. Not everything has gone smoothly for Irsay though. After his father’s death, he had a legal battle with his stepmother for control of the team. He also struggles with addiction and has had several high profile lapses leading to stints in rehab and temporary bans from the NFL.

Johnny Unitas/Peyton Manning/Andrew Luck are the three great quarterbacks in Colts history. Unitas played for the Colts from 1956 to 1972. He was a prodigious passer, setting records left and right and helping to cement the dominance of the pass in the modern era of the NFL. He led the Colts do a sudden death victory in the 1958 NFL Championship game, which is often referred to as the “greatest game ever played.” Later in his career, he was knocked out of the Colts first Super Bowl victory during the 1970 season, but not before throwing a record setting 75-yard touchdown pass. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979. When the Colts moved to Baltimore, he was so outraged that he refused to have anything to do with them and started lobbying the NFL to return to Baltimore. This didn’t stop Peyton Manning, the quarterbacking savant the Colts drafted number one overall in the 1998 NFL draft, from paying tribute to Unitas at every chance he got. Although Manning struggled in his first season with the Colts, by his second season, he had earned his first of fourteen Pro Bowl honors in sixteen years. Manning led the team to a 13-3 record and a division title. Over the next 11 seasons, the Colts would be under .500 only once, win seven division titles, and a Super Bowl. Manning would set all kinds of quarterbacking records while also playing as a modern-day version of Unitas, who called all his own plays. When Manning missed the 2011 season with an injury, the team went 2-14, the worst record in the league. This earned them another first overall draft pick, which they used on Andrew Luck, a quarterback from Stanford. Manning moved on to Denver and Luck took over the team. So far, he’s been great and it looks like the Colts have picked themselves another winner at quarterback.

Where do the Indianapolis Colts play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a Indianapolis Colts fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

Your date is spoiled rotten by the Colts success at quarterback. If you claim to be good at something (go-cart racing, sautéing spinach, surgery) you better be really good at it or your date will not be impressed.

What will make a Indianapolis Colts fan squirm?

Sympathetically remark that it’s a surprising shame that the Colts only won a single Super Bowl in the Manning era — that with all the success the team had, it would have been nice to win at least two.

Buy Indianapolis Colts Swag!

What do the Indianapolis Colts look like?

Team colors are royal blue and white. Their current uniforms look like this.

Current and recent teams

Coming soon — a post about the 2015 Indianapolis Colts including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

Houston Texans – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – American Football Conference (AFC)
• Division – AFC South
• History – The Houston Texans are the newest team in the NFL, having been created as an expansion team in 2002, but their name evokes the NFL’s distant past. The Kansas City Chiefs were briefly known as the Texans (and played in Dallas) at the start of their history. The Houston Texans are also not the first team from the NFL to call Houston its home. From 1960 to 1996 the Houston Oilers were a much beloved team, first in the American Football League and later in the NFL. In 1997 they were moved to Tennessee by their owner and Houston had to go without professional football until the Texans started up in 2002.
• Championships – The Texans have never won a championship.
• Rivals – Rivalries take time to develop and the Texans don’t have a long history. That said, the Texans have a couple obvious teams with real rivalry potential: the Tennessee Titans who were once the Houston Oilers, and who now play in the same division as the Texans; the Dallas Cowboys who have always dominated the Texas region in terms of fans. They have also developed a kind of one-sided rivalry with the Indianapolis Colts who have been the power in the AFC South division for most on the Texans existence.

The Houston Texans are a classic expansion franchise. Having to create a team from scratch while all your opponents are building off of foundations (albeit ones of differing strengths) is difficult. It took the Texans eight tries to finally win more than they lost during a regular season. They did that for the first time in 2009. In 2011 they won their division for the first time and even won a game in the playoffs before being eliminated. They repeated that feat in 2012 but were not able to sustain the success after that. These days the Texans have hope but not assurance that they’ll succeed.

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the Houston Texans?

J.J. Watt is the most dominant defensive player in the NFL and he plays for the Houston Texans. 6’5″ and almost 300 pounds with freakishly long arms and giant hands, Watt is an intimidating presence on the defensive line for the Texans. He was drafted 11th overall by the Texans in 2011 and has won NFL defensive player of the year twice in his four years of play. His dominance is so profound, he makes it seem like the Texans have an extra player on the field when he is playing.

Where do the Houston Texans play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a Houston Texans fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

Your date is future oriented and very good at imagining a time when things will be, not just better, but actually good. Give them a little to work with, and they’ll be creating images in their mind of a white picket fence, 2.3 children, and a golden retriever.

What will make a Houston Texans fan squirm?

The best would be for you to live in or around Houston and tell them you’re a Dallas Cowboys or Indianapolis Colts fan but you’ll “switch to the Texans once they get good.”

Buy Houston Texans Swag!

What do the Houston Texans look like?

Team colors are Deep Steel Blue, Battle Red, and Liberty White. Their current uniforms look like this.

Current and recent teams

Coming soon — a post about the 2015 Houston Texans including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – National Football Conference (NFC)
• Division – NFC South
• History – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were founded as an expansion team in 1976. They lost their first 26 games in a row and things have been downhill ever since. Okay, their history is not that dire, but they have been a losing team verging on a laughingstock for much of their almost 40-year history. They had a period of consistent winning starting in 1997 and continuing for six years which culminated in the team’s only Super Bowl win. Then it was back down into the dumps for most of the years until present day.
• Championships – The Bucs won the Super Bowl in their only trip to the title game in 2002 by beating the Oakland Raiders in a game I called (I was in college at the time) “Pirate Bowl Aye-Aye.”
• Rivals – The Buccaneers claim the New Orleans Saints (against whom they scored their first ever victory in 1977) and the Carolina Panthers as their rivals.

If it weren’t for a brief period of prosperity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers might be one of the sorriest franchises in American team sports history. Despite all the losing, there are some cool things about the Buccaneers. They have an enormous model pirate ship built into their stadium which shoots its cannons when the team scores. That’s awesome! The team is one of the few that wears white for its home jerseys so that opponents have to swelter in the heat of Tampa Bay while wearing dark uniforms. On the subject of uniforms, they once played in a color that can only be described as “creamsicle.” Unfortunately for the well-intentioned Tampa Bay fan, the recent history of the team has been one of insulting incompetence. They’ve hired a series of coaches who have each been more of a disaster than the last and just this year, they used the number one overall draft pick on a player who almost certainly is a rapist.

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Warren Sapp was drafted by the Buccaneers as the 12th overall pick of the 1995 draft and became a dominant force on the interior of the defensive line for the team over the next nine seasons. Defensive linemen like Sapp don’t normally become celebrities or football stars but Sapp’s rare combination of high-energy, charisma, and style made him a fan favorite and an essential part of the defense that dragged the team to a Super Bowl win in 2002. Sapp was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. His smooth transition from football player to football media personality was interrupted by a domestic abuse charge in 2010 and a solicitation arrest in 2015.

Derrick Brooks played right behind Sapp as the team’s middle linebacker from 1995 when he was drafted 16 spots behind Sapp until Sapp left in 2003. Brooks continued to play for the Bucs until his retirement in 2008. He was remarkably durable. During his 14 year career, he started 221 of 224 possible games. That is a crazy record for one of the most dangerous positions in football. Following his retirement, Brooks became co-owner and president of the Tampa Bay Storm, an Arena Football League team in the area. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2014.

Where do the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

I have no explanation for being a Tampa Bay fan unless you live in the Tampa Bay area. Your date lives in the Tampa Bay area and doesn’t mind being emotionally taken advantage of.

What will make a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan squirm?

Nothing! Apparently nothing will make a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan squirm. Not the losing, not the terrible management, not the gross drafting of Jameis Winston. If anything made a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan squrm, they would no longer be a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan.

Buy Tampa Bay Buccaneers Swag!

What do the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look like?

Team colors are Buccaneer red, pewter, black, orange, and white. Their current uniforms look like this.

Current and recent teams

Coming soon — a post about the 2015 Tampa Bay Buccaneers including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

New Orleans Saints – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – National Football Conference (NFC)
• Division – NFC South
• History – The New Orleans Saints are a franchise with a flair for the dramatic. Named after the song, When the Saints go Marching in, whose text refers to the rapture, the Saints have always born an air of wonderful catastrophe. They were created in 1966 as part of back-room bargaining about a potential merger between the NFL and rival American Football League. They played 20 seasons before recording a winning season. Always beloved in New Orleans, the team took on national importance after the terrible disaster of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when the team’s stadium was used as a shelter for thousands of people.
• Championships – The Saints won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2009 season.
• Rivals – The Saints have a surprising number of rivals for a team that has done so poorly for so much of its history. Leading the way is the Atlanta Falcons who see the Saints as their natural rival over the Deep South, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who battle it out with the Saints for the Gulf Coast, and the Dallas Cowboys whose regional fan-base abuts the Saints’ to the west.

During their darkest days, the Saints were known as the ‘aints and were a consistent win… for teams that played against them. They lost and lost and lost but never truly stopped partying. Aside from some stadiums football fans might prefer to visit for their historical significance, there’s no place they’d rather see a game than in New Orleans. When the Saints are playing well, the Super Dome rocks! One of the most moving, exciting games I’ve ever seen on TV was the first game at the Super Dome after Katrina. The Saints won in dramatic fashion and it felt as if all of America was cheering for them.

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the New Orleans Saints?

Archie Manning was selected by the Saints as the second overall pick in the 1971 draft. He played quarterback for the Saints for each of the next ten seasons, a period during which the Saints had a losing record every year but one… 1979 when they went .500. Although Manning did not preside over any winning teams, he was widely loved and respected. Other teams defensive players even claimed to have taken it easy on him because his offensive linemen were so bad at protecting him. Manning received recognition for his fine play despite his lack of on-field success. He continues to be beloved by New Orleans Saints fans, despite his having fathered two great quarterbacks, Peyton and Eli Manning who have played against the Saints for the past twenty years.

Drew Brees is the exception that proves the rule in several different ways. Listed as six feet tall, he’s the rare successful “short” quarterback that proves the rule that you have to be 6’3″ or taller to succeed at that position in the NFL. Great quarterbacks are so valuable in the NFL that as a rule, they don’t change teams until they are way past their prime. Brees proved to be an exception to that rule when he left San Diego in 2006 to play for the Saints. Since coming to the Saint, Brees has “led all NFL quarterbacks in touchdowns, passing yards and 300-yard games” and also led the team to a Super Bowl win. Brees was in a strange position coming to New Orleans in the season after Hurricane Katrina. He embraced it, moved his family to the city, and went about making himself as helpful to the city’s recovery as he could. Thanks to that effort in addition to his fine play, Brees is a much loved symbol of modern New Orleans.

Where do the New Orleans Saints play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a New Orleans Saints fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

Thinking about heading out to the club after dinner? Your date will be the life of the party. Chances are, she has a set of beads in her back pocket or a fancy feather headdress in his.

What will make a New Orleans Saints fan squirm?

Argue that now that the post-Katrina era is over (this will already make a Saints fan start sputtering in anger), it’s time to admit that New Orleans is too small of a market to support an NFL football team (by now they will have switched from sputtering to actively throwing whatever is at hand.)

Buy New Orleans Saints Swag!

What do the New Orleans Saints look like?

Team colors are black, Old Gold, and white. Their current uniforms look like this.

 

Current and recent teams

Coming soon — a post about the 2015 New Orleans Saints including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

Carolina Panthers – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – National Football Conference (NFC)
• Division – NFC South
• History – The Carolina Panthers are the third most recent team to have entered the NFL. Created as an expansion team in 1995, the Panthers history is short but has its high points. The Panthers set a record for expansion teams by going 7-9 in their first season and then followed it up by going 12-4 the following year. The franchise’s high point came in 2003 when they advanced all the way to the Super Bowl before being beaten in a close game by the New England Patriots.
• Championships – None.
• Rivals – The Panthers key rivals are the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sure, they don’t much like the fourth team in their division, the New Orleans Saints, either, but their strongest punches are saved for the Falcons and Bucs.

One of the newest teams in the NFL, the Falcons are an interesting example of NFL expansion that mimics that of the National Hockey League in some ways. North Carolina, where the team plays its home games, is one of the few places in the country where football is still not the top sport in the market. College basketball and the epic rivalry between Duke and North Carolina has always and seems like it will always be at the top of the sports pyramid. The Panthers balancing act can be seen in its choice of color. “Panther Blue” is a shade of blue precisely at the midpoint between the dark blue that Duke wears and UNC’s powder blue. The Panthers live in a divided world — split between North and South Carolina, split between Duke and UNC. Even their tailgating tradition involves areas that focus on all different types of food.

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the Carolina Panthers?

Jerry Richardson is the only owner the Panthers have ever had. He’s a true home-grown success story. Born and raised in North Carolina, Richardson played college football at Wofford in South Carolina. After his college days, he was drafted by the then Baltimore Colts and played two years in the NFL. He used money earned from his football career to open the first Hardee’s restaurant franchise. From there he moved up in the restaurant business, eventually becoming CEO of Flagstar, the sixth largest food service business in the world. Football was always his first love though and he worked tirelessly to bring a professional team to the Carolinas.

Steve Smith is small for a wide receiver but he’s an enormous part of Panthers history. Drafted in 2001, Smith played for 13 seasons with the Panthers and holds basically every receiving record on the team. Smith played (he still plays but now for the Baltimore Ravens) with a ferocity and determination rare, even in the ultra aggressive world of the NFL. At 5’9″, it never seemed like it was possible for Smith to make the type of physical, leaping, battling aerial catches that were his specialty, but he found a way. In 2005 he was the league leader in all three major categories for a wide receiver: catches, yards, and touchdowns. Smith was not only team captain but also the emotional heart of the Panthers team for most of his time in Carolina.

Where do the Carolina Panthers play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a Carolina Panthers fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

Sitting across from a Carolina Panthers fan, you can be sure that they have room in their heart for more than just one object of affection. Rare among professional football fans these days, most Carolina Panthers fans have a sport and a team that comes before football and their NFL team: either Duke or the University of North Carolina in men’s college basketball.

What will make a Carolina Panthers fan squirm?

Figure out if they are a Duke fan or a UNC fan and then claim that the Panthers swing in the direction of their rivals.

Buy Carolina Panthers Swag!

What do the Carolina Panthers look like?

Team colors are Panther Blue, black, silver, and white. Their current uniforms look like this.

Current and recent teams

A post about the 2015 Carolina Panthers including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

Atlanta Falcons – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – National Football Conference (NFC)
• Division – NFC South
• History – The Atlanta Falcons came into existence in 1965 after a bidding war between the NFL and the American Football League (AFL) for the right to put a team in Atlanta. Although the AFL had more previous involvement with the city, having played several exhibition games there, the NFL was the more established league and eventually won out. The Falcons played their first handful of seasons in the NFL’s Coastal Division with the Baltimore Colts, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams. After the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, the Falcons were shifted to the geographically insane NFC West division and the New Orleans Saints were subbed in for the Baltimore Colts. It wasn’t until 2002 that the NFL fixed this issue and created the NFC South, the division the Falcons currently play in, and populated it with teams (the Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Carolina Panthers) that more or less fit the division’s geographic descriptor.
• Championships – The Falcons have never won a championship. They went to the Super Bowl once, in 1998, but were defeated by the Denver Broncos.
• Rivals – The Falcons key rival is the New Orleans Saints. The Saints were founded a year after the Falcons and the two have battled for supremacy over the Deep South ever since. Their rivalry has some aspects of a sibling rivalry to it. Aside from the drunk and rowdy fans that travel seven hours to jeer at each other (and sometimes the teams) the two teams have also shared coaching families and even several players.

One of the thirteen teams to never win a Super Bowl, the Atlanta Falcons cannot lay claim to being the most successful team. They’ve only fielded winning teams 14 out of their 49 years of existence, and only once (2008-2012) were they able to put together any kind of sustained run of winning. This once-in-a-while characteristic seems to also be true about creating a distinct team identity. The Falcons are capable of doing that, but only once in a while, and only in an impermanent sense. It doesn’t seem like the 1998 “Dirty Birds” identity has much to do with the identity of the team during its years with quarterback Michael Vick or in its years since then. Falcons eras come quickly and before you look, they’re gone.

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the Atlanta Falcons?

Michael Vick played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons from 2001 to 2006. Drafted first overall by the Falcons, fans have never had higher hopes for the team than when Vick was at the helm. He was the extreme example of a running quarterback. Insanely fast, freakishly elusive, and with a great ability, learned over many years of playing, to know exactly when to take off and run down the field, Vick was the most exciting player in the league during his years with the Falcons. Although the team did have some success in that time, they were never as successful as they were exciting. Vick’s time with the Falcons came to a scandalous end in 2006 when he was arrested, convicted, and eventually incarcerated for his role in a dog-fighting ring. After serving his time, Vick was able to return to playing in the NFL but not with the Falcons.

Deion Sanders, nicknamed “Prime Time” is another example of an amazing athlete who started his career on the Falcons. Drafted fifth overall by the team in the 1989 draft, Sanders’ primary position was cornerback but also played as a kick and punt returner and in isolated situations on offense. He also played baseball professionally for the MLB team in the city, the Atlanta Braves. A good sign of his virtuosity on the football field is the breakdown of his scoring with the Falcons. He scored ten touchdowns in his five seasons in Atlanta, three on interception or fumble returns, five on kick or punt returns, and two by catching passes on offense. Sanders was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011.

Where do the Atlanta Falcons play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a Atlanta Falcons fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

They’re either from the Atlanta area or they LOVE Michael Vick and probably played a lot of Madden NFL video games. Or still do. Vick was basically unstoppable in those games when he was on the Falcons, so much so that many people had house rules against playing with the Falcons. I was once in an airport and saw a man go up to Vick and say, “Hey man, I love you in Madden.”

What will make a Atlanta Falcons fan squirm?

You might think it would be saying something about dog-fighting but I think most Falcons fans have moved on from that. No, I would go more towards suggesting their team is boring. It’s not true but it’s just close enough to being true to make a Falcons fan sweat.

Buy Atlanta Falcons Swag!

What do the Atlanta Falcons look like?

Team colors are red, black, white, and silver. Their current uniforms look like this.

Current and recent teams

A post about the 2015 Atlanta Falcons including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

New York Jets – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – American Football Conference (AFC)
• Division – AFC East
• History – The New York Jets began their existence as the New York Titans in 1959. One of the original American Football League teams, from the start the team created its identity as an alternative to the more traditional New York Giants. As then owner, Harry Wismer explained, “Titans are bigger and stronger than Giants.” They weren’t. The team struggled to get off the ground and almost disappeared in 1963 before being purchased by a group led by show business A&R man extraordinaire, Sonny Werblin. With the exception of a few short periods of success, the Jets have been largely a disappointment throughout their entire history.
• Championships – Only one, during the 1968 season, but it was a big one. Many people point to this game, Super Bowl III, as the start of the NFL’s meteoric rise in American sports.
• Rivals – The Jets maintain simmering rivalries with all three teams in their division, the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and New England Patriots. Their relationship with the Patriots is the most antagonistic of all of their rivalries and rivals any in the league for its intensity and bitterness.

The Jets have the biggest chip on their shoulder of all NFL teams. Second, even in their own city, the Jets are counter-cultural rebels. Their fans tend to be more working class than Giants fans and, regardless of socioeconomics, rowdier and more gleefully antagonistic. To understand the Jets, you need only to understand the long saga of where they’ve played. They started in the mostly defunct Polo Grounds, a stadium the New York Giants (football and baseball) had already moved on to. Then, they moved to Shea stadium in Queens, where the New York Mets played. The problem there was that they were forced to start each season with a few games on the road until baseball season ended. The Jets tried several different approaches to solve the problem but eventually left the city to go play in New Jersey… in Giants Stadium, the home of the New York (Football) Giants. The Jets were unable to change the name or the seat colors, so for years the New York Jets played in New Jersey in a stadium owned by and named for the other New York football team. Today, they still play in New Jersey but in a new stadium which is jointly owned by the Giants and the Jets and designed for both teams. Still, the long history of being treated like a second-class football team has shaped the character of the Jets and their fans.

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the New York Jets?

Joe Namath was quarterback for the New York Jets from 1965 to 1976. During that time his teams won 66 games and lost 70 but that doesn’t tell the story of Namath properly at all. Namath won the only game that truly mattered, Super Bowl III, and he did it in legendary fashion. This was in 1969, before the upstart AFL had merged with the NFL, although the question of whether they would was open to debate. Part of that debate was whether the AFL teams had enough talent to hang with the NFL ones. Most people thought they did not. When the Jets beat the Baltimore Colts, 16-7, it was a breakthrough not just for Jets fans but for the entire AFL community. Namath is also remembered for having guaranteed a victory before the game, although guarantees were not then the type of trope-y news getters that they are today. Namath, known as “Broadway Joe” for his celebrity looks and style has remained a legend among Jets fans.

Wayne Chrebet may not have had the looks, the fame, or the success that Namath had, but for a generation of fans, he was the epitome of everything they loved about the Jets. Listed at 5’1″ (but probably shorter), Chrebet was a born underdog who played his college football at unheralded Hofstra University on Long Island and was cut by a Canadian Football League team before ever getting a shot at the NFL. When he did get a chance with the Jets in 1995, he impressed the coaches and miraculously jumped past five or six bigger, more well known wide receivers to make the team. He stayed with the Jets for his entire 11 season career, from 1995 to 2005 and was a constant fan favorite for his moxie, sure hands, willingness to take on bigger players, and, it must be admitted, his race. Unfortunately, Chrebet’s fairytale seems to have an all to real and scary ending. Years after retiring, he has reported having symptoms from the many brain injuries he sustained during his career.

Where do the New York Jets play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a New York Jets fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

He or she has a massive inferiority complex. Alone among NFL fans, Jets fans have adjusted to not only being consistently a weaker team in their division but even in their own city! No comments about their height, weight, accent, or menu choices!

What will make a New York Jets fan squirm?

Basically, you can do almost anything and a New York Jets fan will squirm. They’re perpetually on edge, always thinking that the worst is going to happen. I had a colleague who was a Jets fan. He once broke his hand punching through a wall in frustration… during a game the Jets won!

Buy New York Jets Swag!

What do the New York Jets look like?

Team colors are green and white. Their current uniforms look like this.

Current and recent teams

Coming soon — a post about the 2015 New York Jets including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

New England Patriots – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – American Football Conference (AFC)
• Division – AFC East
• History – The New England Patriots were a founding member of the American Football League in 1960 as the Boston Patriots. When they moved 20 miles down the road to Foxboro, Massachusetts in 1971, they briefly flirted with the name, “the Bay State Patriots” before settling on their current name. The team’s ownership changed several times and the team was almost moved to St. Louis in the early 1990s before being purchased by its current owner, Robert Kraft.
• Championships – The New England Patriots have won four Super Bowls, all since 2000. They won in 2001, 2003, 2004, and then again in 2014.
• Rivals – Although they are hated by many teams, the Patriots see themselves as having three main rivals, the New York Jets who play in their division, the Indianapolis Colts, who used to until 2002, and the Baltimore Ravens who they’ve met in many important games in the past 20 years.

The Patriots are the most successful team of this millennia. They’re also probably the most controversial. In 2007 the team and their coach, Bill Bellichick were disciplined for having illicitly recorded video of an opposing team’s practices. In 2014, they were accused of improperly inflating the footballs they used on offense during a playoff game. Although the team escaped punishment this time, its quarterback, Tom Brady has been suspended for four games pending legal recourse. These incidents aside, the Patriots are generally regarded as a radical organization. They’ll try anything to win. They plan almost completely different game plans each week depending on their opponent, they constantly trade down in the NFL draft to take a larger number of less well-known players, they’ll cut or trade anyone, no matter how popular and accomplished, if they feel they are starting to decline. They’re willing to take character and injury risks with players that other teams stay away from. They are an extraordinarily stable organization when it comes to their core elements (owner, coach, quarterback) but basically everything else is constantly in motion.

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the New England Patriots?

Bill Bellichick is a complex, intriguing man whose brilliant talent for football is only matched by his apparent contempt for everything he feels is non-essential to winning football games. Whether you think he is simply a porcupine without the desire or talent to cloak himself in the skin of a cuddlier animal or you think he is a teddy-bear wearing chain-mail probably has a lot to do with whether you root for the New England Patriots and vis-versa. Read more about Bellichick in a profile of him I wrote before the 2015 Super Bowl.

Tom Brady is the prototypical quarterback. He’s tall, handsome, and athletic. He’s an unquestioned leader. He is successful on the field and off the field. He inevitably evokes a strong response from people. Either you want to be him or want to be with him or you can’t stand his smug, arrogant ways and you are annoyed that one person (other than you) could be so lucky. I wrote a lot more about him in an article leading up to the 2015 Super Bowl.

Where do the New England Patriots play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a New England Patriots fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

A decade and a half of winning will spoil even the most down-to-earth fan bases. The Patriots fan across the table from you probably expects success, all efforts to the contrary. He or she is also likely to have the “us-against-the-world” mentality that Patriots fans have had to develop in response to its team’s controversies.

What will make a New England Patriots fan squirm?

Express dismay and disgust at the Patriots for their cheating ways. Focus especially on Tom Brady and how his part in the conspiracy to deflate footballs has tarnished his otherwise “golden” image.

Buy New England Patriots Swag!

What do the New England Patriots look like?

Team colors are navy blue, red, silver, and white. Their current uniforms look like this.

Current and recent teams

Coming soon — a post about the 2015 New England Patriots including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.

One of the most disconcerting aspects of traveling to a country whose language you don’t know is how the most commonplace things become indecipherable. Ask a stranger for directions and she may think to explain tricky vocabulary but she’ll almost never think to describe whether the place she just referred to is a city, train station, library, cafe, or all of the above. The same is true for sports natives. A thoughtful sports fan should be willing and able to explain a rule, but he’ll almost never think of explaining who a particular team is, what sport they play, or the team’s history and characteristics. In this series, we’ll do just that — describe what is unique about each sports team.

Miami Dolphins – the basics

• Sport – Football
• League – National Football League (NFL)
• Conference – American Football Conference (AFC)
• Division – AFC East
• History – The Miami Dolphins have always had a little bit of flair, as befitting a team so close to South Beach. The team was founded by an attorney/politician and an actor/comedian in 1966 in the American Football League. Today, the team is owned Stephen M. Ross, a real estate mogul, but has made a point to have several small celebrity minority owners including Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Fergie.
• Championships – The Dolphins won back-to-back Super Bowl Championships in 1972 and 1973.
• Rivals – The Dolphins two primary rivals are the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills, both in-division competitors.

The Dolphins are the proud holders of the NFL’s only perfect season ever. In 1972, the Dolphins won every game in the then 14-game regular season and then won throughout the playoffs. Some members of that team and fans have celebrated each year since then when the last undefeated team loses. There have been some close calls since then, but no team has been able to match the 1972 Dolphins. The team followed up its success by repeating as Super Bowl champions the next year. The Dolphins have not won since then, despite some great teams during the early to mid 1980s. Unfortunately for Dolphins fans, the trend-line on their team continues to slide downwards. Each decade since the 1970s has been a little worse than the last.

Here is the their winning percentage in each season since their inception:

Who are some notable players or figures from the Miami Dolphins?

Don Shula was the coach of the Miami Dolphins during their undefeated 1972 season and their repeat championship the next year. That would be the career highlight for any NFL coach and so it is for Shula, but it doesn’t encapsulate him the way it would for most. Shula is associated with sustained excellence and coaching endurance. He remained the Dolphins coach until 1995 and in his 36 years as a head coach in the NFL (he coached the Baltimore Colts before the Dolphins), he only presided over teams that lost more than they won twice. He still holds many NFL coaching records, including  most games coached, most consecutive seasons coached, and most Super Bowl appearances.

Dan Marino remains to this day, the biggest star player the Dolphins have ever had. While their Super Bowl winning teams were more ensemble affairs, the Miami Dolphins of the ’80s and ’90s were a star vehicle for Marino. Marino was the prototypical pocket passing quarterback. His abilities to survey the field, release the ball quickly, and hit his target accurately downfield were unsurpassed during his era and possibly since. Despite setting many passing records, Marino only went to the Super Bowl one time and never won one.

Where do the Miami Dolphins play?

The blind date test

Imagine you’re about to go on a blind date and all you know about the person is that he or she is a Miami Dolphins fan. Here’s what you can guess about that person. Remember that all fans are unique. We bear no responsibility for any misunderstandings we engender. Trust but verify.

Thinking of just maybe bringing your date home tonight but worried that they might not be into your fifth story, no air-conditioning apartment in the middle of a July heat-wave? Don’t sweat the small stuff, just sweat. The one thing you can be sure of about a Miami Dolphins fan is that they’re perfectly comfortable grilling in 97°/100% humidity weather. Go for it!

What will make a Miami Dolphins fan squirm?

List great quarterbacks and leave Dan Marino out. Then when they bring him up, dismiss him because he never won a Super Bowl.

Buy Miami Dolphins Swag!

What do the Miami Dolphins look like?

Team colors are aqua, orange, white, and Marine Blue. Their current uniforms look like this.

Current and recent teams

Coming soon — a post about the 2015 Miami Dolphins including an overview of their most interesting characters as well as what fans expect from the team this year.