What would it take for you to stop being a Padres fan?

or the Chargers for that matter. It’d be weird, yeah, but the fact they’re the SAN DIEGO Padres is pretty much the only reason why I like them.

it would take me moving to another city+living there for ten years and becoming assimilated+those ten years the Padres having bad seasons.

or if they moved to another city. (ahem, Chargers)

with my Padres tattoos so I’m kind of stuck with them no matter what happens.

To say, Denver, I would forever be a Padres (and Chargers) fan. That is, unless either team relocated.

As long as the Dodgers exist, so must I.

Or if they left town, that’d hurt.

(or when) their fan blog site became dramatically more tedious than the team itself!

But my issue is baseball in general. I’ve started to lose interest in the sport entirely. The payroll differences, steroids, small-market teams, and watching a mediocre team I’ve been following for over 20 years that can not seem to get to that championship level. Stuff gets old.

But the Padres were the first team i was a fan of so I’ll be a San Diego Padre fan til I die.

  What if they relocated to Tijuana?

or relocation. Changing the team name or colors, which could definitely suck, couldn’t cause me to stop rooting for the team. My devotion runs deeper than that. My devotion lies with the fact that the team is from San Diego—how i feel about their front office, players, ballpark, fans, history, success, etc., is peripheral. As long as they represent San Diego, I’ll root for them.

If they relocated, what connection would I still have to them? If they don’t represent San Diego, they mean nothing to me. That’s fair, right? It’s the only thing we have in common. I wouldn’t like baseball if I didn’t have a team to root for. Same with football. I don’t watch televised sports because I find them exciting—no matter how many people run around and throw things on a field. I watch because I care about the outcome. Because I—perhap unwisely—invest a lot of my own esteem and pride into what the Padres and Chargers represent, i.e. San Diego.

What’s most important to me is the city the team represents. If that were to change (I’m looking at you, you stupid Chargers), I couldn’t think of a reason to root for them anymore. All of the other stuff like “favorite players” or “winning championships” doesn’t matter to me.

…or a naked hug from Giles.

the teams that come with it are the perks!

but my spirit will always live on with the padres

I am thinking that Moorad going all Larry David on Gwynn’s statue would do it.

you would really just stop?

But after all these years, my loyalty lies with them. I don’t think I could stop rooting for either team if they relocated.

It would mean I was no longer interested in baseball or they had moved to a different city…

My friend’s dad, a native La Jollan, was a Padres fan since 1969. The last time I saw him I asked what he thought of the current state of the team. He told me that he had given up on them and that he didn’t think they would ever win a title. He just stopped watching baseball.

My twin bro, who is still a Padres fan, doesn’t know what to think anymore… All of these changes are making his head spin.

Another buddy, who grew up in SD and now lives in SLO, still follows the Padres, but also likes the Giants (Bochy fan).

1. I haven’t lived in San Diego since 2002. So, I understand that sometimes you have to move around. It is tough being a fan on the east coast. I think it would depend on where they moved to.
.
2. If I gave up on the Padres, who else would I root for…
.
a. The other southern CA teams on now both “L.A.” The Dodgers are evil. I used to like the Anaheim Angels, but it is hard rooting for them now that they are from L.A. That’s a bridge I’m not comfortable crossing.
.
b . I used to like the Giants, but that whole Bonds thing tainted them. However, I am a big fan of their starting pitching.
.
c. Oakland… kinda like the American league’s version of the Padres. It could be a natural fit, but they may be about to ditch Oakland for a new town… I don’t know if I could dump the Padres b/c they moved, AND then support a team that just moved…
.
d. Diamondbacks (next question)
.
e. Rockies. I kinda like the Rockies. Their situation is similar to ours, but they have offense, whereas we do not.
.
f. The Braves. Currently I am in Atlanta, and I became enamored with the Braves in the 90’s when they had Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine. Also, Turner field Tix are super cheap.
.

So, I think I would transition my support to the Braves or Rockies, depending on where the Padres moved.

-Zen Blade

Of course only for me, but I’m a selfish bastard.
I am not originally from San Diego. I was stationed there from 87 to 92, and have lived in Indiana since then, but I have stayed loyal to the team, even living in Cubs/Reds territory for so long. Tony the Gwynn made me love baseball, and I think I’ll always remain loyal to my Padres. Trading Adrian will be a big blow, though, and actually, I was more upset about losing KT than any player in recent memory.

all the other things have already happened…

well except for the orphanage thing. allegedly.

That’s when I was a Junior Padre. I’m a third generation San Diegan. I guess, in terms of professional baseball, the Padres are rooted in my psyche forever.