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Very little gets my goat more than some hamhead going on and on about "we" this and "we" that when referring to her/his favorite team.

Do you share this grating pet peeve?

Or if you are guilty of the above, please explain why you include/confuse yourself with the team.

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 16 May 2003 15:46 (twenty-two years ago)

I think it's not only your right but you duty as a fan to include yourself as part of your favourite sports team. But only if they are located near you.
Though if you did this with your favourite band, you'd be a big jackass.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 16 May 2003 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

you are so not a team player, gygax!

― hstencil, Friday, 16 May 2003 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

i think it comes from school boasts and slagging matches
"we're better than you"
makes for a more impassioned arguement than
"they're better than them"

― robin (robin), Friday, 16 May 2003 15:56 (twenty-two years ago)

h,
a team player is someone who actually plays on the team...

not some hamhead lakers fan making excuses to noone in particular on the subway a few seats down!

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 16 May 2003 15:57 (twenty-two years ago)

so punch 'em.
if you're on the subway, and the subway is moving, you are legally entitled to punch someone if they're being an ass. it's true. I'm a lawyer. Or rather, a girl once dumped me for a guy who is now a lawyer.
But she'd rather be with me. I'm sure of it.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 16 May 2003 15:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh I know, gygax!, just ribbing you.

In the context of my "work," a teamplayer is someone who kisses mucho ass, and actually gets included in projects, is developed into a productive employee, etc.

(I am so not a teamplayer.)

― hstencil, Friday, 16 May 2003 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

It's Classic with a capital K.

Without 'us' - those who back them, support them, shout at/for them, pay to see them, buy their corporate shite, discuss them.. ..without all that, what are they ? Who are they ? Just a group of men competing with each other for a prize.

Sport teams mean nothing without the supporters. If Real Madrid played Juventus in an empty stadium it would arguably be no more important than me and my mates doing our stuff in Regent's Park. Consequently, 'we' is totally clasico and roolz.

Now - using the singular verb form after sports team names - dud or bigtime dud ?

― darren (darren), Friday, 16 May 2003 16:47 (twenty-two years ago)

In Lexington, KY, people who don't even LIKE basketball refer to the UK Wildcats in us/we/our terms. People are basketball INSANE here, it's ridiculous.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 16 May 2003 16:53 (twenty-two years ago)

yes nick they are. Pitino will never be forgiven.

― hstencil, Friday, 16 May 2003 16:55 (twenty-two years ago)

What do Lexingtoners care for a UK team? Surely Colonial sentiments don't still exist?
I know, I know. Univ Kentuck.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 16 May 2003 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, people have been Tubby crazy for the past few years. I remember being out in the middle of that night-of-the-championship pseudo-riot amidst roughly 30,000 drunken b-ball nuts chanting "TUH!-BEE!, TUH!-BEE!, TUH!-BEE!". It was wild.

Alright Horace, you've proven how smart your ass is. ;-)

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 16 May 2003 16:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm sad like that.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Friday, 16 May 2003 17:00 (twenty-two years ago)

well nick it's funny too because every time UK goes through a slump, the "Fire Tubby" brigade comes out. (it's because they're racists.)

Interesting that Pitino is pretty much the only UK bball coach to wilfully leave.

― hstencil, Friday, 16 May 2003 17:02 (twenty-two years ago)

This is so that when you are talking about a match you can use pronouns some of the time - if both teams were 'they' you'd have to name the team every time. It's natural and harmless.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 16 May 2003 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

my boyfreind does this. it's totally cute.

― sand.y, Saturday, 17 May 2003 00:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Horace is OTM. Darren is even more OTM, just look at Wimbledon.

You can always tell when people aren't true fans of a team because they will refer to the team as 'they' or 'them', rather than 'we', so it is a very useful signfier.

Much worse is the fan who will say 'we' when the team is doing well, but will immediately start using 'they' when said team is losing. This annoys me.

Even though I'm guilty of it sometimes

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Sunday, 18 May 2003 22:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Whoops, wrong way round in the old tagging there, should have been Even though I'm guilty of it sometimes

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Sunday, 18 May 2003 22:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmm. Shoot me please.

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Sunday, 18 May 2003 22:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I must say I share the peeve. I accept it's a valid way of referring to a team but it still really annoys me. Even more so when 'you' is used to refer to the other person in the conversation's team (eg 'when we beat you').

― David (David), Monday, 19 May 2003 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

This shows up in all the linguistics textbooks. It's the same thing as people saying "that guy hit me!" when they mean "that guy's car hit the car I'm driving" -- I forget the name for it. Anything you read into it beyond that is what you bring to the table.

― Tep (ktepi), Monday, 19 May 2003 00:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Some clubs play along with it -- in the Norwegian football club Vålerenga, for example, the (independent, btw) supporters' club is officially listed as player number 12.

― OleM (OleM), Monday, 19 May 2003 20:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Nice touch. Do they get an XXXXXXL kit?

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Tuesday, 20 May 2003 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

seven years pass...

Annoying coworker always coming up to my desk “are we playing tonight? “ and every time this catches me off guard, like playing what? What are you talking about? plus I’m way hung over this morning and can’t parse someone’s first person weirdo speak. Now I’m a hueg Laker fan but never refer to them or any team i support in this manner. It really bugs me for some reason.

― Aerosol, Tuesday, 9 November 2010 14:17 (fifteen years ago)

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Referring to an athletic team you enjoy in the first person plural - Dud or...

Even though I'm guilty of it sometimes