In one of the other threads there were a bunch of comments about teaching sports to your kids and watching your favorite teams with them.

My question is do you try to "teach" your children to root for and against the same teams you do? Somebody mentioned watching a Sox game (I'm assuming the Red Sox), do they dislike the Yankees? Or the Packers fan, do the kids root against the Bears/ Vikings? Is it wrong to teach your kids to dislike the same teams that you dislike?

We're from Cincinnati, and I think that while we do teach Ana to root against Pittsburgh, it's in a light-hearted manner. I certainly wouldn't want her to actually dislike Pittsburghians, but not talking smack about the Steelers in Cincinnati can turn you into a social pariah.

OH, Stephanie. I am a former Pittsburgher and life time Steelers fan. I have always had a soft stop for the Bengals. I like Chad Johnson anyway.

But we will definitely teach our son about the Steelers and hating the other teams in our division and of course hating the Patriots. i don't think it is wrong to teach our kids about the stuff we love. whatever that might be.

Not only is it not wrong to teach your children to root against the Red Sox, its your duty as a parent. I believe that in New York, teaching your children to root for the Red Sox is on sign of child abuse, and could result in your children being taken away and place in a foster care home, at the home of a Yankees fan.

Clearly I am Yankees fan, as is youngest son. My wife and daughter are Red Sox fans (Oh the shame) and my oldest son just plays us off against each other.

Boy those Yankees-Red Sox games are fun around here, and I wouldnt have it any other way.

Political correctness has no place in choosing "your" sports teams.

My daughter has grown to like watching hockey games with me. I was born in Detroit and lived in its environs for eighteen years. I'm a lifelong Red Wings fan and confirmed Wing Nut. When my daughter watches games with me, she asks, "Who do we want to win?" I tell her that I'm rooting for the Wings but that she can choose whatever team she wants to root for. She has taken up sides against the Wings from time to time when she liked another team's uniform better. (She's a "big cat" fan, so she really liked Nashville's jerseys.) However, she realized that rooting against the Wings leads to heartache, just as she's learned that rooting for the Phillies and the Tigers leads to heartache. Anymore, she's firmly on the Wings' fanwagon. We don't watch basketball or football.

Jrms- You LIKE Chad? That's awesome! I've always thought he was a good guy, in spite of the disgruntled behavior.

I'll have to admit, my dislike of the Steelers springs primarily from the few years I spent working in a bar that was owned by (completely batshit crazy) native Pittburghians. There was Steelers stuff EVERYWHERE, in a CINCINNATI bar, and the drama was constant. One time I witnessed a drunk Bengals fan threaten the owner's son with a gun.

At our house our son is being taught that the only time it appropriate to use the word hate is in reference to the Packers or Brett Favre. I am a Vikings fan who went to school in Madison and the Packer worship was obscene to say the least.....nope, no bitter feelings here at all.....

changing sports here, but as Kings fans we have a duty to teach the Dictator that although Kobe is an awesome player, we hate the lakers. phil jackson is a dick. and i don't care who they play for, shaq and robert horry are the devils.

and it feels so good to know that we are not insane for thinking that the 2002 playoffs WERE rigged. that title should have been ours.

The Companion has turned 1st kid into a octopus throwing Red Wings fan, however, he has not yet taught him to hate the Avalanche. I'm sure that's coming though.

I'm not a sports fat at all, but saying anything nice about the Steelers in my house growing up was verboten. In fact, it was basically strictly forbidden.

My mom is a Vikings fan, mostly because she's stubborn and a bit contrary. Apparently when she was in college the Vikings and Steelers were in the superbowl. Since she was in college in WV (Marshall, not WVU--another required allegiance there), there were a lot of people from Pennsylvania also going to school there and the place where she was watching (a friend's dorm lounge) was apparently populated with a load of obnoxious Steelers fans. Therefore, she cheered for the Vikings and has been a more or less rabid fan for the past 30-odd years.

Stephanie, that bar sounds amazing. There is a Steelers bar in Boston that will have like 70+ people watching the game minimum on Sundays. We are everywhere! (which is easy to understand given the collapse of industry in Western PA).

ks, we are pretty obnoxious fans for sure. But we can't help it. and we are looking tough this year! Go Stillers!

jtc, your wings broke my heart a bit in the stanley cup finals. The Pens are young though. plenty more chances i think. I kind of got on the hockey bandwagon this year because of them.

Since I'm from Cleveland, I'm debating turning him away from sports all together because it always just ends in tragedy anyways. But maybe that's a life lesson? It certainly made me jaded:)

Go....Tr--eh, screw it.

I find it's pretty easy. The kids ask me "why do you root for so-and-so", and I reply "he plays well or I like his style of play and he doesn't smack his wife in public".