Prior to meeting my colleague and dear friend Bharat Bhise I never really had much interest in American Sports in terms of being a fan. I had enjoyed watching certain sports but I never really thought about picking a team. Bharat was exactly the same with Premier League football and so together we decided that we should both pick a team to follow, mine would be an NBA team and his would be a Premier League side. It is hard to pick a team if you haven’t grown up supporting one, but there are ways in which you can decide who will be the right team for you.
Players
Both Bharat and I had certain players who we enjoyed watching, both present players and past players, and we decided that this would be the first consideration when picking a team to support. We decided that instead of making a decision based on who was playing for the team, that we instead would create something of an algorithm to select the team, and the players were a key part of that. If you are trying to find a team for you, think about the players you love to watch first.
Success
Many people want to support a successful team and if you fall into that bracket then this will greatly help you to narrow down your choices. It should be noted however that sports are a series of swings and roundabouts and the team who are winning today, may not be winning tomorrow. Take Manchester United in the Premier League for example, throughout the 90s and early 00s they were massively dominant and now they are struggling. Nonetheless if it is a successful team you want, use this to help you to slim down your choices.
Character of the Team
A key part of this decision should be the character or DNA of the club or franchise which you plan to support. For example Tottenham Hotspur are a team that always promise so much, get the hopes up of all the fans, and then eventually fail. Much like Spurs, in the NBA there is a team like the LA Clippers, who are always considered to be the butt of the league’s jokes. And a team with a characteristic which fits with your own, that way you can be sure that you’ll really get behind them.
Geography
The greatest joy for any sports fan is that you get the chance to watch your team play, which is why it also makes sense to pick a team that is near you. Working out of L.A. I knew that my choices were going to be between the Clippers and the Lakers, and based on which one best matched my character and had the players that I enjoyed watching, I decided upon the Clippers.
Using these tips you can choose a team which fits your character and which you can really put your energy behind.
2018 · 
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