++ [ originally posted by Majed ] ++
lads supporting div 3 teams are admirable, but dont forget that many of them also support a team in the top div!
like i said, these people are influenced by their environments. I think it's safe to say that 95% of the fans who support a div 3 team are from the same town. the other 4.9% are devoted fans like the Fiorentina fans who've watched their team go down and they stick with their team.
As for me, It's natural that i support a top team. I've lived in the middle east most of my life. We only get coverage of the top divisions. we dont get serie B, English Div 2,..etc. games. i watched many of the leagues and settled with Juve. FYI, I became a juve fan the night Juve lost to Dortmund. back then, I followed Milan because i liked Baggio (he wasn't at his best either) and i also followed Lazio because of Casiraghi. Before we had satilie tv, i could only see national teams.. that's how i was introduced to Casiraghi and Baggio.
This doesn't contradict with what i say about many US and far asian fans. They CAN Get many EPL, Bundesliga, Argentinian, French, and to some extent, the Spanish and Italian leagues. but they are more influenced by the media-whores like Becks. dont' get me wrong, it's natural to fall in love with a winning team that plays good football. My problem is with the fake fans that change boats when their own is sinking.