Bill Simmons has pretty much laid out the rules for who you are meant to cheer for and how you change it.

The relevant parts are that whatever team was your team in your formative years is your team for life. You can’t change it except for certain conditions.

This is 100% true and you should rag on anyone who changes their team. For instance if your buddy who is a lifetime Lions fans shows up in Vegas wearing a Seahawks hat he deserves to get shit about that for the rest of his life. Even if he wised up and jumped back to the Lions, the damage was done. You can’t uncheat.You can like other teams, but you can’t wear their colors.

I grew up in Philly so that locks me into the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers and Flyers for life. Philly is a great place to be from and these teams have been the finals in all of their sports during my adult life so I am pretty happy with my allotment in life.

But last summer and in 2006 it was tough. The Heat showed and are showing what real NBA basketball is like. I haven’t had that since 2002 with the Sixers. So I like the Heat. I cheer for them. I even go to Heat games. But I am Sixer fan first and always will be.I cheered for the Sixers in the first round last year and would do so again.

However I will call the Heat my second team. I will sort of cheer for them, especially when it has no impact on the Sixers. (Incidentally this makes me a much better Heat fan than most “Heat fans” I have met.)

And this brings me to my main point. It is OK to have a second team as long it doesn’t conflict with your main team. However there are rules:

1. You can’t cheer for them if it affects your main team. You must follow your main team more than your second team. Care about their drafting, etc. The second team is just for fun.
2. The team you pick matters. For pros, it must be from the city you are living in or be in the other conference. For college it must be a school someone from your family went to or has some other personal tie to.
3. You can’t get into them like your main team. No wearing shirts or jerseys for them. Except maybe, and I mean maybe, in the playoffs. There is a little gray area here. It might only be for the local city you are second teaming.
4. For college you must cheer for the school you did your undergrad at first. Your second team can be the school you did post grad work at. These cannot be flipped. You made your life decision at 18 or 19 and you are stuck with it. (Go Jackets!)
5. You can change it. If you move to a new city you don’t have to be stuck with the team from that old city. That is just silly. You also don’t have to stick with some loser team in another conference. Remember the second team is just for fun.

A second team is not cheating unless you take it too far. It is like going to a strip club. That is not cheating on your wife, but it is a good time. However, blowing $1000 in the champagne room might perhaps get you in trouble with the misses. The above rules outline how not to get into trouble.

That all said my second teams are the:

1. The Heat. Yes, that is weak. I know, but come on, you know you would do it to. If a supermodel moves in next door, you are not going to water the lawn a bit longer? Come on son. It used to be Golden State. That was because I used to love playing as Chris Webber in NBA Jam. (Yes, the reasons for picking your second team don’t have to be logical.)
2. The Chargers. I think because I liked the lighting bolts on the uniforms as a kid and didn’t like the Raiders and they were always the 4:00 PM game so I saw them play more.
3. The Sharks. I liked when they were an underdog and beat the Red Wings. I hate Detroit because their fans are so annoying. Hockeytown my ass.
4. Penn State. Ugh. Thanks family and friends for sticking me with this albatross. At least I didn’t go there. It was so great and now… Did I mention Go Jackets?