Checking multiple user inputs against a list

I’m having an issue on my 2nd path with checking both team 1 and team 2 against the team list, the 2 solutions I’ve found has required both inputs to be the same to be accepted. Also is a while loop the best way to be going about this? Considering my goal is to not have any typo’s because I would like all the data to be stored later on and accessible. Any advice would be appreciated as I am trying to learn.

team_list = ["diamondbacks", "braves", "orioles", "red sox", "white sox", "cubs", "reds", "indians", "rockies",
            "tigers", "astros", "royals", "angels", "dodgers", "marlins", "brewers", "twins", "yankees", "mets",
            "athletics", "phillies", "pirates", "padres", "giants", "mariners", "cardinals", "rays", "rangers",
            "blue jays", "nationals"]

if path == 1:  #percentage calculator
   p = int(input("What %? "))
   t = int(input("What is your total? "))
   percent = (t * p) / 100
   print(percent)
if path == 2:  #Bet logging
   while True:
       found_team = False
       try:
           team1 = str(input("Betting Team? "))
           team2 = str(input("Opposing Team? "))
       except ValueError:
           for t in team_list:
               try:
                   if (team1, team2) in team_list:
                       found_team = True
               except ValueError:
                   if found_team == True:
                       print("accepted")
               break
       finally:
           print("failed")

Answer

I’m having an issue on my 2nd path with checking both team 1 and team 2

Few suggestions:

1. Don’t use try....except as a replacement for if....else. Here, only if ValueError is raised, can except ValueError: catch it and execute the remaining code.
2. (x,y) creates a tuple. And there is no occurrence of tuple in the list:

>>> print("Type of (x,y)",type((x,y)))
Type of (x,y) <class 'tuple'>

3. No need to use for loop while using in operator to check if a string is in the list. Here is some small snippet you might use.

found_team=True
while True:
    x=input("Betting Team: ")
    y=input("Opposite Team: ")
    if x in team_list or y in team_list:
        print("Oops! One team is already taken")
    else:
        found_team=True
        break
print("Done!")

Also is a while loop the best way to be going about this?

If you want to constantly ask the user till the right input is entered, yes. Use a while loop to keep asking for user-input till a correct input is entered.