How does one classify a bandwagon fan?
I would say a good example is someone whose favorite team is the Red Sox or the Cowboys and didn’t pop out in either Bean Town or the state playing the Buckeyes this year.
So let’s say we aren’t talking about the Bulls (circa 90’s), Cowboys, Sox, or even do I say it..the Evil Empire..(yea I won’t say it).
Now where are these bandwagon lines drawn?
-What if you grew up in one area and moved to another?
-What if your family is from another state than the one you grew up in?
-What if you went to an out-of-state college then started liking the teams in that area?
-What if you transferred colleges?
All have been considered excuses in the past and continue to be today. But one thing that goes along with trying to claim any of these boundaries is the need to justify it.
Let’s take a look at this conversation below:
Dude #1 – “So your favorite team is the Cubs, yet you’re from Arizona..hmm..how did that happen?”
Dude #2 – “Oh well, like umm..my dad grew up in Chicago and you know..they are the Cubs..
Dude #1 – “Ok man, whatever”
Dude #2 – “Yea so anyways..how was your night last night?”
As you can see, justifying love for your favorite team is not only lame but just not cool.
So on to the reason I am writing this. The other day a buddy stopped by my desk..no..wait I don’t have a desk..it’s called a pod…ok fine, it’s a cube..but anyways…he posed this little query..
What if a new team forms in your respective area – am I jumping on the bandwagon by cheering for them just cause they’re new?
Am I allowed to buy a foam hand and wave it proud?
Is it ok to cheer and not feel bad? I mean they probably won’t be good for at least a few years and to be honest, they haven’t even accomplished anything, but is it still ok to cheer?
I wondered this very thing so I called a buddy from home to drop the disclaimer that I might be cheering for the Nats this spring. We got to talking and agreed it’s probably ok…I mean they are in the National League..the Tribe is in the American League..cool right..? (I hope people are agreeing)
You know I think this case breaks the bandwagon rules. I mean how often does a city get a new team (I am not forgetting the Senators, but that was 30+ years ago). It doesn’t happen too often and for the most part it takes years for people to get into the team – Yes, I am talking to you Florida..remember how you could barely get 20,000 into Pro Players stadium in the beginning of the 1997 season…bastards.
I think this guy is gonna exploit this loophole and root for the Tribe AND the Nats this spring.
Some of you might be wondering a few things by now and in attempting to cover a little grey area here, I am gonna attempt to clean things up: I mean you can always root for another team to win, but when that love for this ‘other’ team surpasses your first love that is when it becomes a problem. And when I say root I mean follow the team, check stats, and catch games when possible. I don’t mean root as in lets root for the Cowboys just in the playoffs. I mean how often do you see your buddy or someone from work leave his team behind for the new flavor of the month. It seems as though when one team is down, people are always looking for another to bring back that winning feeling. Ever wonder why that RedSox victory was so sweet…I mean people have been waiting 80+ years (including my grandpa) for this. It was their victory, not everyone’s. On a side note: I now feel happy my grandpa can die a happy man. Also, on that note..a lot of my family is from Boston and I have always wanted them to do well, but that love has never touched my love for the Tribe..We’re talking baseball..Indians baseball..We’re talkin Tribe (that was probably funny to a select few).
So in Jerry Springer fashion, the moral here is stick with your team. Hopping from team to team is not cool because when your home team actually wins your buddies won't take you seriously if you go to the victory parade.
9 comments:
mr leblog, you raise an interesting point today. i have a few thoughts:
1.) the tribe and the nats? you, sir, are a glutton for punishment
2.) this whole thing of what constitues a bandwagon fan is perplexing. for instance, when Columbus added the crew and then the bluejackets, it must have meant that a whole legion of out of state students at THE Ohio State University became BJ and/or crew fans, yet were lucky enough to have not been born in ohio (sorry). now i know most of the people who frequent this board are in some way BJ fans, but certainly they are not 'bandwagon' fans. also, i think you need to add the fact that if you liked a team through their darkest days even tho you aren't from that city or have no direct affiliation with that city could prevent you from being considered a 'bandwagon' fan. for instance, if you're a fan of a WNBA team (any WNBA team) and that league finally catches on, then you are exempt from ever being considered a 'bandwagon' fan.
3.) of course, you forgot the Detroit clause. allow me to demonstrate:
Dude #1 – “So your favorite teams are the Piston, Red Wings, Lions and Tigers, yet you’re from New York..hmm..how did that happen?”
Dude #2 – “DETROIT WHAT!"
Dude #1 – “Fair enough”
-What if you transferred colleges?
My take: Any school to which you paid tuition, attended classes, bought a t-shirt, and followed the team automatically qualifies as "your" team. Once you spend time on a campus, you have satisfied any question to your allegiance to that team. Unless you are an athlete and you transfer schools to join another program, your real-life motivation (compared to transferring b/c new school has better team) outweighs any doubts that critics could raise.
But I have another question for you Mr. LeBlog...
What if you grow up in a town that never has a winning team (example: Atlanta Braves pre-1991)? How do you feel about the sudden outpouring of fans who claim "I've always loved the Braves, even when they sucked"? These are the same fans who (besides Dale Murphy) could never name a Braves player from the 1980s, never attend regular season games - or playoff games, and only come out of the woodwork for the World Series.
In my opinion, these are Bandwagon Fans, even though they have the geographical ties to the area.
The true test is whether or not you followed a team when they sucked. Just because you live in New York gives you no right to be a Yankee fan (or if you really hate yourself, a Met fan) when the team is good. You have to truly follow them year-in and year-out.
Location is almost completely irrelevant. What if you were a Brooklyn fan when the Dodgers moved out to California? Would you then have to root for the Yankees or give up baseball altogether? Would you have to wait for the aforementioned Mets to arrive to begin caring about a team again?
If your dad was a Cowboy fan and he dressed you up in Cowboy gear every Sunday (i.e. jerseys and hats, not some fte cowboy costume) and sat you down in front of the TV set to watch every single Cowboys game season after season - are you not allowed to be a fan of the team even if this scenario was played out in Oregon? Clearly you are just as much a Cowboy fan as almost any other - assuming you have developed prerequisite the passion and loyalty through this experience.
In an era when teams relocate and show no allegiance to the cities in which they play, it would be counter-intuitive to force a regional allegiance on the fans themselves. The real measure is if an individual shows the same degree to fervor for a team during both the rough times and the great times. But in the end it all comes down to what one feels when their team succeeds, and the joy any Red Sox fan who has known only a decade of pain felt I'm sure didn't approach the joy a fan for the past half-century or more felt after their World Series championship. You get out of it what you put into it - and quite frankly you have to experience a world of lows to even begin to appreciate the highs.
If you paid $4,000 for a seat license to the Blue Jackets AND you come back to all the games next year after getting blanked on NHL this year you are definitely not a bandwagon fan.
Given that definition I am / was a bandwagon fan. I did not buy a seat license, although I've spent more money on Blue Jackets tickets than I'd like to admit. I'm definitely sour on the NHL and will not be spending nearly as much in the future. Sign me up for one game a year.
Tom
Let's face it -- free agency, salary cap, steriods, players wives posing in Maxim... all have fueled the bandwagon fan movement. But I don't hide behind these excuses. I jumped the hometeam ship YEARS ago. Allow me to explain...
I was born in Trenton, NJ. Said like Tret'n. I had 2 nfl team choices as a boy: Eagles or Gints. I simply did not like my choices. I go to Philly every year for the Dallas v Eagles game. I ALWAYS wear my 'boys jersey. I also get the city gutter thrown at me. But it's all good. And at the end of the day, I get respect from those fans b/c they understand a fan who wears his loyalty on his sleave.
So anyway, my grandfather was born in Hamilton, Mass. And he influenced my fanship as a kid. I still have a framed pic of Yaz in my old bedroom at my parents house. It's Yaz waiving the victory sign after the 1969 pennant win. And I'll admit, I've questioned my loyalty to this team SO many times. Every year my brother and all my friends (yankee nation) pitied me. I hated it. Growing up a jersey kid, a red sox fan, surrounded by yankee fans... wasn't fun. But the loyalty paid off. And my Nomar jersey is folded neatly and getting prepped for framing b/c his trade led to the 2004 World Series title. And rest assure I remind those yankee fans of the greatest comeback in sports history every chance I get.
So my message to the hometeam fan is this: You've followed in the footsteps of many family generations. And you are to be respected for that. But before you go attacking someone you consider to be a BW fan, don't go jumping to conclusions. He may be even more hardcore about your team that you'll ever be. And for that, you'll thank him for it!
First of all you have to LIKE the sport first! My husband's a bandwagon Sox fan, and doesn't even like baseball. He's got the shirt, the hats, (would have the license plate but hey he is a real Pats fan!) He thinks he counts as a fan just because he was born there and people expect a guy who was born in Boston to be a sox fan. Test him on the trivia and he can't tell you who Derek Lowe is....never mind the players he asked me what a suicide squeeze was during the series with Oakland...give me a break.
I think it's safe to say that anyone claiming to be a Tribe fan is not a bandwagon fan.
Dude #1: "So Dude #2, who is your favorite team?"
Dude #2: "The Tribe -- cool beans."
Dude #1: "aaahahahahahahaha"
Go Reds!
When do we develop our adoration for a team? For true fans, it is during our childhood. Regardless of the influences which cemented our devotion (family members, hometown team, the team was winning during your childhood), it is our consistent and unwavering passion for that team that makes us fanatics. For those who choose their devotion later in life...you are bandwagon fans.
The only argument I would accept for this would be when a new team enters your hometown (current or former) as is the case with the Nationals. But my devotion to them is pre-everything...meaning it starts before they play a single game and it does not waiver.
Dear leblog, I have a question regarding the bandwaggon debate of what is and what isnt jumping on the bandwaggon.
Scenario: Someones boyhood fav team is the jets though he has been out of NYC for years and is not going back. Is it ok to switch to the team of his new homeland? In this case the Skins. Is this guy a Bandwaggon jumper, or just a disloyal jets fan?
Lethanks!
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