What kind of fan are you?

[Sport]

I thought of this question last night at the Blue Jackets game and thought it would be an interesting topic on the boards. Are you an obnoxious heckler, or do you sit on your hands? Do you paint your face, or do you dress like you're at a nightclub?

I would say that I am the kind of fan that wears a really nice jersey, I stand and cheer when it's appropriate, and I get involved in the in-arena entertainment (cheers for the team, the wave, video screen jokes). I don't heckle because I know that I couldn't do what any pro or college athlete does, and I think that most people in the section around you are more annoyed by loud hecklers than they are amused.

What kind of fan are you?

[AndrewPF]

i wear whatever team colors, get really passionate into the game, and really only heckle when someone :censored:s up something REALLY fundimental. I don't really heckle that much though. Like if someone on one of my favored teams messes up something simple, i'll get up and yell "HEY! (coach) PUT ME IN!!! PLEASE?!"

[Saturn]

I stand the entire time and heckle the bejesus out of the opposing team and their fans. Even if we're losing.

[winghaz]

I'm a lot like you, mac2. I don't heckle at all, but I will yell loudly in complaint of bad calls. I usually wear a polo shirt or T-shirt to the games, not necessarily in the team colors. I'm very passionate about my teams, but I try to be a good sport about it and enjoy the game for the game's sake.

I also try to take in as much of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the stadium. I love stadium food, and eating peanuts at a baseball game is a must. I won't, however, eat a hot dog at Twins games -- those Hormel dogs are awful, so I go with brats or Famous Dave's Barbecue.

[Don]

I stand the entire time and heckle the bejesus out of the opposing team and their fans. Even if we're losing.

youre a member of the Barra arent you? of course you do! and thats why we love the Barra.

[BroadwayBlueshirt]

Oscillating

[Sport]

Oscillating

well done

[Discrim]

Far as my fan mindset, I won't lie, I get frustrated as hell when my teams play below their level. I get hype when they get it...I mean, I wanna go up to the whole team and thank all of em for waking up today when that kinda game happens.

I been thinkin of this question, though the thought behind it is slightly different. Basically, I remember overhearing a friend talkin about some other guy not being a fan of the game, just a fan of a team. Every now and then since, that question's bounced around my head in various ways...if ya don't mind me tacking on a question mac, are yall bigger fans of the game, your team, a player, or the hype?

for me, love of the game is why I watch football, hockey, and aussie rules (when I can). In all honesty though, I'm a bigger fan of the Cubs than I am of baseball. same with the Bucks and basketball...I'll watch other teams occasionally, but not that often.

[capsfan1000]

I'm also a lot like mac2 except I yell a lot. I yell when I don't like another team's player or when my team is making stupid plays

[Don]

im a loud fan, but not the heckling type. i shout alot. when it comes to sports im a fan of the sport, not just the team..actually it depends on the sport, like college basketball im a big fan of G'town and MD, but i could care less about anyone else.

[Saturn]

I stand the entire time and heckle the bejesus out of the opposing team and their fans. Even if we're losing.

youre a member of the Barra arent you? of course you do! and thats why we love the Barra.

Actually, I live in NC but deep down i'm 100% barra so its all good.

[infrared41]

I try to be a good sport about it and enjoy the game for the game's sake.

I also try to take in as much of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the stadium.

Same here. I respect a great play regardless of which team makes it etc. I usually wear something team oriented but I don't go overboard. I respect fans of the opposing team as long as they behave within reason.

[kewp80]

I try to be a good sport about it and enjoy the game for the game's sake.

I also try to take in as much of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the stadium.

Same here. I respect a great play regardless of which team makes it etc. I usually wear something team oriented but I don't go overboard. I respect fans of the opposing team as long as they behave within reason.

This is pretty much how I am during games as well. Sometimes I yell if there's a bod call or the game is close and somebody screws up, but I hardly ever heckle.

The only time I really heckle or anything is when I'm at a Cards-Cubs game, but then it's really only in a joking sort of way, nothing too mean or personal. Then the Cubs fans will try to reply with something but fail miserably and I just laugh and continue keeping score.

Any other game however I just sit back relax, wear my teams colors, and cheer when something good happens.

[Billy B]

I'll start out for high school games, which I go to the most. I play football, so I only go to basketball games. I always wear school colors and for big games (rivalry/playoffs) I'll go overboard with a ripped gold shirt and a black one under it, black shorts, and high black socks. If its available, I'll go with face paint, too. Then I heckle the opposing players, once it got really bbad and we got in trouble, but it's usually not too bad. I just won't take part in cheers against God when we play a Catholic school or personal cheers against opposing cheerleaders, like "You're not hot." And I don't take part in the "We got black kids" cheer when we block a shot or dunk.

At pro games I am much like mac, I'll wear a jersey and cheer for my team but I will occasionaly applaud for an amazing play by the opposing team. I usually don't heckle, I save that for the kids my age.

[-kj]

Depends on the sport, really. For hockey, I tend to watch in an analytical way. I do tend to blurt out things from time to time like I'm telling the players what to do--lame, yes, but it's involuntary, I swear. I also yell at the officials at times, as if they can hear me from my seats or anything (but I'm a USA Hockey official, so I know better than they do, right? *heh*).

Now, for soccer, well, that's different. I'm with Saturn on this one--standing for 90, maybe banging a drum or cowbell, and while there are lines I try not to cross (profanity, for example), I can be a bit ruthless. And I really slag on the officials. It's cathartic, really.

[lilgump]

For basketball games, as a member of the UW Dawgpack I wear lotsa purple, including a purple afro. And love to yell at people, but only if I get a line or think of something fairly clever.

For football Of course im yelling presnap, but then the old school football player gets in me and I always yell out the play like I was in high school. Run, screen, pass,ball. Even though I know they cant hear me.

[mkwing]

Two things cured me of the obnoxious-fan persona: (1) My kids got to high-school and college age, and I started going to their games more than others; (2) As a teacher at their high school, I became the PA announcer (football/basketball) about 5 years ago.

Both of these things forced me to learn to keep in my emotions -- which were previously expressed loudly, with an overdose of sarcasm, but not crossing the line into profanity.

I'll still make an off-mic comment (to the scoreboard or stats guy) about a non-call on a foul, but I can't say too much, since the refs are a few feet away, and I'm a game official.

It's far more tempting to do that in basketball, when my Least Favorite Style of player comes to town: the all-hands-guy who gets in everyone's face and pushes-pushes-pushes throughout the game, always going just-so-much over the line, and getting away with it. I hate that style of play; guess that shows my age.

[Nick 1733]

I basically wear team gear to the game, jersey, hat, ect. I get really loud and excited when my team is doing well, I get involved in what's going on (the wave, stomping feet, IN-COM-PLETE, ect). I don't boo when my team isn't doing well, no matter how bad they're playing, I cheer for them and support them. (41-3 and I stayed the entire game, didn't boo once, and cheered when they did something good, which was rare).

To answer discrim's question... I'm definitely a fan of football, and even more so a fan of the Broncos organization in general. I always watch football games when they're on, even local high school games. I never miss a Broncos game though.

I'm kind of a casual basketball fan, I'll watch when one of my teams are playing (Nuggets, Pistons, Mavericks) or when a team I hate is playing and I want them to lose.

Strictly a team fan of hockey and baseball. However, during the MLB playoffs this year, I watched every game, just cuz the Rox were in it and I had a team I was rooting for each series.

[FiddySicks]

Every now and then since, that question's bounced around my head in various ways...if ya don't mind me tacking on a question mac, are yall bigger fans of the game, your team, a player, or the hype?

For me it depends on the situation. For me with the NFL im a Bucs fan till the ship goes down and I go with it, but I see absolutely nothing wrong with rooting for another team when they're not playing your #1. Call it cheating if you will, but I think living a few thousand miles from where my favorite team is located makes it so. If I was to root strictly for my team, considering they're hardly on TV (Once a year, minus playoffs, if im lucky) and I've only been close enough to see them live and in person a handful of times it doesn't give you much of an opportunity for cheering. I tend to pull for teams that are considrerd local. For me I tend to pull for the Raiders. Most of my closest friends are Raiders fans, they're always on TV, they usually stay out of my teams way on the road to success, and they're a fun team to cheer for. Like for example, earlier this year I went to the Raiders Broncos game in Oakland with a few friends and fellow class mates from school. I usually tend to dislike the Broncos (for whatever reason), I was with a group of people who included one of the most annoying and obnoxious woman i've ever had the misfortune of meeting who just happened to be a Broncos fan, and the game had absolutely no bearing on Tampa's schedule so rooted my ass off for Oakland. But the thing was I was updating the score of the Bcs game the entire time (They ended up beating the Saints, whew). Later this year I went to the 49ers Bucs game in San Fran and did the whole pirate set up. Now if going all out for your team in hostile territory isn't the true sign of dedication, I don't know what is. And I found myself getting extremely frustrated when they were losing and very happy and hopeful when they were up. And afterwards, even though they lost and that kinda bummed me out, I still was happy I was even able to see them in person.

Other sports, especially baseball, tend to be a bit different for me. I am such a big fan of the game that team preference usually doesn't get in my way. Now don't get me wrong, I still have teams I absolutely adore and teams I can't stand, but it's not to the extent of as it is in football. With baseball I could watch any two teams play on all levels and find a generally high level of enjoyment. I get a lot of flack for this approach, but truth is sports are a form of entertainment to me that I love, but generally try not to connect with my personal emotions. Kinda like dating

[Brass]

When it comes to hockey, I'm completely unbiased because it's the game I know the most. I don't go to a game rooting for a paticular team, I got rooting for a great game. If the home team kills a penalty nice, then I'll say it was nice. If the away team lands a nice, clean hit on another player, then I'll say good job on that; even when the home fans claim it to be "dirty".

The fans with extreme homerism (especially in my area, the fans of the Hartford Wolf Pack) have turned me off to cheering for any sort of minor league hockey team. While every team is bad, the Wolf Pack have always been the worst, and watching them, I found out that I don't want to turn into that: someone who doesn't know what the hell they are watching, wants nothing but blood, and whenever one their players gets hit, they cry.