Fair Weather Fans: Getting worse?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

1. Boston Red Sox

2. regular season New England Patriots

3. postseason New York Giants

4. Detroit Red Wings

5. Boston Celtics

6. LSU football

7. Kansas basketball

8. Fresno State baseball

But to get my post back on topic... no, I don't think bandwagon fans are getting worse.

Luck for you that all of "your teams" have just about all won championships in the last 2 years

There's a pretty good joke there that you missed.

[Jigga]

1. Boston Red Sox

2. regular season New England Patriots

3. postseason New York Giants

4. Detroit Red Wings

5. Boston Celtics

6. LSU football

7. Kansas basketball

8. Fresno State baseball

But to get my post back on topic... no, I don't think bandwagon fans are getting worse.

Damn, how did I miss this? This easily should have received a PotD nomination, at least.

[wildwing64]

This reminds me of last year when Liverpool were up against Milan in the UEFA Champions League finals (I don't even like football/soccer/whatever you want to call it, but I remembered this for a particular reason).

In my local area, nearly everyone is either a fan of West Ham United or Arsenal, and their shirts can be seen everywhere. And yet, the moment Liverpool made the finals, all of a sudden everybody was wearing Liverpool shirts. I do know at least one person who is a legit Liverpool fan, but all of these other 'fans' just appeared out of the blue, only because Liverpool were in the finals.

As for my own teams, my absolute favourite is the Anaheim Ducks. I became a fan mainly because, for some reason, I started liking ice hockey back in early 2003, so I picked up NHL Hitz 20-02 for my GameCube, and chose them as my favourite team, recognising the logo from a cartoon series and a film (in that order). Realising that they were a real team, I suddenly became a fan, although it wasn't until 2005 when I started following the team properly, making regular visits to the team's website and watching game highlights there. I also managed to pick up some merchandise that year, including all three jerseys (with the eggplant jersey being my all-time favourite Ducks jersey), as well as a pennant and puck, because thankfully there are some UK based online stores that sell NHL stuff. Essentially, I went from having a slight interest in the Ducks to becoming a die-hard fan, and I don't think that will change anytime soon.

I have occasionally worn my Mighty Ducks jerseys around, being ridiculed in all but the third, as well as more recently, my black Anaheim Ducks one because the idiots doing so probably thought I was wearing film merchandise, although there have been some occasions where I wasn't made fun of, such as one guy asking me "Where did you get that?", another spotting me and saying "The Anaheim Ducks, they really are Mighty!", and one dumb kid asking "Do you play for the Mighty Ducks?"

Another team I recently became a fan of is the Houston Texans. At the time, I decided to try out for my University's American Football team, having never really had an interest in the sport before, so then I wanted to become a fan of an NFL team. I was initially going to pick the Chargers, with them being near-ish to Anaheim, but I hated their powder/baby blue colour, so looked elsewhere. I then took interest in the Texans for some reason, and became a fan. To be fairly honest, I'm really not as big a Texans fan as I ever will be of the Ducks, partially because I'm still new to the sport.

I'm not gonna go into much detail on my other teams, so here are my rankings:

1 - Anaheim Ducks

2 - Houston Texans

3 - Chelmsford Chieftains (local hockey team)

4 - Anglia Ruskin Phantoms (University American Football team. I no longer play for them, but I'm still a fan)

[charger77]

1. Boston Red Sox

2. regular season New England Patriots

3. postseason New York Giants

4. Detroit Red Wings

5. Boston Celtics

6. LSU football

7. Kansas basketball

8. Fresno State baseball

But to get my post back on topic... no, I don't think bandwagon fans are getting worse.

Luck for you that all of "your teams" have just about all won championships in the last 2 years

There's a pretty good joke there that you missed.

Hence the smiley face...now who missed the joke?

[jamdawg1]

Being born in Columbus, Ohio and living in the Columbus/Central Ohio Area Most of my life...

1. (TIE) Cleveland Browns & Ohio State. I'm a season ticket holder in "The Dawg Pound" and have been one since the late 80's. Before that, I would get single game tickets whenever I could. Grew up loving the Buckeyes. Went to Woody's funeral. Tickets for OSU Football are rather hard to get, but I get them when I can.

2. Cleveland Indians/Cincinnati Reds. In Columbus, You NEVER heard anything about the Tribe until people were getting cable and then you could actually watch them on WUAB-TV (Ch.43 Ah, the days of Joe Tait & Bruce Drennan.) This is when I began to follow the Indians. Until the late 1970's, the NBC Affiliate in Columbus was owned by the same group that owned WLW-AM & WLWT-TV which meant Reds Baseball. (I still believe that Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame.) Remember, there wasn't always Interleague. It's actually common to see people in the late 30's and older from Columbus who are Browns Fans & Reds Fans.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers

4. Columbus Blue Jackets

5. Ohio Based Mid-American Conference (MAC) Schools.

6. Liverpool FC & Celtic FC. Here is how I became a fan of them. With Liverpool, it was a friend of mine from the Cleveland Area. (Actually, Lorain County.) His father is of Polish Ancestry from Cleveland and his mom is from Liverpool. He says that his two favorite Pro Football teams are The Browns & Liverpool. With Celtic, It's a Catholic Thing. (My mom (R.I.P.) was Mexican, Irish & Comanche. That makes me Catholic.) I can't stand Man U or Rangers and I absolutely despise Chelsea. (But I do have a soft spot in my heart for Arsenal.)

My other favorite sports: Golf, MMA, Bodybuilding & other Iron Sports and just about any form of Auto Racing. Proud to be a Gearhead.

I'm making new sigs tonight with these logos.

[Fred T. Jane]

Damn, how did I miss this? This easily should have received a PotD nomination, at least.

Good thing I'm back!

1. Boston Red Sox

2. regular season New England Patriots

3. postseason New York Giants

4. Detroit Red Wings

5. Boston Celtics

6. LSU football

7. Kansas basketball

8. Fresno State baseball

But to get my post back on topic... no, I don't think bandwagon fans are getting worse.

And if you don't mind Greg, belated RIP for Bernie Mac.

[HedleyLamarr]

Since everyone else is doing it....

1. UGA (Namely football)

2. Atlanta Falcons

3. Atlanta Braves

4. Atlanta Thrashers

5. Atlanta Hawks (I'm not a huge fan, but I'll pull for them before any other NBA team)

[Jigga]

Since everyone else is doing it....

1. UGA (Namely football)

2. Atlanta Falcons

3. Atlanta Braves

4. Atlanta Thrashers

5. Atlanta Hawks (I'm not a huge fan, but I'll pull for them before any other NBA team)

I don't think anyone with a sliver of a brain would call you a fairweather fan.

You must have lots of red shirts.

[HedleyLamarr]

Since everyone else is doing it....

1. UGA (Namely football)

2. Atlanta Falcons

3. Atlanta Braves

4. Atlanta Thrashers

5. Atlanta Hawks (I'm not a huge fan, but I'll pull for them before any other NBA team)

I don't think anyone with a sliver of a brain would call you a fairweather fan.

You must have lots of red shirts.

Indeed, but a lot of those red shirts shouldn't be worn in the company of children.

On second look, I have a lot more blue shirts, but most of them are "Believe in Blueland" shirts.

I would say the Tampa Bay Rays would be #6, but I'm just wanting them to un-seat the Red Sox and Yankees from the top of the AL East this season. I don't think I'd be cheering for them much after this season....

[winters in buffalo]

As a Bills fans who remembers a pair of 2-14 seasons where home games were always local blackouts, and as a Sabres fan who shows up to road games in the "wrong" jersey while referring to it as a Sabres' game, no matter whose building it's in, I'm proud to say that I've stuck by my team no matter what.

That said, I've only got two teams. I'll take sides in a neutral game, but I'm not jumping on anyone's bandwagon, and I'm not letting anyone on mine.

[Sport]

Being born in Columbus, Ohio and living in the Columbus/Central Ohio Area Most of my life...

1. (TIE) Cleveland Browns & Ohio State. I'm a season ticket holder in "The Dawg Pound" and have been one since the late 80's. Before that, I would get single game tickets whenever I could. Grew up loving the Buckeyes. Went to Woody's funeral. Tickets for OSU Football are rather hard to get, but I get them when I can.

2. Cleveland Indians/Cincinnati Reds. In Columbus, You NEVER heard anything about the Tribe until people were getting cable and then you could actually watch them on WUAB-TV (Ch.43 Ah, the days of Joe Tait & Bruce Drennan.) This is when I began to follow the Indians. Until the late 1970's, the NBC Affiliate in Columbus was owned by the same group that owned WLW-AM & WLWT-TV which meant Reds Baseball. (I still believe that Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame.) Remember, there wasn't always Interleague. It's actually common to see people in the late 30's and older from Columbus who are Browns Fans & Reds Fans.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers

4. Columbus Blue Jackets

5. Ohio Based Mid-American Conference (MAC) Schools.

6. Liverpool FC & Celtic FC. Here is how I became a fan of them. With Liverpool, it was a friend of mine from the Cleveland Area. (Actually, Lorain County.) His father is of Polish Ancestry from Cleveland and his mom is from Liverpool. He says that his two favorite Pro Football teams are The Browns & Liverpool. With Celtic, It's a Catholic Thing. (My mom (R.I.P.) was Mexican, Irish & Comanche. That makes me Catholic.) I can't stand Man U or Rangers and I absolutely despise Chelsea. (But I do have a soft spot in my heart for Arsenal.)

My other favorite sports: Golf, MMA, Bodybuilding & other Iron Sports and just about any form of Auto Racing. Proud to be a Gearhead.

I'm making new sigs tonight with these logos.

I live in Columbus and I know a bunch of people under 30 who are Browns and Reds fans. I think if you live in Columbus you can pretty much pick and choose who you want to cheer for as far as baseball/football go and most of us are Cavs fans. I'd say that 90% of people are Ohio State fans and most everyone likes the Blue Jackets even if they had another favorite NHL team first. I've never heard anyone from central Ohio say "I hate the Blue Jackets". They're the lovable losers of the NHL.

[robnshell18]

I grew up a Braves fan, Bears fan, Pistons, Wolverines, and Wings. But being a homer, I still rooted for the Tigers, too. I used to be a pretty hardcore Lions hater, but I had too much respect for Barry Sanders to hold that one. The only team I honestly hopped on was last year's Patriots because a) I had Brady and Welker in my fantasy league and everybody else hated them. So, one team out of how many? Sue me.

[bosox]

It wasn't as rampant because for awhile in the 1990's you had the same teams winning. Yankees, Braves, Bulls, Red Wings, Cowboys, etc. Recently it's been a bigger mix of teams, (besides the Patriots).

[infrared41]

1. Boston Red Sox

2. regular season New England Patriots

3. postseason New York Giants

4. Detroit Red Wings

5. Boston Celtics

6. LSU football

7. Kansas basketball

8. Fresno State baseball

But to get my post back on topic... no, I don't think bandwagon fans are getting worse.

Luck for you that all of "your teams" have just about all won championships in the last 2 years

There's a pretty good joke there that you missed.

Hence the smiley face...now who missed the joke?

Nice try but I still say it flew completely over your head. Judges?

[TurnTwo]

Damn, how did I miss this? This easily should have received a PotD nomination, at least.

Good thing I'm back!

1. Boston Red Sox

2. regular season New England Patriots

3. postseason New York Giants

4. Detroit Red Wings

5. Boston Celtics

6. LSU football

7. Kansas basketball

8. Fresno State baseball

But to get my post back on topic... no, I don't think bandwagon fans are getting worse.

YES! My life is complete.

[JRH1991]

Yes. It is getting worse. I feel for you guys up in Boston/New England since it seems to have started up there. But if anyone is from or visiting New York, and was also living here/visiting around 2003*, try to compare the number of football jerseys and "fans" (Giants and Jets.)

*2003 - Giants: 4-12, Jets: 6-10.

Personally, yeah, I've had fairweather moments, from 97-04 watching the Rangers was sometimes borderline unbearable. But when it comes to the Raiders, well...if you were to stab me, I'd bleed silver and black.

Overall:

1 - Raiders

2 - Bulls

3 - Rangers

4 - Mets (also get an unbearable moments mention.)

5 - Newcastle (just cause I very recently started following them, may move higher.)

[tohasbo]

The ones I can't stand are the wanna-be Yankee fans.

They come out of no where. Case in point...a buddy of mine WAS a Rockies fan since they started in 1993. Then RIGHT after the Yankees won the World Series in 1998, he jumped all over them.