Earlier this week, I read an article about Tom Brady's thoughts regarding Patriots fans leaving the home opener against the Bengals, a bit too early. Brady admitted that he wasn't too happy about fans rolling out before the clock said 0:00 and even indicated that Jets fans probably don't hit the road before their team is done playing.
With Brady's comments(comments I agree with), I started to think about Fairweather fans. For the record, I'm not saying the Patriots have them, but if you're a Pats fan and was offended by my segue, then maybe the shoe fits more than you thought. Anyway, I wanted to know what teams did folks think were a "Fairweather Fan" team, a team that has support (or maybe not) when they are doing good, but they disappear into thin air when they do bad.
So I took the question to my Twitter and Facebook pages. I wanted to get an idea of what the general public thought about this. I calculated the Top 3 teams that were mentioned the most. Here's what I got based on my social networking survey:
#3 
When asked why people mentioned the Bengals, I had one tweeter say the following:
The Bengals are a hard team to follow. They haven't been the most consistent team in terms of winning. And even though they won the AFC North last year, fans still haven't gone out and bought season tickets. One can blame it on the bad economy, but ticket sale problems were long before America faced such issues. As for the tweeter, maybe there is some truth to that. Neither the Bengals nor Browns have won a playoff game since the Browns came back to Cleveland in 1999. No excuses, but I understand.
#2 
/ 
I found it ironic that I had an equal amount of folks say both the Jags and the Panthers. Especially since both teams became expansion teams in the same year, 1995. This is probably the one that's a head scratcher. The Jags have been pretty competitive and have even won playoff games. The Jags beat the Steelers at home, twice in one season in 2007, something that had never been done before they did it. The Panthers have been to the Super Bowl and was very close in beating the Patriots, a team that many consider a dynasty. But when asked about the reasoning behind the vote, one tweeter summed it up for both teams:
I disagreed with this initially, simply because the Ravens aren't 20 yrs old yet they have always had the backing of their fans at home. But I had to remember that Baltimore was and still is a football city, even when the Colts left town. These 2 cities, not so much. Jacksonville is Gator Country and Carolina fans already had teams they rooted for and have yet to fully converted. After further review, maybe she has a point after all.
#1 
I received the most votes for the Falcons.... and it wasn't even close. The reasoning was pretty much the same amongst many: Atlanta is a transplant city, full of non-natives. So people already have a team prior to moving there. Even with the Braves and Hawks in town, it's pretty common to know that it's not just the Falcons, but all Atlanta teams struggle with the Fairweather syndrome. One person's response made me giggle a little:
>
Another person thinks it's more about fans liking a player and not the team that they play for:
The public has spoken. Falcon fans are as fairweather as they come. Not a good look when you have other cities that would rob and steal for an NFL team. The thing about it is, the Falcons have a pretty decent squad right now (on paper, at least). Time to get out and support them, people!
Honorable Mentions:
Many folks believes the city of Miami belongs to "The U", the University of Miami. So the loyalty to their NFL isn't strong.
Most people believe that before Brady, no one cared about the Pats. Need I remind folks that Drew Bledsoe was the QB before Brady and led his team to a SB, but I digress. It's also noted that Boston is Red Sox crazy, so there is No Country For Pats Football in Beantown.
Thanks to all that participated in my survey.
Showing posts with label Fair Weather Fans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fair Weather Fans. Show all posts
Category: Bandwagon Fans , Delusional Fans , Fair Weather Fans , Kool Aid Drinkers , NFL , The NFL Chick
Football season is such a great time of year. Time to bring out the jerseys to start wearing your team's colors around town every weekend. Time for training camp to see your favorite team practice and get autographs. Time to get ready to tailgate for the pre season game. It's such a wonderful feeling knowing your Sunday ritual will soon return.
But with the notion that football is back, comes the downside. Fickle fans that walk the earth. We all know one, you know the guys that changes teams like he changes his drawls, or the guys that hates to hear how awful his team is because... well... they fregging SUCK! Today I'm exposing them, and breaking them down. These are the four type of fans you DON'T want to be. And if you can admit that you are one of the four, seek counseling before Sept 10th.
The Bandwagon/Front Runner Fan
Remember when I discussed the whole bandwagon/ front runner thing during the NCAA Championship? Well they exist in every sport. There is always a person who roots for the team that's hot at the moment, or a fan favorite team just so he could fit in.
This is the worst kind of fan to be. I always say, can you trust a person who only shows loyalty when someone is doing well? Can you then trust them to be there when you're down and out? This is what you get out of being a front runner/ bandwagon fan. Addressing them is pointless, they see no wrong in their team hopping. Just shake your head and keep it moving when you come across this type of fan.
The Kool Aid Drinker/ [insert team here] Contact Wearer
Now, there are a LOT of people that fit under this category. Everything is soooo great about their team, nothing ever needs to be fixed, they are bothered by any comment you make about a player on their fave team. While I really can't stand Wagon riders/Front runners, this by far is the most annoying type of fan to be.
Look.. we get it. You love everything about your team. It's perfect the way it is. No need to make any changes cause they are great. But please... don't feel the need to tell everyone this 7 days a week and expect them not to challenge you. You're basically starting grounds for an ongoing debate. And when you do, you better come with your hard hat and pail, because some folks look for these types of debates and will argue all night long
I'm gonna say this only once. Unless your team was the 1972 Miami Dolphins, then sitchoazz down, for real.
Every team has room for improvement, PERIOD! Don't come at me with how wonderful your team is, unless they are a REAL undefeated team (and I'm not talk about the 2007 Pats either), then you need to GTFOHWTBS. If you don't know what I just said, ask somebody, I'm sure someone can help you with my acronym.
The Delusional Fan
You know who you are... yeah you... the fan who loves to talk bad about every other team in the league, but your team hasn't won a division title or had a back to back winning season in ions. And every preseason you start with the same speech, "This is our year. Watch. Your team.... Ha! They'll suck" Only to go right back to being a perennial loser.
I empathize with the delusional fan. They tend to disregard the reality that their team just isn't that good. Losing for them usually becomes part of the norm, so hate starts to come out of their pores. They don't even realize they are hating. It's a shame really... Usually I just grin and nod at the delusional fan. Why argue with a fan who can't accept their own team's fate and looks to yours to feel better about their squad. And telling them won't help either, they'll just get defensive and tell you why your team isn't that hot either. Again, grin and nod... grin and nod.
The Fairweather Fan
This list isn't complete without the good ol' fairweather fan. Not to be confused with the bandwagon fan, the fairweatherer simply jumps on and off of their own team's bandwagon, and not on to the hot team of the moment.
This fan is the most dangerous of all. They possess all the personalities of the previous 3 I mentioned. Let me tell you how.
When their "team" (and I use that term loosely) does well, they are drinking the kool aid and they are loving their team because life is always good when you are winning. When the team starts to struggle, the fan becomes delusional, either by not acknowledging the issues at hand, or by getting defensive and mentioning what your team isn't doing right. Then finally, once the fairweather fan gets fed up with the team he/she roots for, they simply jump off the bandwagon, until they are "good enough" for him/her again to jump back on.
Fairweather fans have, what I like to call, the "Sybil" syndrome. They are dangerous. Any fan that can possess all three traits into one is the one you want to stay away from.
So, do any of you fall under these categories??? Well, let give you a piece of advice. If any part of my blog hit a nerve to you an any way, then maybe this post was about you after all. Don't be mad, though. I've helped you today. Acknowledging it is the first step.
Thursday I'll be at the Ravens preseason game, catch me on twitter @thenflchick I'll be tweeting before and during the game. Football is officially back!
Remember when I discussed the whole bandwagon/ front runner thing during the NCAA Championship? Well they exist in every sport. There is always a person who roots for the team that's hot at the moment, or a fan favorite team just so he could fit in.
This is the worst kind of fan to be. I always say, can you trust a person who only shows loyalty when someone is doing well? Can you then trust them to be there when you're down and out? This is what you get out of being a front runner/ bandwagon fan. Addressing them is pointless, they see no wrong in their team hopping. Just shake your head and keep it moving when you come across this type of fan.
The Kool Aid Drinker/ [insert team here] Contact Wearer
Now, there are a LOT of people that fit under this category. Everything is soooo great about their team, nothing ever needs to be fixed, they are bothered by any comment you make about a player on their fave team. While I really can't stand Wagon riders/Front runners, this by far is the most annoying type of fan to be.
Look.. we get it. You love everything about your team. It's perfect the way it is. No need to make any changes cause they are great. But please... don't feel the need to tell everyone this 7 days a week and expect them not to challenge you. You're basically starting grounds for an ongoing debate. And when you do, you better come with your hard hat and pail, because some folks look for these types of debates and will argue all night long
I'm gonna say this only once. Unless your team was the 1972 Miami Dolphins, then sitchoazz down, for real.
Every team has room for improvement, PERIOD! Don't come at me with how wonderful your team is, unless they are a REAL undefeated team (and I'm not talk about the 2007 Pats either), then you need to GTFOHWTBS. If you don't know what I just said, ask somebody, I'm sure someone can help you with my acronym.
The Delusional Fan
You know who you are... yeah you... the fan who loves to talk bad about every other team in the league, but your team hasn't won a division title or had a back to back winning season in ions. And every preseason you start with the same speech, "This is our year. Watch. Your team.... Ha! They'll suck" Only to go right back to being a perennial loser.
I empathize with the delusional fan. They tend to disregard the reality that their team just isn't that good. Losing for them usually becomes part of the norm, so hate starts to come out of their pores. They don't even realize they are hating. It's a shame really... Usually I just grin and nod at the delusional fan. Why argue with a fan who can't accept their own team's fate and looks to yours to feel better about their squad. And telling them won't help either, they'll just get defensive and tell you why your team isn't that hot either. Again, grin and nod... grin and nod.
The Fairweather Fan
This list isn't complete without the good ol' fairweather fan. Not to be confused with the bandwagon fan, the fairweatherer simply jumps on and off of their own team's bandwagon, and not on to the hot team of the moment.
This fan is the most dangerous of all. They possess all the personalities of the previous 3 I mentioned. Let me tell you how.
When their "team" (and I use that term loosely) does well, they are drinking the kool aid and they are loving their team because life is always good when you are winning. When the team starts to struggle, the fan becomes delusional, either by not acknowledging the issues at hand, or by getting defensive and mentioning what your team isn't doing right. Then finally, once the fairweather fan gets fed up with the team he/she roots for, they simply jump off the bandwagon, until they are "good enough" for him/her again to jump back on.
Fairweather fans have, what I like to call, the "Sybil" syndrome. They are dangerous. Any fan that can possess all three traits into one is the one you want to stay away from.
So, do any of you fall under these categories??? Well, let give you a piece of advice. If any part of my blog hit a nerve to you an any way, then maybe this post was about you after all. Don't be mad, though. I've helped you today. Acknowledging it is the first step.
Thursday I'll be at the Ravens preseason game, catch me on twitter @thenflchick I'll be tweeting before and during the game. Football is officially back!
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