Perspective

[Royals]

Becoming a fan of a team just because they're good, as young shawn did, is bandwagon riding (as I personally define it). The bandwagon fans that hop off and on bandwagons are worse by far, but the former is still a bandwagon fan, they became fans because the team was good. Same as if he had become a bulls fan during the MJ era. Even if he never switched teams, he was still a bandwagoner.
Ideally there would be a different term for the two, but I can't think of one.

[Astros]

True Shawn, but northeast Oklahoma is Cardinal country and the Boyers lived really close to Commere in Missouri, so I think you'd only find a small pocket of Yankee fans there now

[BlueJays]

Becoming a fan of a team just because they're good, as young shawn did, is bandwagon riding (as I personally define it). The bandwagon fans that hop off and on bandwagons are worse by far, but the former is still a bandwagon fan, they became fans because the team was good. Same as if he had become a bulls fan during the MJ era. Even if he never switched teams, he was still a bandwagoner.
Ideally there would be a different term for the two, but I can't think of one.

Kinda like you did when the sox were down to the yankees 3 games to 0.. You can deny it all you want, I remember clearly you denouncing your fandom of the redsox nation. You were through.

Perspective.

hah.

[Nationals]

Becoming a fan of a team just because they're good, as young shawn did, is bandwagon riding (as I personally define it). The bandwagon fans that hop off and on bandwagons are worse by far, but the former is still a bandwagon fan, they became fans because the team was good. Same as if he had become a bulls fan during the MJ era. Even if he never switched teams, he was still a bandwagoner.
Ideally there would be a different term for the two, but I can't think of one.

Are you serious? You definition is absolutely terrible, as it rules out the potentiality of a young person deciding to follow Team X while they are at their heyday without your self-righteous sneering of bandwagonism.

[Yankees]

Becoming a fan of a team just because they're good, as young shawn did, is bandwagon riding (as I personally define it). The bandwagon fans that hop off and on bandwagons are worse by far, but the former is still a bandwagon fan, they became fans because the team was good. Same as if he had become a bulls fan during the MJ era. Even if he never switched teams, he was still a bandwagoner.
Ideally there would be a different term for the two, but I can't think of one.

Seeing as everyone else is jumping on this moronic post, I will too...

In 1985 I got my first pack of baseball cards. In that pack was a Damaso Garcia All-Star card. I figured he must have been the greatest player in the world. So I became a Blue Jay fan. I rooted for the Blue Jays for one year, until I fell head over heels for Donnie Baseball and the Yanks because of how my dad rooted for them.

At the ages of 5 & 6 the only decisions I was consciously making were when to poop and when to piss - and I'm pretty sure I wasn't batting 1.000 on either of those fronts.

Sometimes you take your father's teams. Sometimes you take the teams you choose to root for as a kid. So long as you don't change your mind to root for a winner when you know what you're talking about, who gives a flying fuck?

[Mets]

It looks like Bren is really backed in a corner here.

Word of advice to everyone on the board, don't boast about how good the team you like is, because chances are you don't have shit to do with their success or demise.

When my team wins, I feel good, but not because I caused the win...and when they lose, I get pissed, but I'm not on the field, so I can't take credit for either.


Now when my IBC team wins...that's all me.

[Royals]

Becoming a fan of a team just because they're good, as young shawn did, is bandwagon riding (as I personally define it). The bandwagon fans that hop off and on bandwagons are worse by far, but the former is still a bandwagon fan, they became fans because the team was good. Same as if he had become a bulls fan during the MJ era. Even if he never switched teams, he was still a bandwagoner.
Ideally there would be a different term for the two, but I can't think of one.

Kinda like you did when the sox were down to the yankees 3 games to 0.. You can deny it all you want, I remember clearly you denouncing your fandom of the redsox nation. You were through.

Perspective.

hah.

That wasn't bandwagonism, THAT was getting my heart broken.

it rules out the potentiality of a young person deciding to follow Team X while they are at their heyday

Absolutely! Taking a team as your own just because they're good is bandwagonism unless you live in some sort of regional sports void... Like Nebraska. Rooting for a team other than your local team is, IMO, akin to blasphemous.

[Royals]

Now when my IBC team wins...that's all me.

Amen.

[Yankees]

Absolutely! Taking a team as your own just because they're good is bandwagonism unless you live in some sort of regional sports void... Like Nebraska. Rooting for a team other than your local team is, IMO, akin to blasphemous.

What a dumb statement this is - what if your dad didn't like sports? What if you didn't grow up with a dad? What if you started playing baseball in Little League, your team was the Cardinals, they won the World Series, and your favorite player was Ozzie Smith? When I started playing T-Ball I couldn't tell you what Simsbury, Connecticut, New England, New York, or Boston were - I liked the Yanks because my dad liked the Yanks.

What if your dad lives in Boston but is a transplant from Chicago and he's still a monster Cubs fan? It's blasphemous to like the team your dad likes in this case?

I can't imagine a dumber f'ing comment then the one you just made.

[BlueJays]

I'm a Denver, Colorado native. Lived here all my (bout to be) 28 years. I'm a Reds fan. Have been since as long as I can remember. I am a fan of the Reds cause I grew up watching the BRM with my father on tv. There was no Colorado Rockies then.. well.. there was for a short time, but they were a hockey team. No baseball in this state until I was 13. I'm lucky I didn't become a Braves or Cubs fan.. ugh.

But, I'm no bandwagon fan I can tell you that. I enjoy the Rockies, going to games.. but I root for the Reds. Live and Breathe Reds. And for the better part of this last decade, have endured torture being a fan of this team. The Reds will forever and always be my #1 team. That will never change. Its ingrained. That doesn't change because there's now a "home team" playing ball here.

[DBacks]

I like teams from all over and I'm not a bandwagon fan at all. people have tons of legitamate reasons to like teams outside of where they live.

I like the dallas cowboys. why? I was born there. lived there the first three months of my life and haven't been back since, I couldn't tell you anything about it. but growing up I was taught to love them and I haven't changed since. is that a bandwagon fan?

I've only been to chicago to see cubs games. I never lived anywhere near the windy city. I'm still not a bandwagon fan. why? because being a cubs fan is a family tradition that is passed down and it transcends location or placement. kentucky college basketball for the same reason.

hell, by your definition of how someone should decide to root for a team, I'm only not a bandwagon fan when it comes to the pacers. my reasons for loving each of my teams are legit and in no case am I a bandwagon fan. so your definition needs to change.

[Astros]

Your geography statement is stupid Bren. I grew up going to AAA games in Louisville with my dad throughout the summer, watching John Mabry, Dmitri Young, Alan Benes, Eli Marrero and guys that never made it to the majors or only had a cup of coffee like Skeets Thomas, Ozzie Canseco, Terry Bradshaw and Tracy Woodson. These were my favorite players growing up because I usually went to a game or two every week. Naturally when I found out that they played for the Cardinals and I could watch them on TV, they became my favorite team. So since I live 2 hours from Cincy, does that make me a bandwagon fan because I started rooting for the Cardinals and not the Reds?

People have their favorite teams for a variety of reasons. Who their father roots for, the rival of who their father roots for, local team, a favorite player, it doesn't matter as long as they are a loyal fan of that team. The Red Sox were always a good team when you were growing up. Does that mean you're a bandwagon fan? After all, you did start rooting for them when they were good. And the fact of the matter is you bailed on your team when they had their backs to the wall in 04. You gave up and stopped supporting them. So, in my book and a lot of other peoples, that makes you a terrible fan. You may give up hope, you may think the season is over, but you never publically denounce your support of your team when they're down and out

[BlueJays]

Your geography statement is stupid Bren. I grew up going to AAA games in Louisville with my dad throughout the summer, watching John Mabry, Dmitri Young, Alan Benes, Eli Marrero and guys that never made it to the majors or only had a cup of coffee like Skeets Thomas, Ozzie Canseco, Terry Bradshaw and Tracy Woodson. These were my favorite players growing up because I usually went to a game or two every week. Naturally when I found out that they played for the Cardinals and I could watch them on TV, they became my favorite team. So since I live 2 hours from Cincy, does that make me a bandwagon fan because I started rooting for the Cardinals and not the Reds?

People have their favorite teams for a variety of reasons. Who their father roots for, the rival of who their father roots for, local team, a favorite player, it doesn't matter as long as they are a loyal fan of that team. The Red Sox were always a good team when you were growing up. Does that mean you're a bandwagon fan? After all, you did start rooting for them when they were good. And the fact of the matter is you bailed on your team when they had their backs to the wall in 04. You gave up and stopped supporting them. So, in my book and a lot of other peoples, that makes you a terrible fan. You may give up hope, you may think the season is over, but you never publically denounce your support of your team when they're down and out

Amen!

[Mets]

I have a hard time believing the concept of a bandwagon fan.

True fans don't begin disliking their teams during horrid times, nor do they develop the same passion and love for trendy winning teams.

I can't envision a MJ fan in Texas who started following the Bulls during their dynasty to break down crying when they lose the same way die hard Yankees fans go into clinical depression for 3 weeks following a season ending playoff loss.

Point is, American culture is bred to focus on what's "hot" now. It explains things like Emo music, Paris Hilton & Reality Shows.

In the end, what makes a fan a fan is the enduring recognition and obsessive passion for a team. If someone has a passing interest in a successful franchise, that's totally natural. If someone in Colorado puts a Mets hat on for the first time because they acquired Santana...more power to the Mets for effective marketing.

I think the problem lies in the following example:

"Tom considers himself a Patriots fan. Tom grew up Scottsdale, and used to follow the Cardinals. Tom never really grew to love the Cardinals because he knew that year in and year out, they would produce the same results, and he never woke up on a Sunday with butterflies in his stomache because he was excited to watch the Cardinals game that day.

About 6 years ago, Tom was watching the Patriots play the Rams in the Super Bowl. Growing up a Cardinals fan, Tom is accustomed to rooting for the underdog, so he took to the Patriots for that game. When they won, Tom felt a feeling that he had never experienced before. Rooting for a team that actually did not disappoint. From that moment on, Tom associated the good feeling with the Patriots. Therefore, Tom found himself following the Patriots games religiously, and was their biggest fan in Scottsdale".

The problem that Patriots fans have is that Tom wasn't there when they had that stupid logo with the Patriot snapping the ball, and he wasn't there when they were winning 2 games a year...just like all the Cowboy fans that that followed the Cowboys for the first time the recent Cowboys dynasty years, but didn't know the pain of the 1-15 seasons, and Troy Aikman doing his best David Carr impressions.

Is Tom a fan? Yes.
Is he a bandwagon fan? I don't believe so.
He has every right to like the Patriots, but he's potentially labeled a bandwagon fan based on timing. If the Patriots never won that Super Bowl, Tom would have never thought about liking them in the first place. Is that wrong?

[Brewers]

Rooting for a team other than your local team is, IMO, akin to blasphemous.

I'm one hell of a blastphemour then....born & raised in Connecticut and the only team in New England I can claim as my favorite is their respective sport is the Revolution.

Otherwise I'm all over the board....White Sox, Spurs, Eagles, and the biggest blastphemy of them all (at least in the heart of UConn country)Syracuse.

[Royals]

There are certainly other legitimate reasons for liking a team, regionalism is the single biggest. Liking a team just because they're good, however, is not.
Is 'Tom' a bandwagon fan? Unquestionably. A bandwagoner only becomes a fan of a team when that team becomes really good or wins titles, that's what happened with 'Tom'.

[Mets]

There are certainly other legitimate reasons for liking a team, regionalism is the single biggest. Liking a team just because they're good, however, is not.
Is 'Tom' a bandwagon fan? Unquestionably. A bandwagoner only becomes a fan of a team when that team becomes really good or wins titles, that's what happened with 'Tom'.

The point is, Tom may have been a Patriots fan at an earlier time, but did not have exposure to that team until they were good.

I guess a good control would be to measure how many people became Cubs fans because of WGN or how many people became Braves fans because of TBS.

Regonal team following is often a product of cable companies monopolies.

Satellite and internet are breaking those barriers.

And what happens to a kid in the Miami area that has the Marlins, Heat, Dolphins & Panthers to follow? How is that kid supposed to be passionate about the teams he's supposed to like?

Try explaining the rebuilding process and payroll flexibility to a 7 year old. They're much more likely to be drawn to teams that are exciting?

Does that make the children bandwagon fans?

If the answer is no, then the definition of bandwagon is hypocritical & discriminatory.

Also, how many of our wives are fans of a team because we are? Does that make them bandwagon fans? My wife is from Atlanta, and is now a Mets fan. She didn't even know the Mets existed before she met me.

[Royals]

And what happens to a kid in the Miami area that has the Marlins, Heat, Dolphins & Panthers to follow? How is that kid supposed to be passionate about the teams he's supposed to like?

I can't imagine how anyone could be passionate about Dwyane Wade... or two titles in the last 10 years for the Marlins... or Hanley Ramirez... and didn't the Panthers just go to a Superbowl 4 years ago? Pretty sure Tampa Bay is closer to Miami than Carolina is. Ditto Jacksonville. You probably could have picked a better region...

"Also, how many of our wives are fans of a team because we are? Does that make them bandwagon fans?"
Nope, that makes them smart wives. If they're actually passionate about a team (as some women I know are) they'll likely stick with their team but also support your team except when they play head to head. This is how I survived watching football with a pack of Bengals fans for three years.

[Astros]

No, the Panthers didn't go to a Super Bowl dip shit, because the Panthers play hockey

[DBacks]

oh god that just fuckin made my day

[Mets]

A kid in the 6-10 range (when I would assume most kids first latch onto their favorite teams) won't remember what's happened over the past 10 years....that arguement is irrelevant.

And don't get me wrong, I don't endorse "jumping on a bandwagon", but I do think the definition of bandwagon fans is slightly flawed, and I think it's interesting to examine instances that devide what would be considered "bandwagon-ism" and how they correlate to the American ideals of "what have you done for me lately".

I think bandwagon-ism is less a product of cower, and more a fragment of the greater issue of humans natural deviation from forms of commitment, which I consider to be the true basis of the arguement.

If you like a team, it doesn't have to be a team that's regionally connected to you, but stick with them. Once you've committed your support to a team, be there in the good times and the bad times.

Of course, there's also the mantra of "know when to hold them, and know when to fold them". It's all a matter of personal ideals.

[Royals]

No, the Panthers didn't go to a Super Bowl dip shit, because the Panthers play hockey

There's a hockey team in Florida?

[Mets]

Florida Panthers Overview:
Team name: Florida Panthers
Founded: 1993
Arena: Office Depot Center
Stanley Cup wins: 0

Tampa Bay Lightning Overview:
Team name: Tampa Bay Lightning
Founded: 1992
Arena: St. Pete Times Forum
Stanley Cup wins: 1 (2003)