Bandwagon or Diehard? Which fan is the 'lesser person'? They speak!
TO THE COACH’S BOX READERS: This is my weekly Sports Fan Coach column for the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati.com. Thanks to sports editor Jason Hoffman and the Enquirer for agreeing to share this here.
By Mike Bass @SportsFanCoach1
Editor's note: This is a weekly column from former sports reporter and editor Mike Bass. Bass will be contributing to The Enquirer by offering advice for sports fans, athletes and youth sports parents and coaches through a weekly Q&A. To ask a question of Bass for potential publication, email him at mbass@mikebasscoaching.com. And get the conversation going on Twitter @SportsFanCoach1.
We brought you in on the subject of last week’s column, inspired by a question from WLW’s Lance McAlister. Here are some of your Twitter responses to the often-divisive question:
Is it OK to be a bandwagon fan?
@BillRedlegN: “Not sure how that’s defined.”
The terms “bandwagon fan” and “fair-weather fan” sometimes are used interchangeably. Generally speaking, a bandwagon fan will jump teams, looking for one that is successful and/or trendy. A fair-weather fan engages when a team is good, loses interest when a team is bad. Here, we are dealing more with bandwagon fans.
@4mertruckerjim: “We call those Cowboys fans.”
That’s funny. Some fans find status in supporting a name-brand team. In 2020, Forbes rated the Cowboys as the world’s Most Valuable Sports Team for the fifth straight year, this time at $5.5 billion. Impressive, considering the Cowboys have not made it through a playoff divisional round since they won the Super Bowl, a quarter-century ago. But is it OK for fans to team-hop to a winner?
@Wookiee4biden: “If your team is out of it. Go ahead and root for another team to make it. That means (you’re) a fan of your team and the game.”
If your team doesn’t make the playoffs, why not adopt another team the rest of the way? Maybe you support another team in your division, hoping it shows how strong the division is. More likely, if you are a diehard, you find it a lot more fun to root against your rivals. You hated them during the season, why not now?
@jeller94: “I think it’s okay to cheer for another team you’ve gained respect (for) or because of a player or coach you like but it’s not okay to become a fan of a team that’s winning and act like you’ve always been a fan.”
This really gnaws at diehard fans. Join the fun, but don’t pretend you invented Who Dey or Who Dat, The Big House or The Shoe. How will the diehards know? Oh, they’ll know. If they ask you who started at forward last season, or who played center field for the Big Red Machine, they’ll know.
@landdon: Lol. Of course it's okay. Teams are (a) product (and) I’m not going to buy the product if it's not good.”
If you feel more joy investing your money and affection in a winning team, where is the harm?
@GregWiseman21: “Better than the opposite where we have Bengals fans who continue to give money to Mike Brown after 30 years of losing.”
A perfectly rational reason to disconnect — if the attachment no longer works for you. Especially if you were taking the losing personally. Even devout fans of a bad team might threaten to stop attending or watching games, hoping to send ownership a message. But would a real fan fully bail for another team? When being a fan of your team is part of who you are? When the bond goes beyond the record?
@PupJo3: “People can do what they want but I believe that investing your life into a team from an early age is much more rewarding when your (team) wins versus just saying you like a team as a bandwagon (fan).”
That helps motivate the diehard to keep coming back. You believe you are part of something bigger than just (some) wins and (more) losses, and that your true passion requires your full commitment. When you endure the pain of losing, the pleasure of winning tastes better. You understand the context, and feel a part of it, sharing it with others who perservere. You might think it’s OK to be a bandwagon fan, but better to be you.
@burninbearcat: “Yes I’ll just judge you as a lesser person. A person who always takes the easy way out.”
To be fair, if you spent years agonizing over a bad team, that decision is not always easy. Or wrong. For you. Just know it won’t be OK with everyone.
@andypic17: “Not one bit. There are few things more annoying than someone who will hop on for success but can’t handle the hurt.”
The debate rages on.
Remember to email Bass at mbass@mikebasscoaching.com or reach out to him @SportsFanCoach1 on Twitter if you want to be included next week. His website is MikeBassCoaching.com.