Jillian Fisher: In Defense of Bandwagon Fans In Defense of Bandwagon Fans

the only beef i have with bandwagon fans are the ones who jump on with the chicago's and LA's and start trolling...........the "internet tough guy" bandwagon fans.

there are about 3000 of them on this site.

as for the ones who just started following the sport and start cheering for whatever team is great at that time..................i have no issue with that. more fans the sport has the better.

interesting to point out that today's "bandwagon fan" may expose their own kids to the sport that otherwise wouldn't have, and thus helping to expand the fanbase. i never thought of it that way, but its an astute observation.

i was first exposed to the kings in so cal in the late 80s, and i make no apologies that gretzky had that effect on many of us. i'm sure there were plenty of "real fans" that hated us at the time, but as a result i still cheered on the team in the extended lean years, and am happy for the team's more recent success this decade. which begs the question, at what point does the bandwagon fan "graduate" into a real fan?

a fan is a fan is a fan. cheer on your team, and be respectful of the opposition.

interesting to point out that today's "bandwagon fan" may expose their own kids to the sport that otherwise wouldn't have, and thus helping to expand the fanbase. i never thought of it that way, but its an astute observation.

i was first exposed to the kings in so cal in the late 80s, and i make no apologies that gretzky had that effect on many of us. i'm sure there were plenty of "real fans" that hated us at the time, but as a result i still cheered on the team in the extended lean years, and am happy for the team's more recent success this decade. which begs the question, at what point does the bandwagon fan "graduate" into a real fan?
a fan is a fan is a fan. cheer on your team, and be respectful of the opposition.
- hiway39

i was in the same situation. i moved to ottawa in 92, right when the city was awarded an NHL franchise. i was just starting high school at the time, and started cheering for the team (was a dirty habs fan up to then as i had lived in montreal). was treated like a bandwagon fan for a long time.............

Funny that you mention the Islanders as an example... My parents took me to my first game in 1991 at the Cow Palace where the Sharks played the Islanders.

The Sharks got just their 3rd win of the season in 18 tries and went on to lose the next 6 straight.

I didn't care, I was 5 years old and suddenly in love with hockey. My room got painted teal soon after and I've been playing hockey in some capacity for the 25 years since then.

You never know who's at the game and who's going to become a lifelong fan of the game. Bring on the bandwagoners, it's good for the sport even if they don't know that leaning forward blocks my view damn it!

I wouldn't be surprised if 90% of fans are bandwagon fans in every sport for every team. There are die-hard fans that watch their favorite team win or lose and they truly encompass the definition of fanatic; nevertheless, they are the minority no matter where you are or what you're watching.

Now if you want to individually call out someone that jumps on and off the wagon that's a different beast altogether and it can be funny, i.e. Drake.

There is nothing wrong with bandwagon fans, heck they account for a decent amount of sales and merchandise revenue so definitely no hate on them. The main issue are the bandwagon fans that rub their success in your face when they are winning and then disappear when they aren't. I've had at least a dozen friends do that during Ottawa's run. They are no where in sight today.

This is so true ! I have said this many times on this site....just be respectful when you are a visitor in the home team's barn. Nothing wrong with cheering for "your" team but chanting all through the concourse, swearing at the "home" fans, taunting or just being a jerk in general, there is no place for that. While Hawks fans get thrown into this discussion the most. Let's face it..most tried and true Hawks fans most likely have season tickets and have had for years. The bandwagon fans are the ones that can't get home tickets so they go out on the road and act like idiots.

Jillian Fisher: In Defense of Bandwagon Fans
In Defense of Bandwagon Fans
- Jillian Fisher

nothing worse then seeing a bunch of patriot fans down here

"you guys move down here"
"nope been here all our lives"


I see a lot of that in hawk fans for hockey, patriot fans for football and royal/met fans for baseball


I expect 5 years from now they will be cheering for different teams

This is so true ! I have said this many times on this site....just be respectful when you are a visitor in the home team's barn. Nothing wrong with cheering for "your" team but chanting all through the concourse, swearing at the "home" fans, taunting or just being a jerk in general, there is no place for that.
- wrister

i wear the kings jersey all the time at the Shark Tank (as a bay area resident) when they play the kings, and i fully expect the good natured chirps, as i should. its all in good fun. we're not the ones whose livelihoods are being played out on the ice...tomorrow we all still have to wake up and go to work, right?

"Steven Dean: ...The main issue are the bandwagon fans that rub their success in your face when they are winning and then disappear when they aren't...."


This is the annoying part, the guy that mentions how great Chicago has always been. Yet ask him to name just one more head coach. Dallas is notorious for fickle fans, but the last thing I want to see are a bunch of yahoos in Kane jerseys that were raised in DFW, don't remember Chicago in the 90s, and act like Chi never had a down year. Pretty sure these guys were all wearing Red Wings jerseys prior. Have a ton of Yankee memorabilia, and just traded their Lakers jersey for Golden State.

We've all been new fans at one time, but don't give me the cockiness and entitlement when your first jersey has the Stanley cup patch. Nothing wrong with band wagoners, but the front runner who only roots for the current champ.....Expect to get razzed.

"Steven Dean: ...The main issue are the bandwagon fans that rub their success in your face when they are winning and then disappear when they aren't...."


This is the annoying part, the guy that mentions how great Chicago has always been. Yet ask him to name just one more head coach. Dallas is notorious for fickle fans, but the last thing I want to see are a bunch of yahoos in Kane jerseys that were raised in DFW, don't remember Chicago in the 90s, and act like Chi never had a down year. Pretty sure these guys were all wearing Red Wings jerseys prior. Have a ton of Yankee memorabilia, and just traded their Lakers jersey for Golden State.

We've all been new fans at one time, but don't give me the cockiness and entitlement when your first jersey has the Stanley cup patch. Nothing wrong with band wagoners, but the front runner who only roots for the current champ.....Expect to get razzed.
- tootooisapunk

F the original 6

"Steven Dean: ...The main issue are the bandwagon fans that rub their success in your face when they are winning and then disappear when they aren't...."


This is the annoying part, the guy that mentions how great Chicago has always been. Yet ask him to name just one more head coach. Dallas is notorious for fickle fans, but the last thing I want to see are a bunch of yahoos in Kane jerseys that were raised in DFW, don't remember Chicago in the 90s, and act like Chi never had a down year. Pretty sure these guys were all wearing Red Wings jerseys prior. Have a ton of Yankee memorabilia, and just traded their Lakers jersey for Golden State.

We've all been new fans at one time, but don't give me the cockiness and entitlement when your first jersey has the Stanley cup patch. Nothing wrong with band wagoners, but the front runner who only roots for the current champ.....Expect to get razzed.
- tootooisapunk

My favorite is the people that have like 5 favorite teams

I know what bandwagon I jumped on
- Feds91Stammer

reported

reported
- DDM-Coga

Hey buddy

Hey buddy
- Feds91Stammer

- DDM-Coga

It appears we are both fan free agents eh? Fire Holland. Fire Roy.

A regular at the bar I used to work at was the definition of a band wagon fan. Alabama for college football, St. Louis Cardinals for baseball, Barcelona for soccer, Patriots in the NFL, and the Lightning in the NHL but only if they were having a good year. If they weren't having a good year the Pens were his team.
Never talked to him about an NBA team because it's the NBA and who cares?

Oh and during the FIFA world cup he was all about Italy and Spain, forget cheering for the US.

It appears we are both fan free agents eh? Fire Holland. Fire Roy.
- Feds91Stammer

Im just waiting for the Nordiques to come back to jump on that band wagon.

Maybe Vegas, I could be a fan of the Black Knights

Sooooo... the whole point of this article was to basically call out the Islander's fans as "bandwagon fans?"

I know what bandwagon I jumped on
- Feds91Stammer

Seems to objectify the newest member of the site.

A regular at the bar I used to work at was the definition of a band wagon fan. Alabama for college football, St. Louis Cardinals for baseball, Barcelona for soccer, Patriots in the NFL, and the Lightning in the NHL but only if they were having a good year. If they weren't having a good year the Pens were his team.
Never talked to him about an NBA team because it's the NBA and who cares?

Oh and during the FIFA world cup he was all about Italy and Spain, forget cheering for the US.
- doppelthat

What was his favorite beer? Just curious.

Would be nice though instead of tripling the price of tickets over 5 years (Blackhawks) when they start winning to slow that increase down for those who still bought tickets when the team wasn't good. That would show loyalty to those who are life long fans instead of being treated the same as a new temp fan. Say a 5% discount for those fans with season tickets greater than 15 years. Won't ever happen, but that is what should happen.

Many die hards take bullets for the bandwagon fans though. I take pride in the fact that my Dad was 1 of 4000 other season ticket holders during the dark era of Blackhawks hockey through the 2000's. He's had tickets for 35+ years. In high school I was 1 of 2 people in a school of 1200 who would wear anything Hawks related.

I've earned my stripes and now if I feel the need to raz a fan of another team I always get the, "You're a bandwagoner" line. It may bother me a bit because it's difficult to prove even with rattling off facts from the old days BUT as I watched the Cup handed to Toews on United Center ice last June and wept tears of joy I felt vindicated because I knew in that moment that my pure bliss wasn't shared by everyone in the city pulling for the team. I was able to witness something I'd waited my whole life for instead of a couple short years as a newer fan.

After experiencing that I normally don't think twice about the bandwagon term. I've grown to accept that new fans help the team and league.

Would be nice though instead of tripling the price of tickets over 5 years (Blackhawks) when they start winning to slow that increase down for those who still bought tickets when the team wasn't good. That would show loyalty to those who are life long fans instead of being treated the same as a new temp fan. Say a 5% discount for those fans with season tickets greater than 15 years. Won't ever happen, but that is what should happen.
- colgonics

Season ticket holders do receive a discount over people who buy single game tickets through Ticketmaster but I agree with you. Unfortunately that would only happen in a fantasy world