Are you a "Bandwagon" Fan?


I haven't been able to catch any of the games yet because I live in DC, so I thought I'd write about "bandwagon fans." You know, the fan who likes a team just because they are good at the time, or because it is trendy to like them. Honestly, being a bandwagon fan is very understandable. It has to get frustrating to constantly rout for a team that sucks.

I'll admit, I'm somewhat of a bandwagon fan when it comes to football, but not in the traditional sense. First off, to be clear I've always been a fan of Boston sports teams. My parents weren't that into sports, so my grandpa, who lives in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, got me started watching Boston sports from an early age. It bugs me when people think I just like them because they have dominated the sports landscape for the last decade.

While I'm not a bandwagon fan, I do admit to jumping off the proverbial "wagon" and stepping into another one. During the 90's I was a huge 49ers fan. Actually until about 6 years ago I was. I had 3 football teams, the Niners, Pats, and Redskins. After TO and the crappy Niners management destroyed the franchise, I pretty much only followed the Pats and Skins.


The reason the Pats became my #1 football team was my time at Umass. I got to watch every game and see how a 1st class organization was run. Look, it's hard being a fan of a team that is never on TV and has no players to get excited about. Especially if that team is not your home town team and the other team you love is winning super bowls.

During the Steve Young era (who is my favorite player ever) the Niners were always on TV and I could follow them. Now they are on maybe once a year. I didn't jump on the Patriots wagon because I was always a fan, but I admit to disowning my 49ers fandom.Look, there is no rule that you can only like one team from each sport. However, if the Patriots suck at some point, and I become a fan of another team, you can call me the biggest sellout ever.

No one can call me a bandwagon fan of the Celtics. The Celtics have been my number 1 team since I was 6 and always will be. When they won the championship in 2008 it was one of the top 10 moments of my life. As for UNC, I really wanted to follow a college hoops team when I was a kid. Since my favorite active player at the time was Michael Jordan, I latched onto them. Plus their colors are awesome.

It is easy to understand why a person becomes a bandwagon fan, so I'm not going to hate on them. It becomes bad when your a habitual bandwagoner(great word). I've always been and will always be a Boston sports, Skins, and Tarheels fan no matter how much they suck down the road. By the way, my teams will suck at some point. Sports are cyclical and no one stays on top forever. I would say stick to your teams because then when they win you will feel so much better. You really never know what could happen. If you had told me the Celtics would win a championship this decade 5 years ago I would've laughed in your face. Remember it's just a game, when your team loses it doesn't mean your a loser. It took me 20 years to finally grasp that idea.

One more thing. One of the most annoying things a sports fan does is blindly defend their team. Look, the Lions suck, deal with it. Don't try to make excuses for them and say they should've won if they had scored 3 more touchdowns. What is even worse is people insulting another team just because they aren't their team. Look I'm not a fan of the Steelers, but I recognize they are probably the best franchise in sports. The stupidity and ignorance of some sports fans is remarkable. You have these intelligent people, but when their sports teams are involved they turn into idiots. Sorry for another random posting, can we start the regular season already!