True Fan vs Bandwagoner

[ScWildthing61]

Was having a discussion saturday with my brother-in-law (Steelers fan) while watching USC-ODU. He asked me who my teams were, I told him I follow USC for most of the college sports, and the Panthers for the NFL. He tried to make the argument that other than a couple of baseball titles and a womens bball title, they haven't "given me a return on my investment" and have I thought about supporting teams that would reward my loyalty with titles, I told him I don't attend many games because I either can't afford to or I don't have the time off of work to be able to. He then said that even just watching the games on TV, you're still spending money on those teams. I then asked him why he still supports the Steelers since they haven't since they haven't "returned on investment" since 2008. He then said that if the Steelers aren't cutting it for him, he has no problems switching to another team. I then told him that's a hollow existence and that when you support a team through good and bad the successes mean more, and that it runs deeper than just financial concerns.

How do y'all feel about this?

 

[uscwatson21]

Obviously the tough times are what make the good times special.

Your brother in law will never experience the real joy of what we experienced when we won those baseball titles. Or heck even when we upset UGA in 2019.

 

[GarnetBeamer]

Well, it's not a religious belief so the implications of hopping around to teams are pretty minimal.

However, what's the satisfaction in always just cheering for whichever team is good?

 

[redrogers]

I know a guy who knows an angry midget. Maybe she can visit your friend for an “attitude adjustment “.
“Hollow” is a good description. What bothers me is they have no clue why we are flabbergasted and in disbelief.

 

[will110]

The reason I cheer and suffer through Gamecock athletics with little hope of a return on my investment is because this is my school. I have two degrees from USC, and I'm proud to be an alumnus. You can't just switch allegiances in college sports because your team is bad and another team is better. The few moments of glory are incredible. The Final Four run is one of my favorite fan experiences ever.

Now, when referring to pro sports, I believe there's more room to change fandom levels. I pull for the Atlanta pro teams (Braves, Falcons, Hawks). However, I'm not going to watch them if they're terrible. What's the point? But I do enjoy them when they're good. The 28-3 Super Bowl is one of the worst fan experiences I've ever had, and that's saying something considering I'm a Gamecock fan. But I would never consider pulling for a different team because the Atlanta teams are bad.

In general, if someone switches teams, that's lame and you're a bandwagoner.

 

[cajun dawg]

Did you go to USC? Alumni have somewhat of an obligation to be remain a fan, imo. I don't agree with jumping ship because the grass is greener at that moment. USC will certainly improve along with all SEC teams that are making bank with the television deals. Even Vandy is going to start putting money into facilities. The SEC can get 3 or 4 teams in a 12 team playoff which will pay huge dividends for all SEC schools as well.

 

[bigsirspur]

I don't see how you cannot be a fan of your alma mater. You don't change that. Nor can you switch and become a fan of a rival. Pros? Different issue. I grew up a Steelers fan, but couldn't tell you much about them today. For folks who did not go to a 4 year college, following a college team for them is like following a pro team. It's fine to do, and some are great fans, but there isn't that blood connection.

 

[world famous 3rd base hecklers]

Was having a discussion saturday with my brother-in-law (Steelers fan) while watching USC-ODU. He asked me who my teams were, I told him I follow USC for most of the college sports, and the Panthers for the NFL. He tried to make the argument that other than a couple of baseball titles and a womens bball title, they haven't "given me a return on my investment" and have I thought about supporting teams that would reward my loyalty with titles, I told him I don't attend many games because I either can't afford to or I don't have the time off of work to be able to. He then said that even just watching the games on TV, you're still spending money on those teams. I then asked him why he still supports the Steelers since they haven't since they haven't "returned on investment" since 2008. He then said that if the Steelers aren't cutting it for him, he has no problems switching to another team. I then told him that's a hollow existence and that when you support a team through good and bad the successes mean more, and that it runs deeper than just financial concerns.

How do y'all feel about this?

 

[BattleshipTexas]

The great fans are those guys that were Cub fans when they didn't win for decades. Someone who switches when the team "doesn't give a return on investment" is by defintion a bandwagon fan.

 

[lostcock]

Can’t stand a bandwagon fan. Am I a $&%# toward the Gamecocks sometimes? Absolutely, because they are capable of greater things than they have given at times, but honestly, as we are seeing right in front of our face, the Statehouse (might as well limp the BOT in too) has ALWAYS hamstrung USC. Drives me crazy. They don’t even try to hide it anymore, and I love my school, and completely loathe those people. Huge moment in my life to get that degree. You can’t leave that easily, no matter what. That’s what Tates do. All that to say besides the Cox, I’m Philly born so, Flyers, Eagles, Phillies, Sixers no matter what, and the Eagles Super Bowl win was everything I hoped it would be. I almost feel sorry for those Laker, Cowboys, Yankees. I will admit like pretty much everyone outside of Detroit, I was totally into the Bulls back in the 90’s but in actuality liked Jordan more than the team.

 

[Forever Fowl]

The one and only reason I'm a Carolina fan is because I earned a degree there. Can't imagine being a fan for any other reason unless you happen to be a masochist.

 

[BattleshipTexas]

The one and only reason I'm a Carolina fan is because I earned a degree there. Can't imagine being a fan for any other reason unless you happen to be a masochist.

When Carolina won back to back college world series, you can't imagine becoming a fan then?

 

[mUSCle Gamecock]

I’m loyal to you the Gamecocks to the bitter end. I do have my undergraduate degree from USC, but I have been a fan all my life. My grandma lived in Olympia. You could see Williams-Brice from her front porch.

 

[Gamecock80SC]

I wouldn’t still be here if I wasn’t a loyal fan. But I am a Carolina fan, not a Ray Tanner fan, or a fan of any particular Coach or employee. If I think a certain person is holding the program down or making it worse coughTANNERcough I’m going to complain and BOO them out.
I simply refuse to watch a game if they are playing horrible week in and week out. Thats supporting mediocrity.

 

[AsTheCockCrows]

I did not go to SC because I wanted to get out of state. My dad played baseball for SC back in the 60's and was a huge fan. I followed SC when I was a kid back during the George Rogers days - then I got into punk rock and soccer and skating and didnt pay any attention until I was in my mid 20's. I started dating my wife who was a huge LSU fan and started watching football again with her and got crazy about it for about 15 years - to the point where when we lost on Saturday, it blew my whole weekend. I finally got to the point where I refuse to let what a 19 or 20 year old kid does with a pigskin affect my mood, though I still get aggravated for an hour or so. Then, we got so bad the last few years that I have to admit I dont have the passion that I once had but then I always find myself getting excited again come August and find myself watching the slaughter that it has been for most weekends the last few years. I only go to maybe 1 game a year, just because I cant stand dealing with the crowds. I would call myself a lifer but I am not the guy who follows a bunch of kids on twitter, wondering where they are going to end up either. My wife made me an LSU fan whenever they are not playing SC but I will pretty much live and die a Gamecock fan.

 

[atl-cock]

Did you go to USC? Alumni have somewhat of an obligation to be remain a fan, imo. I don't agree with jumping ship because the grass is greener at that moment. USC will certainly improve along with all SEC teams that are making bank with the television deals. Even Vandy is going to start putting money into facilities. The SEC can get 3 or 4 teams in a 12 team playoff which will pay huge dividends for all SEC schools as well.

What 12-team playoff?

 

[Carolina Doc]

Yes, if you attended USC, you pretty much bleed garnet. Win or lose. You hate to lose, but you remain faithful anyway. I sometimes think its not non-alumni that get the most irritated by the losing.

I "follow" other teams with interest, but I will always support Carolina unconditionally, forever to thee.

 

[Joe MorrisonLives]

Was having a discussion saturday with my brother-in-law (Steelers fan) while watching USC-ODU. He asked me who my teams were, I told him I follow USC for most of the college sports, and the Panthers for the NFL. He tried to make the argument that other than a couple of baseball titles and a womens bball title, they haven't "given me a return on my investment" and have I thought about supporting teams that would reward my loyalty with titles, I told him I don't attend many games because I either can't afford to or I don't have the time off of work to be able to. He then said that even just watching the games on TV, you're still spending money on those teams. I then asked him why he still supports the Steelers since they haven't since they haven't "returned on investment" since 2008. He then said that if the Steelers aren't cutting it for him, he has no problems switching to another team. I then told him that's a hollow existence and that when you support a team through good and bad the successes mean more, and that it runs deeper than just financial concerns.

How do y'all feel about this?

You're right

 

[ToddFlanders]

If you only root for a team because of what happens on the field, then you're going to be sorely disappointed rooting for about 95% of all teams. Sports is about wins and losses at its base, but fandom is about so much more. It's the shared experiences, sometimes through generations, that tie fans to their teams.

Bandwagon fans have no soul, and while they may cheer when Duke makes the Final Four, they will never really know the level of joy that comes with a team they are invested in having success.

 

[ScWildthing61]

Did you go to USC? Alumni have somewhat of an obligation to be remain a fan, imo. I don't agree with jumping ship because the grass is greener at that moment. USC will certainly improve along with all SEC teams that are making bank with the television deals. Even Vandy is going to start putting money into facilities. The SEC can get 3 or 4 teams in a 12 team playoff which will pay huge dividends for all SEC schools as well.

I myself attended Virginia Commonwealth University(VCU) in Richmond, Va. The rest of my family went to USC. I grew up a gamecock and had entrenched myself as a fan long before moving to Virginia in high school. If USC and VCU played each other in any sport basketball, baseball etc. (VCU doesn't have football, a rant for another day) I'll be pulling for USC every time.

Also that ODU loss hurt the most of the 2 this weekend. Because I am a VCU alum and VCU holds ODU in the same regard that USC holds Clemson.

 

[FORKCOCK]

I've been a Gamecock and Braves fan since the late 60's. I'm definitely not a bandwagon fan but it's been tough sledding.

 

[Forever Fowl]

When Carolina won back to back college world series, you can't imagine becoming a fan then?

I grew up in Pickens County and was a luke warm Clemson fan as family members graduated there. Had I attended Clemson rather than USC I would have been a full fledged Clemson fan. If wins and losses determine allegiance there aren't enough wins to justify being a Carolina fan.

 

[TheReelEss]

Who enjoys watching their team lose?

 

[Forever Fowl]

When you experience the best years of your life on campus at USC, "forever to thee" means a lot more than just a phase you sing at a ballgame.

 

[rgamecock1]

Was having a discussion saturday with my brother-in-law (Steelers fan) while watching USC-ODU. He asked me who my teams were, I told him I follow USC for most of the college sports, and the Panthers for the NFL. He tried to make the argument that other than a couple of baseball titles and a womens bball title, they haven't "given me a return on my investment" and have I thought about supporting teams that would reward my loyalty with titles, I told him I don't attend many games because I either can't afford to or I don't have the time off of work to be able to. He then said that even just watching the games on TV, you're still spending money on those teams. I then asked him why he still supports the Steelers since they haven't since they haven't "returned on investment" since 2008. He then said that if the Steelers aren't cutting it for him, he has no problems switching to another team. I then told him that's a hollow existence and that when you support a team through good and bad the successes mean more, and that it runs deeper than just financial concerns.

How do y'all feel about this?

For myself I look at supporting your favorite team is like a marriage is supposed to be. Support them through the good and the bad. Noone likes to lose, that is a fact of life. But in life nothing is always going to go your way. I have been supporting USC for a long time. Yes there have been good times along with the bad, but I will always support USC in any sport they support. The idea of supporting a team only through the good times is a reflection of the times we live in like marriages today, when the romance wears off and it will the first time they face adversity or hard times they have been taught to get a divorce or quit. Sad but true. I think all fan bases have a lot of fans that will support their teams through the good and the bad. In sports today there is so much parity, cheating going on it is unbelievable. The top five football schools Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, LSU all have a history of cheating. Facts but true. In the early 90's the NCAA basically told Clemson to either fire Danny Ford or they will impose the death penalty. I was told the NCAA came really close to that. Alabama has a history of cheating as well. How do you think those schools get those five star athletes. Well lets just say they are all good schools but if you want an elite degree those schools do not fall in line with your ivy league schools, or schools like Stanford, Cal Berkeley. Go to these schools on a Sunday afternoon and observe the athletes driving brand new cars, when they first got to these school they were driving an used car. So do the math. Anyway I will always support USC through the good and the bad.

 

[Harvard Gamecock]

The great fans are those guys that were Cub fans when they didn't win for decades. Someone who switches when the team "doesn't give a return on investment" is by defintion a bandwagon fan.

Red Sox fans have to be the most devoted. The Sox could come agonizing close in playoffs and World Series only to take losing to an art form. (86 WS, Bucky F***ing Dent, to name but 2)
Red Sox baseball is almost a religion up in the New England area, It would be inconceivable for their fans to even consider rooting for another team.

 

[nickerous]

I did not attend USC, but my Dad did. I asked him one time why he didn't pull for another team when I was young and he said that you don't give up when things get tough. He made me a fan. He started recording games during the 1984 season on beta max tapes. I started in 1992 when I had to work during the Tennessee game that year. We would always watch the football games together if I wasn't working. If I was, and it was worth revisiting, he'd watch it with me again when I got home.

He's gone now and I miss him terribly everyday, but more so in the fall. I still record games. When he passed in 2003, I started recording every game I could and then traded for anything I could find. My wife's grandad was a huge UGA fan and would go to every home game. I started going with him around 2007. Once we were sitting in Sanford Stadium and every gamecock fan would speak to me. My wife would ask if I knew them. I'd say no, but today, they're family.

 

[USCBatgirl21]

When Carolina won back to back college world series, you can't imagine becoming a fan then?

Those "fans" get on our nerves at the ballpark. Act like they've been a fan all along, but you find out really quick that they never gave Gamecock Baseball a thought until 11:56 pm June 29, 2010. Usually when they make comments like "we were never good in baseball until *insert random year during CRT's tenure*.

 

[chief2791]

I am not a graduate, but a lifelong fan. My parents moved here from Ohio back in 1970, he was an Ohio State fan (not a graduate). He said he couldn't stomach Clemson fans even way back then, so he started pulling for Carolina. He still pulls for Ohio State, but when we played against them he pulled for us. He started buying season tickets for football in the late 70's and we went to games for around 15 years, until other duties and interests took priority. We went to many away games as well. Been to Notre Dame, FSU, a few others back in the 80's. The 84 year was awesome, minus Navy. Also had season tickets for baseball at the Sarge, but gave them up as well as my 2 boys got into playing baseball, just couldn't go to enough games.

I couldn't be anything other than a Carolina fan, my boys couldn't either. My youngest, when he was playing travel/showcase has played at Founders around 5 times, which was a thrill for him.

I don't get to too many games, football or baseball, too busy between work and one playing college ball. Last football game I attended was 2012 against Georgia. A buddy of mine text me Friday before the game and said he and his wife would be by at 7am in the morning to pick my wife and I up, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. I wouldn't have told him no anyway. Maybe in the coming years after son is graduated I'll get to some games.