Bandwagon fans are the worst type of fans in the sports industry
By: CHRISTIAN HARGAS
Sports Editor
Bandwagon sports fans are real. They have existed since the dawning of the industry and will continue to remain relevant for the rest of its existence. The insidious desire to glob onto a team just because they are the ‘coolest thing in town’ is irritating.
In technical terms, a bandwagon fan is a fan of a team that only supports them because they are either really popular or really successful over a specific period of time. There have been plenty of examples of a team gaining an enormous amount of fair-weather fans.
The Miami Heat are one of the better examples. When LeBron James decided to ‘take his talents to South Beach’ to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010, the Heat fan base quickly grew into the NBA’s largest. The Heat enjoyed four years of success by reaching four consecutive NBA Finals and winning two championships. In 2014, James decided to take his talents back to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Heat struggled the next season. Now, with the recent rumors of Wade leaving town and only Bosh remaining, it is surprising how many Heat ‘fans’ are not there anymore.
The Seattle Seahawks are another good example. The Seahawks have become one of the National Football League’s most popular teams over the last three years, but they were quite possibly the most irrelevant team 10 years ago. Now, since they have appeared in two consecutive Super Bowls, it is amazing to see how much larger the ‘12th man’ has grown. I have been a Seahawks fan since I was eight years old. I have seen the evolution of this team with my very own eyes, but I have also noticed the wagon filling up with more and more people.
Major League Baseball’s franchises have their fair share of bandwagon fans. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim were never one of the more popular teams, but their relevancy skyrocketed once they acquired Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton in 2012. The Kansas City Royals are another team that saw their fan base dramatically increase over the last 12 months. I understand the Royals have not had much success over the last 30 years, but the way they are currently treated by the masses and the media portrays them to be at the level of the New York Yankees, which the are not.
Bandwagon fans are the worst type of fans in the sports industry. Their loyalty is fake, they have no concept of the term ‘support’, and they will most likely bail when their ‘favorite team’ falls from grace
