Types of Sports Fans
Types Of Sports Fans
Professional sports has become one of the most popular industries in the world today. The media spends billions of dollars on advertisements and teams spend millions of dollars on professional athletes all for one reason, the fans. The fans ticket sales and merchandise purchases are what keeps all the sport teams around and prevents professional athletes from losing their jobs. There are three types of fans in the sports world, the unfaithful fans, the collectors, and the die-hard fans.
Usually referred to as bandwagon fans, the unfaithful fans of the sports world represent the majority. As teams become more and more successful, their fan base begins to increase. This sudden increase in popularity is a result of untrue fans “jumping on the bandwagon” and immediately becoming huge followers of the team. Alex Roberts’ statement “These bandwagon fans act like Vegas gamblers, putting all their chips in with a team that has the best chance of survival, giving them a rooting interest once the Finals come around.” (Roberts, par. 5) explains some of the frustrations that true fans have in regards to bandwagon fans. In addition, many bandwagon fans don’t follow “their” team’s games or the players’ stats, nor do they know much about the team. In extreme cases, some aren’t even fans of the sport, they just try to fit in socially. Baseball hats have become very popular in men’s fashion. Males purchase hats with their “favourite” team’s logo or colours and are instantly considered fans. However many of these people aren’t even the slightest bit interested in baseball or sports for that matter. Similarly, other fans follow their favourite player around the league. Whatever team their beloved player ends up on, whether it be via trade or a signing, instantly becomes the fan’s preferred team. It’s great to continually support your favourite player, but the constant switching of favourite teams shows a lack of true interest in the team. For many avid
Professional sports has become one of the most popular industries in the world today. The media spends billions of dollars on advertisements and teams spend millions of dollars on professional athletes all for one reason, the fans. The fans ticket sales and merchandise purchases are what keeps all the sport teams around and prevents professional athletes from losing their jobs. There are three types of fans in the sports world, the unfaithful fans, the collectors, and the die-hard fans.
Usually referred to as bandwagon fans, the unfaithful fans of the sports world represent the majority. As teams become more and more successful, their fan base begins to increase. This sudden increase in popularity is a result of untrue fans “jumping on the bandwagon” and immediately becoming huge followers of the team. Alex Roberts’ statement “These bandwagon fans act like Vegas gamblers, putting all their chips in with a team that has the best chance of survival, giving them a rooting interest once the Finals come around.” (Roberts, par. 5) explains some of the frustrations that true fans have in regards to bandwagon fans. In addition, many bandwagon fans don’t follow “their” team’s games or the players’ stats, nor do they know much about the team. In extreme cases, some aren’t even fans of the sport, they just try to fit in socially. Baseball hats have become very popular in men’s fashion. Males purchase hats with their “favourite” team’s logo or colours and are instantly considered fans. However many of these people aren’t even the slightest bit interested in baseball or sports for that matter. Similarly, other fans follow their favourite player around the league. Whatever team their beloved player ends up on, whether it be via trade or a signing, instantly becomes the fan’s preferred team. It’s great to continually support your favourite player, but the constant switching of favourite teams shows a lack of true interest in the team. For many avid
Cited: Roberts, Alex. "Miami Heat 2011: The Frustration of Being a True Heat Fan." (2011): 17 pars. Web. Waldman, Jon, and Stephen Laroche. Got ‘Em, Got ‘Em, Need ‘Em. Toronto, ON, CAN: ECW Press, 2007. 11. Web.