Well, my local NFL team, the Seahawks, lost another game yesterday. That puts them at 2-4, which means they can probably lose, at most, one more game this season if they want to reach the playoffs. There's probably not much chance of losing only one game in the ten games they have left in the regular season, so I figure their season is pretty much over already. A comeback could happen, but it'd be practically a miracle.
And that means I'm not particularly interested in watching them anymore, at least this season. Yes, that makes me that most hated thing in sports, a fair-weather fan.
"Real" fans pay for season tickets even when their teams are doing poorly, or even playing outright garbage. "Real" fans know the names of all the players, not just the team's stars, and they know their stats. "Real" fans buy the merchandise, watch evey game, were fans years before their teams won the championships, and practically dedicate their lives to their team. And anyone who falls short in even one of those things is clearly not a real fan. They're either bandwagoners, following their team only recently, or they're fair-weather fans who only follow while the team is doing well. Bandwagoners are sneered at, but warily; everyone, at some point, had only just started following along, after all, and it might be for a legitimate reason like having only moved to the area. But fair-weather fans are outright hated.
Now, as far as I'm concerned, when people buy a team' merchandise and go to their games, they're making an implicit agreement with the team. "We'll give you our money," they say, "which can be used in any number of other places. In exchange, you entertain me for a few hours, and maybe give me something to talk about with friends at the bar or around the water cooler. Deal?" The team owners gladly take the money, but they dont' always win games.
Well, that's fine. Not every game can be a win, and a good defeat can be as entertaining as a victory.
But when you lose and lose and lose again, it stops being entertaining. At least to me. What is so fun about watching a game where you're expecting to lose? Why should I spend my money and/or time on a team that provides me no pleasure in return? That can be counted on to provide no pleasure? It's like watching your best friend pick a fight - again - and then get their butts kicked. Again. After a point you stop watching the fight. You just watch him head off to the parking lot while you nurse your beer inside the bar. Why bother watching? You know what's going to happen.
I don't deride fair-weather fans, because I am one. And I am one because it's the only kind of fan that actually makes sense to me.
And that means I'm not particularly interested in watching them anymore, at least this season. Yes, that makes me that most hated thing in sports, a fair-weather fan.
"Real" fans pay for season tickets even when their teams are doing poorly, or even playing outright garbage. "Real" fans know the names of all the players, not just the team's stars, and they know their stats. "Real" fans buy the merchandise, watch evey game, were fans years before their teams won the championships, and practically dedicate their lives to their team. And anyone who falls short in even one of those things is clearly not a real fan. They're either bandwagoners, following their team only recently, or they're fair-weather fans who only follow while the team is doing well. Bandwagoners are sneered at, but warily; everyone, at some point, had only just started following along, after all, and it might be for a legitimate reason like having only moved to the area. But fair-weather fans are outright hated.
Now, as far as I'm concerned, when people buy a team' merchandise and go to their games, they're making an implicit agreement with the team. "We'll give you our money," they say, "which can be used in any number of other places. In exchange, you entertain me for a few hours, and maybe give me something to talk about with friends at the bar or around the water cooler. Deal?" The team owners gladly take the money, but they dont' always win games.
Well, that's fine. Not every game can be a win, and a good defeat can be as entertaining as a victory.
But when you lose and lose and lose again, it stops being entertaining. At least to me. What is so fun about watching a game where you're expecting to lose? Why should I spend my money and/or time on a team that provides me no pleasure in return? That can be counted on to provide no pleasure? It's like watching your best friend pick a fight - again - and then get their butts kicked. Again. After a point you stop watching the fight. You just watch him head off to the parking lot while you nurse your beer inside the bar. Why bother watching? You know what's going to happen.
I don't deride fair-weather fans, because I am one. And I am one because it's the only kind of fan that actually makes sense to me.
