In every sport there are bandwagon fans. Steph Curry and the Warriors, Tom Brady and the Patriots, or Leo Messi and FC Barcelona are just a few trending players or teams seen most often with these fans. There are no shortage of wannabe fans lining up or getting ready to hype up their team, simply because they're doing well or one of the players is a superstar.
Most of us learned the term bandwagon as a type of propaganda. Essentially it means to adopt a popular point of view for the sole purpose of recognition and/or acceptance by others. Others see it as a particular activity that has suddenly become popular or fashionable. Over the years, the term bandwagon has taken on a new identity, and one that many people are claiming.
We have now been introduced to 'bandwagon fans.' These fans are rooting for a particular sports team simply because they are reigning champions, have the most titles or championships, or even because they are doing the best at a certain point in time.
Once these fans realize that their team is starting to lose or drop in the ranks, they'll jump ship and hop on the bandwagon of a team that is doing well. As a result, they will have little or no knowledge of their current team's history and the true fans of the team will have no room to welcome a truly fake fan.
Football, soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, or really any other sport will have bandwagon fans. The most abundant times of the year we see Bandwagon fans are the weeks leading up the World Series, NBA or Stanley Cup Finals, or the Super Bowl.
With the Super Bowl approaching, we now see an abundance of Patriots and Eagles fans. Fly Eagles Fly and all. The question is, do they really like that team, or do they just want to fit in and boast that their team is the best? Do they know players and their stats? Have they been rooting for their team for years, during the highs and lows? Are they bandwagon fans? Absolutely.
There comes a point where your favorite team didn't make the playoffs, or they got knocked out in the first round. As a true sports fan, it's okay to want another team, that is still in, to win it all. That doesn't mean that that team becomes your favorite or that you can, or should, rave about them on your social media accounts.
Take the 32 NFL teams, that's 32 fanbases. The Super Bowl only has 2 teams, therefore we all can't have our cake and eat it too. Patriots and Eagles fans are living the dream, but for those of us (Pittsburgh Steelers all the way!) who don't have our own team to root for, it's okay to say "I'd like to see the Eagles win," and "I hope the Patriots lose." If you’re a true football fan, you will have an opinion on who you'd like to see raise the Lombardi Trophy. Just know that real fans will return and always stay faithful to their team, no matter the records or trades made during the offseason.
The original bandwagon was taught in intermediate English and reading classes, and for true sports fans, that's where it should stay. Real fans are the ones who will lift a team up when they're down and keep the jersey of a traded player because they're loyal. The loyalty of a true sports fan outweighs the days and sometimes even weeks of satisfaction from a winning record of a team that ultimately wasn't that fans right to cheer for in the first place.
