A “bandwagon fan," as explained by Urban Dictionary, is “anyone who claims they are a ‘fan’ of a particular sports team, even though they had no prior support for/interest in the team until that team started winning.” Sounds kind of bad, right? In today’s society, people are constantly being criticized for jumping on the bandwagon with a team because they are viewed as frauds or imposters.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand. But, in reality, it’s ok to be a “bandwagon fan." It really is.
Take me, for example, with the Chicago Cubs. Being from the suburbs of Chicago, and with one of my best friends being a diehard Cubs fan, if I ever needed a baseball team to root for, it was the Cubs. With that being said, baseball was not very high on my list of sports to watch. Hockey definitely took the number one spot, followed by soccer, football and then basketball. Honestly, baseball was probably last on my list!
I didn’t follow the 2016 regular season much, I just knew that miraculously, the Cubs weren’t losing (considering they’re kind of known for it….). And then came the playoffs, and the Cubs were somehow in it, and winning. I followed the games a little, but it wasn’t until they made it to the semifinals (aka the National League Championship Series, for those real fans), that I really started to take an interest. Soon, I began keeping track of the score and paying attention to conversations in the aftermath of the games. I even pulled out the one Cubs shirt I own and wore it when they won the National League Championship, the game that the team to the World Series. I watched all seven games of the finals, sometimes staying up way later than I would have liked—all to see, hopefully, a Cubs win.
Now, did I know half the rules of the game or much of the terminology? Hell no. Was I only watching the games because the Cubs were winning? Probably. Could I be considered a “bandwagon fan?” 100%.
Friends joked with me, asking me to name even a few players on the team just to prove that I in fact knew nothing about the sport. But I wasn’t watching for those reasons. I wasn’t watching to become a baseball statistician, or to learn all the rules. I was watching to support my team, to support my city.
So, who cares if I am a “bandwagon fan”? Sitting in my dorm room, over 1,000 miles away from home, I felt a sense of community watching the games, I felt a little part of home with me. When I passed random students on campus wearing Cubs gear, we would smile at each other or exchange “go Cubs go” chants. In these moments, I felt connected, I felt proud to be a Chicagoan.
Now don’t get me wrong, being a diehard Chicago Blackhawks fan, I have judged other people for being “bandwagon fans,” especially with the Hawks' recent success. I’ve even joked with friends, telling them they aren’t true fans.
It’s easy to be protective of the teams we love so much. But what I’ve realized is that it’s not about who knows more about the sport or the team, or even who watches the most games—it’s about supporting your team: it’s about supporting your city.
So, for those of you that boo and scold “bandwagon fans,” next time think of me and the Cubs. Think about how we’re rooting for the same team: the same city.
"Go, Cubs, go. Go, Cubs, go. Hey, Chicago, what do you say, the Cubs are gonna win today…”
