One is called a bandwagon fan if one only cheers and supports a team, player or sport in times of fame and success. Bandwagon fans have been heavily hated because of their lack of trust and loyalty to a team. They don’t stay in times of struggle. Instead, they skip the difficult part and go straight to the fun: Winning streaks, milestones, highlight reels and championships.
Being a bandwagon fan is an issue of loyalty to a team or sport. That’s why the people who jump on the bandwagon easily get the faithful fans angry. But what these faithful fans sometimes fail to recognize is that they confuse loyalty with an unhealthy case of fanaticism. The problem with being overzealous is that it can sometimes bring out one’s arrogance.
Let’s take the recent National Basketball Association Playoffs, for example. The San Antonio Spurs cruised their way through the post-season and captured their fifth world championship. Some of those who showed support towards the Spurs only in the finals were quickly branded as bandwagon fans.
That is an unfair statement to make, since there were only two teams competing at that time. There are other fans who just want to enjoy the highest quality of professional basketball. If you’ve been an avid follower of a certain team that reached a championship series, then that’s good for you. But one has to remember that there are people out there who enjoy the sport for what it is. One can’t dictate who others are allowed to cheer for in a situation where the options are very limited.
This mindset is alarming because this isn’t only evident in basketball, the Philippines’ most popular sport. In fact, its presence is rampant in all the other sports our country isn’t obsessed with.
Other examples of taking fanaticism too far are evident in tennis grand slam tournaments, the Super Bowl of the National Football League and different sporting events. Every year, there are people who tweet and rant using their social media accounts on how annoyed they are with the amount of people watching only during the championship round.
This attitude towards these fans is arrogant and condescending. A person can’t blame another for watching a major sporting event because the television coverage increases during these times. In addition, people watch these events because they’re entertaining and serve as an opportunity to learn more about the sport. These are the times when people are giving the sport much-needed attention. The fanatics should be thankful, instead of spiteful, that support is going around.
Being passionate is good, but if you’re going to belittle people for the petty reason of not supporting a team with the same intensity as you do, then you become inconsiderate.
We constantly complain about how basketball is the main sport of the Filipino, and we could only wish for other sports to be as well-recognized and loved. But if we can’t get rid of the mentality of quickly labelling people as bandwagon fans, then we can’t really expect much growth in these other sports.
One should welcome those who are eager to learn more because this is how the communities grow and build a deeper sense of camaraderie. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a keen follower of a team or sport. Sports should be enjoyed by everyone, and nobody has the right to deny that from anyone.
