All bandwagons should have wobbly wheels
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
I know loyalty in sports is few and far between these days.
Though I'm not that old, you can say I'm old school as I am a one-team (per sport) man. Though, I do like players from other teams.
Players don't stay with one team their entire careers, and owners will ship a player out of town if they can make or save a couple bucks.
But what bothers me the most in sports isn't the multi-million dollar contracts (we would all play for that type of money if we had the talent. Don't kid yourself). No, what bugs me the most are fans of a team simply because they are winning games.
Where I'm from, I like to call them bandwagon fans.
Yep, fans who switch from team to team simply for the fact of cheering for a winner are, in my mind, the worst part of sports.
My question to them is, How can that be fun?
Sure, the bandwagon fans get to party each and every championship, but really, take it from a fan who cheered 15 years for a baseball team before they actually won a World Series, it means a lot more if you had the bad times, then get the good times unexpectedly.
Sure, we all know I am a fan of America's Team, but I've even had some bad times mixed with them. The bad times started in 1989 when I first became a fan of the Cowboys. They won one stinkin' game. Their QB was a rookie named Troy Aikman. They had a second-year wide receiver named Michael Irvin, and well, that was about it.
My reason for liking them came down to two things: The first reason was they had a player by the name of Ed "Too Tall" Jones, and the second reason was the star.
Well, in my elementary school years, up to sixth grade, the Cowboys won three Super Bowls. Those were the good times.
The bad times: three straight 5-11 seasons.
But since those years, things are looking up for my team, but they still only have one playoff win in the past 10 years.
Now, I say to, Mr. Bandwagon Fan: What is your back story? Can you tell a tale of your team having losing seasons?
What, no story?
I thought so!
I feel bad for Cincinnati Bengals fans (no, not really), but I do to a point.
I have a buddy who has cheered for Cincinnati since we were in the second grade. He's stuck with the team when they had the likes of David Klingler, Ki-Jana Carter, Akili Smith, "Big Daddy" Dan Wilkinson and Scott Mitchell, to name a few. He also lived through coach Dave (not Don) Shula, who won 19 games in the early-to-mid ‘90s.
Heck, his (and your) Bengals have one player in the Hall of Fame in Anthony Munoz.
But lately, the Bengals have won two AFC North titles, and guess what?
Here comes the bandwagon fans out of the wood work.
Just because people live in Ohio and the Bengals actually win games these days doesn't make them a die-hard fan.
How many of the bandwagon fans can tell us about the history of the Bengals without looking it up on Google?
How many riders of the wagon of band can tell me about your worst moment as a Bengals fan that doesn't involve a game from the past few seasons?
I asked my buddy about his worst moment as a Bengals fan, and he had to sit and think about it, saying: "(Dang), that's been almost 20 years!"
One of the current moments that was heartbreaking for him happened in the 2005 playoffs when Carson Palmer went down against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After thinking about it, he said in 1999 when the Bengals picked Akili Smith with the No. 3 pick.
In that draft, Cincinnati could have had Edgerrin James, Torry Holt, Champ Bailey, Jevon Kearse, Antoine Winfield. Those were just some of the players taken in the first round in 1999.
And please don’t get me started on Ohio State fans who go shopping during games with OSU gear on, but say they live- and-die by the Buckeyes when the Michigan game or any BCS bowl comes around. (Even my friends who are OSU fans agree with me on that statement.)
Look around, you can see it happening with the Cincinnati Reds right now.
Where were all these people at the start of the summer when they began to fight for first place?
But back to my argument. As a sports fan, I can't stand bandwagon fans, but if I was a owner, I would love them.
How can't owners love fans who just happen to take notice when a team does well? That means more ticket and merchandise sales.
One of my favorite things to do is just randomly talk to people who "love" a so-called team, well, like most Chicago Cubs fans. (Most of them go to Wrigley just to party.)
You can tell who the real fans are of a team just by how they react to certain moments when they are brought up.
Like going back to when Palmer went down in '05, my buddy got a sad, painful look on his face when I asked him about his worst moments as a fan of the Bengals.
With bandwagon fans, all they can tell you about is how they cheered for the Yankees one season, then were fans of the Indians when they made a run in the '90s. Not to mention how they happened to be a St. Louis Rams fan, then a Baltimore Ravens fan the years they happened to win a Super Bowl. I have a friend like that, he even admits it. He says he just likes cheering for winners.
Not me. I am maybe too loyal to my teams, but that is part of being a fan. I don't get as mad as I used to for baseball games (my blood pressure can’t handle that), and maybe I do yell at my football teams too much, but you know what, when push comes to shove, I will stay with my team until the bitter end.
And to fans who are like me and stay with their team no matter what, you are cool in my book. And to fans of just the "winning" team, thanks for cheering, but you will never know how it truly feels when you wait, wait, and wait, then BOOM! Your team wins.
As a sports fan, there is nothing better!
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
Though I'm not that old, you can say I'm old school as I am a one-team (per sport) man. Though, I do like players from other teams.
Players don't stay with one team their entire careers, and owners will ship a player out of town if they can make or save a couple bucks.
But what bothers me the most in sports isn't the multi-million dollar contracts (we would all play for that type of money if we had the talent. Don't kid yourself). No, what bugs me the most are fans of a team simply because they are winning games.
Where I'm from, I like to call them bandwagon fans.
Yep, fans who switch from team to team simply for the fact of cheering for a winner are, in my mind, the worst part of sports.
My question to them is, How can that be fun?
Sure, the bandwagon fans get to party each and every championship, but really, take it from a fan who cheered 15 years for a baseball team before they actually won a World Series, it means a lot more if you had the bad times, then get the good times unexpectedly.
Sure, we all know I am a fan of America's Team, but I've even had some bad times mixed with them. The bad times started in 1989 when I first became a fan of the Cowboys. They won one stinkin' game. Their QB was a rookie named Troy Aikman. They had a second-year wide receiver named Michael Irvin, and well, that was about it.
My reason for liking them came down to two things: The first reason was they had a player by the name of Ed "Too Tall" Jones, and the second reason was the star.
Well, in my elementary school years, up to sixth grade, the Cowboys won three Super Bowls. Those were the good times.
The bad times: three straight 5-11 seasons.
But since those years, things are looking up for my team, but they still only have one playoff win in the past 10 years.
Now, I say to, Mr. Bandwagon Fan: What is your back story? Can you tell a tale of your team having losing seasons?
What, no story?
I thought so!
I feel bad for Cincinnati Bengals fans (no, not really), but I do to a point.
I have a buddy who has cheered for Cincinnati since we were in the second grade. He's stuck with the team when they had the likes of David Klingler, Ki-Jana Carter, Akili Smith, "Big Daddy" Dan Wilkinson and Scott Mitchell, to name a few. He also lived through coach Dave (not Don) Shula, who won 19 games in the early-to-mid ‘90s.
Heck, his (and your) Bengals have one player in the Hall of Fame in Anthony Munoz.
But lately, the Bengals have won two AFC North titles, and guess what?
Here comes the bandwagon fans out of the wood work.
Just because people live in Ohio and the Bengals actually win games these days doesn't make them a die-hard fan.
How many of the bandwagon fans can tell us about the history of the Bengals without looking it up on Google?
How many riders of the wagon of band can tell me about your worst moment as a Bengals fan that doesn't involve a game from the past few seasons?
I asked my buddy about his worst moment as a Bengals fan, and he had to sit and think about it, saying: "(Dang), that's been almost 20 years!"
One of the current moments that was heartbreaking for him happened in the 2005 playoffs when Carson Palmer went down against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After thinking about it, he said in 1999 when the Bengals picked Akili Smith with the No. 3 pick.
In that draft, Cincinnati could have had Edgerrin James, Torry Holt, Champ Bailey, Jevon Kearse, Antoine Winfield. Those were just some of the players taken in the first round in 1999.
And please don’t get me started on Ohio State fans who go shopping during games with OSU gear on, but say they live- and-die by the Buckeyes when the Michigan game or any BCS bowl comes around. (Even my friends who are OSU fans agree with me on that statement.)
Look around, you can see it happening with the Cincinnati Reds right now.
Where were all these people at the start of the summer when they began to fight for first place?
But back to my argument. As a sports fan, I can't stand bandwagon fans, but if I was a owner, I would love them.
How can't owners love fans who just happen to take notice when a team does well? That means more ticket and merchandise sales.
One of my favorite things to do is just randomly talk to people who "love" a so-called team, well, like most Chicago Cubs fans. (Most of them go to Wrigley just to party.)
You can tell who the real fans are of a team just by how they react to certain moments when they are brought up.
Like going back to when Palmer went down in '05, my buddy got a sad, painful look on his face when I asked him about his worst moments as a fan of the Bengals.
With bandwagon fans, all they can tell you about is how they cheered for the Yankees one season, then were fans of the Indians when they made a run in the '90s. Not to mention how they happened to be a St. Louis Rams fan, then a Baltimore Ravens fan the years they happened to win a Super Bowl. I have a friend like that, he even admits it. He says he just likes cheering for winners.
Not me. I am maybe too loyal to my teams, but that is part of being a fan. I don't get as mad as I used to for baseball games (my blood pressure can’t handle that), and maybe I do yell at my football teams too much, but you know what, when push comes to shove, I will stay with my team until the bitter end.
And to fans who are like me and stay with their team no matter what, you are cool in my book. And to fans of just the "winning" team, thanks for cheering, but you will never know how it truly feels when you wait, wait, and wait, then BOOM! Your team wins.
As a sports fan, there is nothing better!
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]