So after the Celts won the title on Tuesday night, I was bombarded with e-mails, texts, and fb messages from many new Celtic fans. I didn’t remember anyone reppin the C’s last year when they tanked the last half of the season, won 24 games, and didn’t even make the playoffs. So where did all of these new C’s fans come from? Patrick Hruby from ESPN.com has done an excellent breakdown of the different types of bandwagon fans out there.
First off, let me classify myself. Since I’m from Roanoke, VA, there is no reason why I should be a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. But my loyalty goes way back. My favorite basketball player of all time will always be Magic Johnson. I still remember the baby skyhook for the win in the Finals over Larry Legend and the Celts. I wore the number 32 on every rec league team I ever played on and even as an undersized power forward in high school. My loyalty to Magic is deep. It just so happened that in 1996 when the Mamba joined my squad that my loyalty attached to him as well, making him my favorite player of the moment. So yes, according to Hruby’s criteria, I am a Party Apparatrik.
Fans who pledged their fealty to an acknowledged, national-level bandwagon squad before they were old enough to know right from wrong — and never bothered to rethink matters. Examples include impressionable ’70s children who still root for the Pittsburgh Steelers, ’80s youngsters who love Pacman and the San Francisco 49ers, and millennium kids who back the St. Louis Rams. Apparatchiks are dutiful but misguided, good soldiers fighting bad wars.
To explain the recent Celtics fans, I think most of them are either a) One-Man Bandwagoners or b) Sunshine Patriots. The explanation for each:
One-Man Bangwagoners- Similar to fantasy sports junkies, these fans don’t root for laundry — they root for the name on the back of the jersey, making them loyal and true right up to the next trade and/or free agent ship-jumping. This group includes Kevin Durant stalwarts who can’t locate Seattle on a map of Washington state, anyone wearing a Kobe Bryant Minneapolis Lakers throwback, anyone not born or currently residing in Cleveland with a LeBron James alternate in their closet and anyone who has ever even considered purchasing a Michael Jordan Bullets jersey.
Most people told me that they were rooting for the Celts b/c of KG or Ray Allen, making them fans this year. So did you still rep the Sonics and TWolves while they totally sucked this year? Or does that mean you get to pick and choose who you root for each year whenever your favorite player gets traded? I saw a lot of this when Snaq got traded to the Heat and they won the chip. How’s that Snaq Heat Jersey working out for you now? Or did you jump ship to the Suns and lose in the first round? That’s ether right there.
Sunshine Patriots- Fans who shove their way to the cockpit when a local team is flying high, only to pull the EJECT handle at the first sign of turbulence. Think Atlanta Hawks fans filling Philips Arena’s otherwise half-empty lower bowl during this year’s NBA playoffs, or Florida Marlins supporters any time the team reaches the World Series. By being true to their hometown clubs, Sunshine Patriots have their hearts in the right place. But you wouldn’t count on them to shovel your driveway after a quarter-inch of snow, let alone a blizzard.
This is most common to those living in the Boston area. You couldn’t even sell out the TD NorthBank Arena last year. You chanted my dude’s name in the Garden last year!! Now you’re telling him he isn’t Jordan and celebrating in the streets? I’m like this…if you’re going to be a fan, be a fan full-time. You can’t pick and choose when it’s convenient. Like, “ooh, my team is winning now, let me rep.” I have been a Laker fan through it all- Magic with HIV (I cried after school), the Magic coaching experiment, the Snaq trade…it hasn’t been easy, but I have gotten a couple of chips out of it.
So which one are you? You can choose from Stargazers, ‘Dog Groomers, Fans Scorned, Bizarro Bandwagoners, Grand Wagoneers, and those 3 that I mentioned above. Check out Hruby’s article and tell me where you fall in.
lik dot
PS…Big Baby lookin kinda suspect in that pic above…I guess that’s how you act when you only win chips once every 20 years. (Can you tell I’m still a lil salty?)
Tags: Bandwagon Fans, Boston Celtics, Glen Davis, NBA Finals
June 20, 2008 at 8:38 am
Man I feel you. I had people who can’t name 3 Celtics from last year’s squad calling me talking trash. Kobe this, Kobe that. KG, Ray Ray, The Truth. LA sux.
I even had a Nuggets fan have the audacity to start talking ish. Talking about LA defense. Didn’t we sweep yall? O.K. Thank You. Good night.
Yeah big baby look suspect, it’s another picture out there where he’s lookin kinda “silly.”
June 20, 2008 at 9:13 am
I didn’t start cheering for the Celts until tip-off of game 1 on the finals. I didn’t think they were built for the playoffs, and I thought there was no way they would be able to beat the Lakers. When Bos and LA won their respective series I immediately became ambivalent because I really didn’t want either side to win. So I found myself cheering for Kobe’s failure.
I would say I’m a party apparatchik. Not because of the team’s success but because I latched on to players. I just HAPPENED to latch onto Michael Jordan (so I’m a Bulls fan), Emmitt Smith (so I’m a Cowboys fan) and Barry Bonds (so I’m a Giants fan). Jordan brought me to the game but Dennis Rodman taught me to love it, so D-Rod became my favorite player (hence the 91 in my name).
July 5, 2008 at 10:33 pm
OK, well i don’t really know which category i fall in but i will tell u my story and let u decide.
i just turned 19 in june
i lived in california till i was 9 years old since i was in the 2nd grade i was a lakers fan. i remember riding the bus and me and the bus driver would make bets on the games where if the lakers won i would get a box of doughnuts and if they lost i would have to clean the bus. lets just say that i didn’t clean the bus that much. i loved the lakers and i didn’t even really know about all the history. i moved to VA when i was 9 and i still and will forever love the lakers because Kobe is my favorite player and even if Kobe gets traded i will still love the lakers and just watch Kobe do what he does. i have been telling ppl for years since the 3 peat that we would make a return but i said that we would need to get rid of garbage ass Kwame Brown and once we did that we would be in the championship run again. i mean we made it to the playoffs every year after the the 3 peat even wit that wack ass team we had for a lil while and u know what even wit that wack ass team i was still watchin kobe throw his hands up like jordan wit us bein down 3-2 in the series. but to make a long story short i am a ride or die lakers fan and i am proud that we made it back to the finals becuz that is wat progression is. its not like tha lakers won’t have another shot next year and believe me Kobe ain goin down wit out a fight. neither is Odom, Pau, Fisher, or BYNUM!!! lets get it!!!
P.S. Kobe didn’t play in the 2004 USA olympix so look for that gold to come back to where it belongs!!!