Real sports fans are under attack like never before. There are too many fake fans among us. In the sports world, fake fans are known as bandwagon fans. Bandwagon fans are people who like a sport team just because of their recent success. A real fan, however, likes a sport team regardless of whether their team wins or loses. A true fan supports their team on the good and bad days. Bandwagon fans can’t relate to the bad days. They can’t relate to the laughter and ridicule true fans go through when they wear their team’s gear during losing years. They don’t have to explain to everyone why they are a fan. Bandwagons never have to deal with that. They only show up when a team is doing well.
One team in the NBA, that has spent the last five years losing (126 wins, 284 loses), threw all their pennies into the “wishing well" and landed arguably the best basketball player on the planet, LeBron James. He shoots and passes with the best of them. Frankly, some think he would even dominate in space jams too. The team is the Los Angeles Lakers.
July 9, 2018 may go down in history as the day the Lakers also landed the most bandwagon fans in the history of sports when James left the Cleveland Cavaliers and signed with Los Angeles. By adding James, many feel the Lakers will improve their wins tremendously. However, wins attract bandwagons.
After five years of being branded the Fakers, LA has returned to being called the Lakers again. Ironically, it seems the faker label can now be attached to this new fan base of bandwagons. Where were they when the Lakers were the laughing stock of the NBA?
Ashton Crone, a junior finance major and life-long Dallas Mavericks fan, also noticed the new fans, stating, "There didn't seem to be as many last year." Crone’s assessment is correct as the Laker fans were few, but now they are everywhere, in every basketball “nook and cranny.”
It is safe to say that the sports world has been inundated with bandwagon fans for a long time. But that does not make it right. The rule is pick a team and stick with it.
Patrick Scriven, sophomore journalism major, is a Washington D.C.-area sports fan. He likes the Wizards, Redskins, Orioles, Nationals, D.C United and especially the Capitals. On the Laker bandwagon fans, he says, “I hate it very, very much. In my opinion, you support your team. Players get traded. That's what happens in sports."
Scriven has it figured out. It’s simple. It’s cool to have a favorite player on another team. Free agency rules allows players to move from team to team as well. But a true fan stays true to their team.
So now, what are we going to do with all the new Laker fans? How do the current Laker fans feel about the new acquired fans?
"I was aware of the bandwagon hype," says SA President and noted Laker fan, Rhidge Garcia, as he shrugs his shoulders. He seemed to expect the new converts converging on LA.
Super Laker fan since childhood Mark Galvez, a junior theology major, jokingly wondered about their authenticity. “All these new Laker fans are not faithful. If you can't be faithful in the small things you can't be faithful in the bigger things. So stick to one team. Preferably the Lakers. Welcome home.”
Junior archeology major David Runnels, another self-proclaimed Laker fan since birth, was not as accommodating. Emphatic on not being a James fan, he shared his feelings on the new incoming fans, “STAY. IN. CLEVELAND.”
What a confusing message between these two fans. Welcome home and stay away.
To all the true fans out there, stay strong. To Cleveland Browns fans, remember the Chicago Cubs. It’s going to happen one day, and it will be amazing. Orlando Magic fans? Those are true fans right there. We will be back, one day. The sign of a true fan is believing when no one else does. Even when it is second down and twenty-six yards to go in overtime of the championship game. A true fan will believe.
There is no way to stop the constant stream of bandwagon fans. They will always be among us. Freshmen business administration major Xavier Snyder, is currently ranked #1 and tied for #2 in Talge Hall’s NFL and NCAA football picks respectively. He obviously knows his sports. He may have found a way to distinguish the true Laker fans from the bandwagon fans. Snyder says, “If someone is claiming to be a Lakers fan, they need to have at least one Kobe jersey and one Magic jersey. That’s the only way I can accept they are truly a Lakers fan.”
Good point. Maybe we should check their receipts too.