Get it Right!! Bandwagon Fans

I saw the Yankees play up in Baltimore last week and was sitting in the LF lower field seats (which were great by the way) when I overheard this conversation behind me.

Note: This isn't word for word, but pretty darn close.

Johnny Damon steps up to the plate.

FAN #1 (male): I like Damon. Didn't he used to be on the Red Sox?
FAN #2 (male): He might have been.

When I turned around to see who said this at a baseball game I see a big 20-something guy decked out in Yankees gear and wearing a Damon jersey. Biting my tounge, I fortunately didn't say anything being in a Gerhig Yankees t-shirt and all. The guy at least knew all the New York cheers for some reason and got some fans into that.


If you think that's bad, here was part of the conversation on the way up with a friend, who considers themself a big Yankee fan, sitting in the back seat as I drove. (Apologies to my friend for making you look bad here, but I have a point to prove)


Radio is tuned to 98.0 AM, John Miller is announcing the starting pitchers for the evening.

Miller: And for the Yankees tonight will be Wang--
Friend: Wang? Who the hell is that?
Me: He's been pitching for them all year. Won 19 games last year and contended for the Cy Young.
Friend: Oh...
Miller: Wang who went 19-6 for the Yankees last year, finished 2nd to Johan Santana for the Cy Young award--
My Girlfriend: [giggles]
Me: See, I should be broadcasting this fucking game.


I'll give one more example. A couple months ago I walked into a bar--no this isn't going to end in a joke--and I was wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers hat. I have one because I used to live in Brooklyn and it's a pretty cool hat, but it in no way means I support the Dodgers organization (some would argue on that point). Anyway, my friend walks in who's a Yankees fan himself and gives me a weird look. Later on in the evening we're talking music (we're both musicians) and this girl walks by...

Girl: Go Red Sox, yeah, Yankees suck!!!
Me: God Dammit!!


That wasn't the first time I got that sort of reaction from the Brooklyn Dodgers hat. I don't mind hearing Yankees suck, but it's the whole Red Sox comment that bothered me. After taking the Lord's name in vein my friend asked why I yelled out what I did and I explained why. He admitted afterwards he thought I was wearing a Red Sox hat as well.

Maybe I'm just being too unforgiving here. I do know my baseball fairly well, follow it daily, and obviously am writing about it every week. Most (normal) people don't do that. Should I blame someone who may have just become a Yankee fan in 2006 who knows nothing about the Damon saga? Is my friend's loyalty for the Yankees a notch below mine because she's never heard of Chien-Ming Wang? And should I stop cursing God because my Brooklyn Dodgers hat somewhat resembles a Red Sox hat?

Since I have to choose between yes and no, I choose yes. If there's one thing in baseball I can not stand it's bandwagon fans and their lack of (some or is basic a better word?) knowledge of the game and the team they "root" for. Oh--and I also disprove of them wearing gear that isn't the true color of the team they are "fans" of.


I can trace my anger and distate for bandwagon fans back to 1996 after the Yankees won the World Series. Now I had become what I consider a "true" Yankee fan in the late 80's and early 90s when they were even worse than they are now. And as a kid, I grew up loving baseball and even wanted to be a ballplayer when I grew up. The former still stands to this day, but I also think if the Yankees signed me tomorrow I could make a difference this year for them (give me a call Cash).

But in the couple years that followed that 1996 World Series win I began to see more and more Yankees fans--so I thought. As the Yankees won more World Series titles, people bought more gear, wore it more often, and even Fred Durst endorsed a Yankees hat from time to time. This should be a great thing, supporting your team, being a fan, and feeling proud to wear Yankees stuff.

However, a lot of these fans didn't know the current team on the field. Or even worse didn't know much of the history of the Yankees. They just wanted to be a Yankee fan because the Yankees were a great team in the late 1990s into the 2000s, their friends were probably fans, they lived in NY or NJ, and they were sell outs.

And we all know sell outs say factually wrong things about players or other teams or even about The Rivalry itself. Just go to any given game.


Yankees aside though, this phenomena is also becoming part of Red Sox Nation. I was living in New York City in 2004 when the Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918. The morning after their victory, to clear my head some, I went running in Central Park. You wouldn't believe how many Red Sox hats I saw in just that hour of running--more than you would have seen the day before and even the 86 years prior.

Of course it's New York and if you're a Red Sox fan maybe you don't wear your hat as much to avoid being pushed on the tracks or whatever shinnanigan a New Yorker would pull. But everyday since that day in October 2004, I've seen more and more Red Sox fans.

And quite honestly a lot of them are bandwagon fans as well. I've said it here on the blog, I need to know the Red Sox better--it's The Rivalry afterall. But when the only words you know as a Red Sox fan are "Big Papi" and "Manny Being Manny"--I have to question why you love the team.

I'll admit this really gets me going and rubs me the wrong way, but it makes me wonder what a fan is anyway. Is it someone who actually watches the games, maybe sees a few in person, and can have a discussion about the team or is it someone who spends money to buy some gear, doesn't watch games even when they're at them, and claims they're a huge _____ (fill in team name) fan?



You let me know.

Note: Links noted above for jerseys and other gear were intentially added for any bandwagon fans reading this post.

Appendix A: Ten Characteristics of a Bandwagon Fan

1. Suddenly becomes a fan of a team after that said team has just become a great team or won a championship.

2. Buys a lot of clothing, videos, and other paraphernalia from the team they suddenly like.

3. When confronted with a true fan of the team they've bandwagoned on, their knowledge and perspective of what's going on with the team can't hold water to the true fans'.

4. Cannot name the usual starters or pitching rotation. Will only know a few of the good players on the team.

5. Usually yells and starts chants a lot at games. Sometimes will get thrown out while yelling, "Hey, I've got a beverage here man!"

6. When their team isn't doing well won't make it through the season and hang it up until next time (or bandwagon on with another team).

7. Does not know anything about any other team in the sport.

8. Buys the best tickets to the game and may not pay attention much while there.

9. Once they get into a fantasy league for the sport, will pick pretty much anyone from their team--folks I have seen this before.

10. Did I mention they sell out?