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Fanhood discussion- what is considered sidewalk/bandwagon?
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:18 pm
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:18 pm
What do you consider to be bandwagon or sidewalk fans?
I see a lot of people using alumni status as a measure of sidewalk or not. That seems silly to me. I didn't go to LSU. I grew up an LSU fan my whole life but my family moved to Ohio when I was in middle school, and I stayed in state to go to college. Was I supposed to stop being an LSU fan, or was I supposed to make the biggest decision of my life to that point based on who I rooted for in sports? I stayed in state for a variety of reasons.
I think if someone chooses a different college than the one in which grows up a fan of team A but attends school B because of financial or educational progam reasons, I see no issue with their "fanhood" in question. Being a fan of one school for football and another for basketball is definitely questionable. Also, if you stay in the same state as the school you root for but attend another school- that's pretty questionable (unless it makes sense from an academic or financial standpoint).
What are the official rules?
I see a lot of people using alumni status as a measure of sidewalk or not. That seems silly to me. I didn't go to LSU. I grew up an LSU fan my whole life but my family moved to Ohio when I was in middle school, and I stayed in state to go to college. Was I supposed to stop being an LSU fan, or was I supposed to make the biggest decision of my life to that point based on who I rooted for in sports? I stayed in state for a variety of reasons.
I think if someone chooses a different college than the one in which grows up a fan of team A but attends school B because of financial or educational progam reasons, I see no issue with their "fanhood" in question. Being a fan of one school for football and another for basketball is definitely questionable. Also, if you stay in the same state as the school you root for but attend another school- that's pretty questionable (unless it makes sense from an academic or financial standpoint).
What are the official rules?
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:23 pm to Tigerfan56
Real Fans = Alumni
Sidewalk = People who didn't go to school there but still cheer for the school even in bad times.
Bandwagon = People who cheer for the school when they are doing good and are no where to be found in the bad years.
Sidewalk = People who didn't go to school there but still cheer for the school even in bad times.
Bandwagon = People who cheer for the school when they are doing good and are no where to be found in the bad years.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:23 pm to Tigerfan56
On this site, if you're not Alumni, you ain't shite...
(Non Alum here)
(Non Alum here)
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:23 pm to Tigerfan56
A bandwagon fan is basically a casual sports fan. They pick a team that will be engaged in the advanced stages of the season and enjoy the ride. If I was getting into a sport I didn't know much about, like golf, I would follow a player that played advanced tournaments and won them in order to get a better understanding of the sport.
A sidewalk fan is a person with no real affiliation with a program who unilaterality decides despite this lack of affiliation they are part of the program. This is MUCH MUCH worse than a bandwagon (though they can overlap) because it creates a disconnect of public representation.
Now please note, I don't think if you didn't attend a university then you are a sidewalker. I believe if you have any strong affiliation- you pay to send kids there, you have donated large amounts to the program, by marriage or family you have strong ties to the program, etc.- then you are not a sidewalker.
To me a sidewalker is a fan who picks a team due to being in the same state or area, and will refer to that team as a "we" despite these lack of affiliations or even attending a significant number of games in person.
And even then, sidewalkers aren't bad. They only get back when they feel empowered by this arbitrary affiliation and they decide to talk shite to fans of other teams who are real fans with real ties to their program.
In those cases, sidewalk fans can completely go frick themselves.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:24 pm to Tigerfan56
Whatever lets you sleep at night sidewalker. Here's an idea! Why not cheer for the school you actually attended?
If you didn't attend the school or have an immediate relative attend the school (brother, sister, son, or daughter), you're out IMO.
If you didn't attend the school or have an immediate relative attend the school (brother, sister, son, or daughter), you're out IMO.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:25 pm to Tigerfan56
Meh. Sidewalk fans pay the bills
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:25 pm to Tigerfan56
i went to southeastern for track. sorry, but scholarship > fandom
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:27 pm to Tigerfan56
Former Student here. DGAF about how many sidewalk/tshirt/bandwagon type fans any school has.
It's irksome when those types of fans try to run academic smack, though.
It's irksome when those types of fans try to run academic smack, though.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:27 pm to cardboardboxer
quote:
To me a sidewalker is a fan who picks a team due to being in the same state or area, and will refer to that team as a "we" despite these lack of affiliations or even attending a significant number of games in person.
How is this any different from being a fan of a professional team?
That's what gets me. Most fans of teams (other than colleges and schools) have no affiliation with the organization which they root for aside from living in the area. Are college fans just better fans than professional fans because they have that "real" connection?
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:29 pm to Tigerfan56
The distinction that matters to me is whether or not you care about the school. That is the biggest difference between most alums and most sidewalk fans.
If you have tons of LSU fans in your family and grew up loving LSU and circumstances led you elsewhere, you likely still care about LSU for things other than football (or, of course, baseball).
But most sidewalk fans don't care about that. They don't know who the President of the university is and they don't know what the struggles are that the university is confronting. They don't know about a lot of the non-sports traditions or care much about academic reputation.
That said, I'll certainly go to a bar with sidewalk AU fans and carry on and treat them like alum-fans. But on the "other stuff" which is 50% or more of what being an AU fan/person is about to me personally, we won't have that in common.
If you have tons of LSU fans in your family and grew up loving LSU and circumstances led you elsewhere, you likely still care about LSU for things other than football (or, of course, baseball).
But most sidewalk fans don't care about that. They don't know who the President of the university is and they don't know what the struggles are that the university is confronting. They don't know about a lot of the non-sports traditions or care much about academic reputation.
That said, I'll certainly go to a bar with sidewalk AU fans and carry on and treat them like alum-fans. But on the "other stuff" which is 50% or more of what being an AU fan/person is about to me personally, we won't have that in common.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:29 pm to Aubie Spr96
quote:
Whatever lets you sleep at night sidewalker. Here's an idea! Why not cheer for the school you actually attended?
I do cheer for them. I also cheer for LSU. This is going to sound weird, but I chose my college based off things like academics, tuition expense, and available programs. My sports fandom wasn't a factor in it.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:30 pm to TbirdSpur2010
quote:
Former Student here. DGAF about how many sidewalk/tshirt/bandwagon type fans any school has.
Even the alums are t shirt fans at A&M
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:31 pm to Pettifogger
quote:
Even the alums are t shirt fans at A&M
This makes no sense.
Also, you've trotted out that line before, iirc
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:31 pm to Tigerfan56
quote:
That's what gets me. Most fans of teams (other than colleges and schools) have no affiliation with the organization which they root for aside from living in the area. Are college fans just better fans than professional fans because they have that "real" connection?
Yes, usually. There is way more depth to supporting a college, especially as an alum, than there is to supporting a pro sports team. I'm not saying we're better than pro sports fans (of which I count myself), but there is more to it.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:32 pm to Tigerfan56
quote:
How is this any different from being a fan of a professional team?
Why are college sports treated differently than minor leagues? Same reasoning.
The alums create a connection that is the basis of everything. NFL Europe or the XFL did way worse than college football. It is not a pro sport, it is a marketing arm of a university.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:34 pm to TbirdSpur2010
If so I don't remember. But I thought A&M people acknowledged they break with most SEC schools on the t shirts to games thing (especially female Aggies).
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:34 pm to Pettifogger
quote:
There is way more depth to supporting a college, especially as an alum, than there is to supporting a pro sports team. I'm not saying we're better than pro sports fans (of which I count myself), but there is more to it.
Agreed.
That's not to discount the importance/fandom of other types of followers of said school, but it's usually a different type of connection.
There are always exceptions, though.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:35 pm to TbirdSpur2010
I don't mean to be lame about it, but alums spend some of their most significant adult maturation years at these respective places. People meet wives and develop lifelong friendships and business relationships. Some of that happens in pro sports fandom, but not as much, I'd think.
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:36 pm to Pettifogger
quote:
If so I don't remember.
I think I confused you with a different poster. My apologies
quote:
I thought A&M people acknowledged they break with most SEC schools on the t shirts to games thing (especially female Aggies).
In that we don't really adhere to a gameday dress code as a school? Yeah, probably.
Sorry, thought you were going somewhere else with your earlier post
This post was edited on 6/3/15 at 4:36 pm
Posted on 6/3/15 at 4:36 pm to Tigerfan56
I don't think better, just different
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