re: Which is WORSE? Bandwagon fans or Sidewalk fans

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cardboardboxer

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i have a friend in the military who moved to Fort Polk, LA from Detroit. Not much to do in Polk so he started following LSU, attending games, and wearing logos... a sidewalker... right?!

though he has now moved to ATL he is still a Tiger fan and his son who is an astounding middle school FB player is also a LSU fan.

See where im going with this?

Well this is a weird question because pretty much all bandwagoners are sidewalk fans. So basically it comes down to what is worse, sidewalkers who are loyal to their local schools, or sidewalkers who pick winners spread throughout the country. The answer is obvious by itself.


However, bandwagoners usually don't have any real effect on their favorite teams since they don't actually go to games or they most likely live far away where the can't do any damage. You can find hardcore sidewalkers like Updyke and the rest of the piece of shite Alabama fans that can and will do a lot of harm for a school's name.

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Well this is a weird question because pretty much all bandwagoners are sidewalk fans. So basically it comes down to what is worse, sidewalkers who are loyal to their local schools, or sidewalkers who pick winners spread throughout the country. The answer is obvious by itself.

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There are also the douche alums who claim to not follow football when their team isn't good, and then brag to no end when their team is doing well. I know some Auburn graduates IRL who didn't follow football in 2011 and 2012, but passionate fans in 2010 and 2013.

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You can find hardcore sidewalkers like Updyke and the rest of the piece of shite Alabama fans that can and will do a lot of harm for a school's name.

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Exactly my point.

At worst a pure bandwagon fan is going to wear a jersey and act the fool. Annoying but no harm done, they don't care seriously enough to do harm.

Meanwhile a crazy sidewalker will fight people and poison trees "for the cause." Then the university's image is damaged by their crusades, even though they have no affiliation with the school.

It is no contest.

If we are talking about extreme forms of both, sidewalk fans might make the SEC tick but they also are a huge liability.

I guess there are different definitions. I always thought sidewalk fans were fans of schools who never actually went. For me there is nothing wrong with those. There are only 2 big athletic schools in this state so people that are raised here usually grow up rooting for one or the other so even if some of them go off to CoC, Wofford, Furman, etc., they usually still actively root for the bigger school.. buy their merch make the big school money. etc.

Oh please. I doubt half the posters here attended the school they cheer for, and I don't give an actual frick. If, for whatever reason, be it upbringing, a love of particular shades of vivid colors, a reverse-engineered fandom stemming from a player in the pros, a sexual affinity for the mascot, or just plain arbitrariness, they happen to cheer for a certain college over the space of years and seasons regardless of success or failure. They're a real fans simply because they do genuinely love cheering for the school. You can call them sidewalk fans to distinguish them from actual alumni, but it's silly to be condescending toward them when you have no idea what their circumstances are or why they didn't attend that particular (or any, as the case may be) university.

Bandwagon fans, on the other hand, are operating on pure ego, deriving a sense of self-worth by proxy strictly from an ad hoc fandom. I don't hate them -- hard to hate people who just want to feel good -- but I don't respect them.

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a sexual affinity for the mascot,

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i agree with your post in full, btw.

bandwagon fans can go suck a healthy heaping of cock

all the damn Boston hats popping up around BIRMINGHAM AL were bad enough but now people are walking around with gold fleur dis lis hats

motherfricker I don't give two shits about pro ball but unless you were cheering for that shite when the Saints sucked out loud I don't want to hear any "Who Dat" coming from your lips

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I feel like if you are an alum you have earned the right to give whatever level of support you want at any time.

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dumb

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To me a fan comes down to: how much of my identity is tied with a sports brand and how much am I legitimately affiliated to the program.

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dumb

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An alum covers the second part, so they can have as much of the first part as they want. A sidewalk doesn't have the second part, so I feel they need to be careful when it comes to their personal identity.

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dumb

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It is about being good brand ambassadors. An alum has more skin in that game.

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dumb

What about the little nerdy guy who's never watched a football game in his life.....is he a better fan than Joe down the road who's been pulling for his school his entire life but enlisted in the military?

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You can call them sidewalk fans to distinguish them from actual alumni, but it's silly to be condescending toward them when you have no idea what their circumstances are or why they didn't attend that particular (or any, as the case may be) university.

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I think this is where the respect thing comes in.

For a bandwagon fan, your fandom gets no respect. Period. And most bandwagoners don't ask for respect, they just want to enjoy the ride. If they go around rubbing it in everyone's face that their team won no one will take them seriously.

Many sidewalkers DO want respect. They want to be seen as "real" fans, or at least just as real as alums.

There is the disconnect.

As an alum, I am wary of sidewalk fans because on gameday there is no little name badge that says "this person has earned the right to represent this university."

It isn't until after the drunk bitch punches someone, or the tree is poisoned, that we all go back and say "and that person never even attended the university!" By then its too late, damage done, no take backs.

So I feel sidewalk fans should have more respect, even than an average alum, for the brand they have attached themselves to and take great care not to misrepresent that brand.

That is how I am with the Saints because all NFL brands are sidewalk brands. I never talk trash to rival NFL fans because I have no right to, as I don't work for Benson or the organization.

Problem is many sidewalkers have less respect than the average alum for the brand they follow, and that is why overall they are the worst group of fans.