Fans #8

Although many people like sports and watch them on television, few people actually have a strong pride in a team, or really care about how a team does on a competitive game-to-game basis. To me people can be categorized in three different fan groups. One type of fan is a fair weather fan. They jump from team to team, most likely to which one is winning. Another type of fan is a part-time fan. They really do not care much about any one team, and just watch whoever is on. Finally, there is what I like to call rabid fans. These fans never miss a game, and root for their team in good and bad times.

The first type of fan that I mentioned is a fair weather fan. These are the kinds of fans that never really jump on board with one specific team. They cheer for whichever team might be winning at the time. These fans will usually say that they are routing for whoever the sports critics say will win the championship in that specific season. These are the fans that get tickets to a game, then run out and by clothing that has the team on it, knowing that they will only wear it one time. Fair weather fans are always the ones that will act like they know a lot about the team that is winning at the time. Most people that are true sports fanatics can honestly tell who the true sports fans are, and who the fair weather fans are. True sports fans honestly cannot stand these people when it comes to sports.

The next type of fan is what I like to call a part-time fan. These fans really do not have a favorite team, or even like sports period. They will watch a game only if there is nothing else on that they would rather watch. They really do not care who wins or loses. Most of the time these fans do not really know much about the sport that they are watching, or know much about sports in general. They go to the games just to hang out with their friends, or be seen by everyone that is there. Part-time fans really do not get into the games that are going on, and would rather be doing anything other than watching a game. 

The final type of fan that I mentioned is a rabid fan. These are the fans that truly have a favorite team, and really care about how their team does throughout the season. You will never here a rabid fan cheer for any team other than his or her favorite. Rabid fans are the ones who are tailgating at the games at eight o’clock in the morning, when the game does not start until five or six o’clock at night. They will be the ones that you will see on television with their chests painted in weather that you cannot even imagine being outside in, much less with your shirt off. They truly feed off how their team does throughout the season, if the team is having a good year then these people will rarely ever be unhappy, but if the team is having a bad year then you do not want to cross paths with them. They will know everything that there is to know about their team, not necessarily in history, but definitely since they have been fans. The rabid fans usually are where you will find the group of people that have the season tickets to all of the home games, and know all of the people that sit around them. They really form a bond with everyone around them at the game, and enjoy seeing all of the friends each home game. I spoke to another friend that has been a long time New York Yankees fan, and he told me that it just feels great to know that you honestly can feel like you are a part of how the team performs on the field. 

As an athlete myself, I know we owe a lot of our success on the field to our rabid fans cheering us on every game. When you here the fans in the stands cheering for you it really gives you that little but of extra motivation to do you job to the best of your abilities, in order to make the fans happy. 

I think that everyone should be a rabid about some kind of sports team because of the ways that you will feel after your team has a good year. The passionate feeling that you get after your team gets a big win or has a good season is indescribable. You do not really get this feeling from any other person or thing. If you truly think about it the team that you cheer for is always there for you. They may not be able to win every game, but they are always there. They never turn there back on you as a fan, and they will do all that they can to make sure that you know that they appreciate you.