Tar Heel Nation: What Type of Fan Are You?
By mattstradley
There are so many different kinds of fans out there. I’ve thought of a few fan types. Feel free to add your own fan types in the comments section.
Die Hard, True Blood, Tinted Glasses fan. These fans believe their team has never lost a game, the referees are atrocious (many fan groups believe this), there is a vast conspiracy against their team (every NC State fan group involves this angle). This fan can be the most fun when things are going well and potentially the worst when things are going poorly. Ironically, these fans don’t necessarily know a whole lot about the team or the sport they are cheering for. They’re also quick to
Haters – This fan group cheers a little for their team, but draws more satisfaction in your team’s struggles. I’m not talking about how everyone in the United States that wasn’t a Dook fan absolutely loved every second of screaming LeHigh!!!! at the top of their lungs. I’m not even talking about me screaming LeHigh!!!! every time I walk by a person wearing a Blue Devils shirt, hat etc. That’s just good natured fun. I’m talking about someone whose team can be absolutely miserable, but if your team’s season is worse, they consider it a good season.
Ride or Die – I consider this fan group to be the guys and girls that show up, cheer hard for their team, love their team, revel in wins and feel the losses, but they’ll never stop cheering for their team or their guys/girls. This fan base was the last to admit that perhaps, maybe, Drew II wasn’t the exact engine that should be powering the UNC Basketball Team. Loyalty is high with this group, but they don’t take it to the conspiratorial level of the Die Hard, True Blood etc. group.
Part Time Fans – They have a lot going on in life. They can’t go to the games, but they catch what they can on TV. They’re proud of their association, and like to cheer for their team, but they don’t have that primitive tie to the team anymore. I don’t blame them. Trying to explain to a two year old why the rotational spin put on a basketball by a 19 year old college student is way more interesting than a purple dinosaur or a red monster named Elmo is nearly impossible. I’ve floated through this classification.
The fans who will undoubtedly sit behind you wherever you sit – God I hate these fans. You know the ones, they constantly yell “SIT DOWN.” Here’s the thing. No. Screw you. This isn’t the Masters. We aren’t trying to intimidate the opponent by making a scary face or give them an awkward silence so they can think about the poor decision in their college of choice. Cheer. Stand up and make noise. And by the way, I hate you.
Here’s to all the fans that cheer for their team. Love their players. Understand their faults and failures and love them for playing for their school. Feel bad after losses. Talk about amazing games for the rest of your lives. Buy all kinds of goofy stuff (like a garden gnome dressed in light blue) to show your support. There’s nothing like being a fan. It’s really something that brings us together as a community. No matter our differences, we cheer for the same team. We’ll always have that.
I see myself a bit in all of the above. Where do you see yourself? What category did I miss?