There are various types of sports fans with many different ranges of commitment to the games they love. For some people, sports may be taken lightly but for others, it might be their entire life. Below are four well known types of sports fans ranked on levels of commitment, and annoyance.
The Fantasy Fans
Overall, Fantasy Fans are not bad sports fans. They don’t really force their interest in fantasy into those who aren’t into it, however, they really only like to converse with those who also play and know the game. Fantasy sports fans are constantly glued to phones or computers stalking their own teams. It doesn’t matter where they are or what they are doing, they will always know what’s happening with Fantasy. If they can fit anything Fantasy into a conversation, they will. These fans have every sports app imaginable on their phones like ESPN, Bleacher Report, and obviously any national sports league app they follow. Their phones are being blown up with notifications almost all the time–especially on draft or trade days.
The Unlucky Fans
If you are a fan of a team such as the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs or the NFL’s Detroit Lions, you are one patient loyal fan. These types of fans always hope that year is their team’s year but somehow are almost always let down. When these fans’ teams do something minorly good, they get overly excited, trashed by more fortunate fans, and then go back into their shells once their team slips up again. Besides the never-ending complaints, these fans aren’t so bad. Plus, you have to give them some credit for how loyal they are to their teams.
The Die-Hard Fans
We all have that one person in our life where almost every interaction includes something about their favorite sport and or team. Being around one of these “obsessed” fans is not easy because they’ll never stop talking about their team. The worst thing you could do is approach one of these fans after a big loss; you’ll never hear the end of it. Any die-hard sports fan has a jersey (if not multiple) and some sort of shrine somewhere in their house. You can almost guarantee they have upcoming game tickets flooding their Ticketmaster app or season tickets to their team’s home arena. Being a die-hard sports fan is a love-hate experience. It is an emotional roller coaster dealing with wins and losses, but any obsessed fan will tell you it’s absolutely worth it. If you are into sports and want someone to talk to for hours about a certain team, these fans are the ones to go to. On a bad day these fans could be really emotional, but it’s only because of their love for their sport.
The Bandwagon Fans
If you’re a bandwagon fan, congrats, you’re the absolute worst. When you get into a sport, it’s normal to like multiple teams, maybe even develop a favorite one, and then switch after a year or so of zeroing in on what fanbase you want to be a part of. However, if every season you switch to supporting a team only because they are doing good that particular season, you are a bandwagon hopper. Every other sports fan hates these fans as they come and go. It is a betrayal to loyal fans who support their team even during bad seasons. It’s normal to get frustrated at a team’s loss or bad record, but that doesn’t mean you should jump to a different team when they suddenly have a spike in their wins. If you hop from team to team once they finally start doing well and can’t commit to a team, you are the worst type of sports fan.