Bandwagoners

[thursday727]

Is any other area more notorious for this than Tampa Bay?
I hate how Rays, Bucs, and Lightning fans go crazy when they do good but just stop giving a shit when they do bad.
I think we just lose hope easily because of all the years of horribleness.

[fightinirish217]

Boston, of course!

I kid, I kid...

...or do I?

[spunkmastaflex]

Happens way way way more often than you realize. Happens everywhere and every time a team starts doing well or is doing well

[TEAMRAMROD]

I'd say this occurs pretty much everywhere.

[Flags of Dawn]

Winning cures everything.

[HometownHero]

The Blazers. Every fucker here hated them when Rasheed and Damon and such were here. Now its RIP CITY!!!!!!!!!! Fucking hate it.

[thursday727]

I'd say this occurs pretty much everywhere.
yes but it seems we get accused of it alot.

[thursday727]

speaking of tampa i just remembered this song.
i4w6K5fA1Hg

[SwiftSilentDead]

Used to annoy the living shit out of me but I deal with it nowadays. There's a lot of Caps fans where I live that don't give a shit about the team until the playoffs but hey, at least they're fans. :shrug:

[stevo71]

Cowboys fans are the absolute worst when it comes to this. After the Giants game there were so many facebook statuses that said stuff like "I want Kitna", among others. Most cowboy fans know NOTHING about football.

[roughroads]

the patriots are the worst bandwagon team man,
in like 2001 every one decided to become a fan,

[sevinw0rds]

Miami is pretty damn good at this.

1997 and 2003 Florida Marlins were all anyone could talk about in those years. Empty stadium now, even when they're pushing for the playoffs.
1996 Florida Panthers "The Year of the Rat." Most people don't even acknowledge that we still have a hockey team.
The Dolphins seem to have a steady following, but I honestly cannot blame anyone for abandoning the stadium in 2007 when we went 1-15.

[Supernovacaine]

Basketball, Cleveland Cavs fans. I stuck with this team (cause all my family is from Cleveland) since I was a kid and watched them get stomped season after season. Then Lebron came in.. not that I don't mind because they're actually winning games now, but the bandwagon for the team since then has been massive.

[mht]

Pennsylvania is by far the worst for this.

[EvilZeppelin]

Steelers...

[abcdefghijake]

Boston, of course!

I kid, I kid...

...or do I?

the only thing you need to look at is the attendance before the Celtics got KG, then the attendance after they got him. They clearly in this.

[abcdefghijake]

Pennsylvania is by far the worst for this.

Are you mentally challenged? being a homer doesn't mean you're a bandwagon fan...

[joelibyan]

Miami is pretty damn good at this.

1997 and 2003 Florida Marlins were all anyone could talk about in those years. Empty stadium now, even when they're pushing for the playoffs.
1996 Florida Panthers "The Year of the Rat." Most people don't even acknowledge that we still have a hockey team.
The Dolphins seem to have a steady following, but I honestly cannot blame anyone for abandoning the stadium in 2007 when we went 1-15.
LOL, you stole my thunder, dude! And don't forget the Heat. AAA is empty the first half of the year (when it's still football season), and then only fills up towards the end of the season if they're going to the playoffs.

And in defense of Tampa, at least they support a winner. The Rays games were very well attended this year (even when the post season was clearly out of reach), while the Marlins were nowhere near a sellout crowd all year. Don't forget, the Marlins were a better team than the Rays this year. If the public perceives a commitment by a team's owner, the public will commit back to the team, which is what happened in Tampa when the Rays were sold a couple of years ago. It's hard to rabidly support a combination of on-the-field losing and in-the-office apathy.

[xbrokendownx]

the Rays were at 52.9% capacity for the year while the Marlins were at 51.7%. how exactly is that a big difference?

[Zeran]

Happens way way way more often than you realize. Happens everywhere and every time a team starts doing well or is doing well

this.

it's pretty difficult and a big commitment in order to be a "diehard", therefore it's much easier to become interested when things are actually interesting.

[iheartmusic043]

I think there are alot of Penguins fans and Steelers fans that are bandwagoners. But I think the worst is when bandwagoners that are girls wear pink jerseys. That makes me so mad.

[mht]

Are you mentally challenged? being a homer doesn't mean you're a bandwagon fan...


what the fuck does this have to do with anything? there are more teams in PA than just Philly sports teams that people suddenly start liking you know.

[fightinirish217]

the only thing you need to look at is the attendance before the Celtics got KG, then the attendance after they got him. They clearly in this.

You got that right. Also, on my campus, each October for the past couple years, all of a sudden tons of Phillies fans also pop out of their caves for the playoffs. After that, you never see a Phillies hat/shirt again lol. I go to school in the Bronx.

[LastPlaceRocks]

Is any other area more notorious for this than Tampa Bay?
I hate how Rays, Bucs, and Lightning fans go crazy when they do good but just stop giving a shit when they do bad.
I think we just lose hope easily because of all the years of horribleness.
Tampa's up there because of all the transplants. It's the same thing with Miami and Atlanta.

[joelibyan]

the Rays were at 52.9% capacity for the year while the Marlins were at 51.7%. how exactly is that a big difference?

First of all, I don't buy the fact that Landshark Stadium's baseball capacity is 36,331. That number is just how many seats they decide to open up... But as evidenced by past playoff years, the stadium can open up to 65,000+... But generally, they cover up half those seats because they simply don't sell the tickets. If there was demand, they would supply. Tropicana field does not have this luxury, as their max seating allows for around 41,000. Like I said, I don't buy these artificial numbers.

Secondly, (which is outlined here (http://www.draysbay.com/2009/3/21/804282/the-rays-and-marlins-atten)), Miami/South Florida is about twice the size of the Tampa/St. Pete metro area. Logically, bigger pond = more fish, right?? It doesn't work in Miami, though.

Add it all up, and it's a big difference. The Marlins should be one of the most well attended teams in the league, considering that there are very few areas more populated than Miami in the US (5th largest, by some accounts). That leaves NYC, CHI, LA (which all have 2 MLB teams), and Houston ahead of Miami. Tampa is way down the list at 19th. Can you now justify the Marlins having less attended games than the Rays?

[xbrokendownx]

however you wanna slice it, having your stadium 50% filled is not "well attended"

[LastPlaceRocks]

First of all, I don't buy the fact that Landshark Stadium's baseball capacity is 36,331. That number is just how many seats they decide to open up... But as evidenced by past playoff years, the stadium can open up to 65,000+... But generally, they cover up half those seats because they simply don't sell the tickets. If there was demand, they would supply. Tropicana field does not have this luxury, as their max seating allows for around 41,000. Like I said, I don't buy these artificial numbers.

Secondly, (which is outlined here (http://www.draysbay.com/2009/3/21/804282/the-rays-and-marlins-atten)), Miami/South Florida is about twice the size of the Tampa/St. Pete metro area. Logically, bigger pond = more fish, right?? It doesn't work in Miami, though.

Add it all up, and it's a big difference. The Marlins should be one of the most well attended teams in the league, considering that there are very few areas more populated than Miami in the US (5th largest, by some accounts). That leaves NYC, CHI, LA (which all have 2 MLB teams), and Houston ahead of Miami. Tampa is way down the list at 19th. Can you now justify the Marlins having less attended games than the Rays?
It's not as big a difference as you make it. The problem with saying that Miami is the 5th largest metro is that you have to include a few outlying areas like West Palm Beach, which is over an hour away from Miami (that's like giving Tampa Bay the Orlando area as well, although those two metros overlap). With how spread out South Florida is, people don't want to drive the thirty-five to eighty miles one-way to see a game (this has been a problem for all teams and a detriment to the Panthers, which have an arena thirty-five miles north of Miami in Sunrise) and that, along with the transplant issue, hurts sports teams.

[inthemidst]

First of all, I don't buy the fact that Landshark Stadium's baseball capacity is 36,331. That number is just how many seats they decide to open up... But as evidenced by past playoff years, the stadium can open up to 65,000+... But generally, they cover up half those seats because they simply don't sell the tickets. If there was demand, they would supply. Tropicana field does not have this luxury, as their max seating allows for around 41,000. Like I said, I don't buy these artificial numbers.

Secondly, (which is outlined here (http://www.draysbay.com/2009/3/21/804282/the-rays-and-marlins-atten)), Miami/South Florida is about twice the size of the Tampa/St. Pete metro area. Logically, bigger pond = more fish, right?? It doesn't work in Miami, though.

Add it all up, and it's a big difference. The Marlins should be one of the most well attended teams in the league, considering that there are very few areas more populated than Miami in the US (5th largest, by some accounts). That leaves NYC, CHI, LA (which all have 2 MLB teams), and Houston ahead of Miami. Tampa is way down the list at 19th. Can you now justify the Marlins having less attended games than the Rays?

I hope the Marlins sell their team to another owner. Their owner is horrible. He sells off all of their good players, and somehow the Marlins have been able to win two championships with mostly no-name players. Then, the next year they're all traded for lesser-known prospects. This may contribute to the whole attendance/bandwagon issue, which is the lesser-known younger players, plus a crappy franchise management.

I also think it's way too hot/humid in Miami, they need to build a dome stadium. No one wants to sit on a Sunday at 1:00 in July when the sun is brutally beating down on them for 3 and a half hours.

[LastPlaceRocks]

I hope the Marlins sell their team to another owner. Their owner is horrible. He sells off all of their good players, and somehow the Marlins have been able to win two championships with mostly no-name players. Then, the next year they're all traded for lesser-known prospects. This may contribute to the whole attendance/bandwagon issue, which is the lesser-known younger players, plus a crappy franchise management.

I also think it's way too hot/humid in Miami, they need to build a dome stadium. No one wants to sit on a Sunday at 1:00 in July when the sun is brutally beating down on them for 3 and a half hours.
It'll never happen. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Marlins_Stadium)

[xbrokendownx]

...didnt Loria take over the Marlins only like 5 years ago?

[inthemidst]

It'll never happen. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Marlins_Stadium)

Well, that's good. Guess I've been out of the loop. At least it has a retractable roof, that's definitely needed. I guess the franchise will never acquire a new owner though.

[LastPlaceRocks]

...didnt Loria take over the Marlins only like 5 years ago?
It's been six or seven years - Loria got it that Montreal-Boston-Florida ownership change and has spent shit because the Marlins have the second-worst deal in professional sports. I'm blanking on the name, but the co-founder of Blockbuster who originally owned the team did the first team blow-up and Loria did the second one.

[joelibyan]

maps.google.com shows downtown Orlando to downtown St. Pete as 109 miles, drive time of 1:42. It also shows downtown West Palm to Miami Gardens (where the stadium is) as 63 miles, drive time of 1:03. There is a reason Orlando isn't a apart of the Tampa Bay area. These aren't my definitions, either; they're defined by the census bureau.
Granted, driving sucks. But there is a big difference between driving 1 hour vs. almost 2 hours each way.

[xbrokendownx]

Wayne Huizenga

[joelibyan]

Wayne Huizenga.

And the Marlins didn't have mostly no name players when they won their World Series'. It was after when they sold them all off that they had no namers.

And the stadium will never happen? They've already broke ground on it. Do you have inside info?

[LastPlaceRocks]

maps.google.com shows downtown Orlando to downtown St. Pete as 109 miles, drive time of 1:42. It also shows downtown West Palm to Miami Gardens (where the stadium is) as 63 miles, drive time of 1:03. There is a reason Orlando isn't a apart of the Tampa Bay area. These aren't my definitions, either; they're defined by the census bureau.
Granted, driving sucks. But there is a big difference between driving 1 hour vs. almost 2 hours each way.
I just used Orlando to Tampa, which is 1:22 and West Palm Beach to Miami, which is 1:12 because we're talking about metros. But that is a good point as far as baseball stadiums are concerned and does make a small difference; either way those are areas of people team can't bank on showing up on a regular basis.

[S/T]

It's pretty bad here because all we have are the Thunder. When NFL season rolls around people cling to whatever team in a 5 state radius is doing well that year, and use the whole "We don't have a team so I picked a team that's close by!".

It's the Broncos this year, for now.

[sevinw0rds]

LOL, you stole my thunder, dude! And don't forget the Heat. AAA is empty the first half of the year (when it's still football season), and then only fills up towards the end of the season if they're going to the playoffs.

And in defense of Tampa, at least they support a winner. The Rays games were very well attended this year (even when the post season was clearly out of reach), while the Marlins were nowhere near a sellout crowd all year. Don't forget, the Marlins were a better team than the Rays this year. If the public perceives a commitment by a team's owner, the public will commit back to the team, which is what happened in Tampa when the Rays were sold a couple of years ago. It's hard to rabidly support a combination of on-the-field losing and in-the-office apathy.

haha, I was gonna mention the Heat, but I haven't been to a game in ages so I don't know how devoted the following is. Either way, same shit in 2006 when they won. Everyone was a fan, from Hialeah to Key West!

[ActorInThisPlay]

I wouldn't say LA fans are necessarily bandwagoners but they certainly are the worst fans in the country. How can you call yourself a fan when you pack up to leave the game in like the 7th inning? Also everyone all of a sudden became the biggest Lakers fan in the world when they started winning with Kobe and Shaq. Before that, everyone was all over the Bulls nuts.

[LastPlaceRocks]

(1)Wayne Huizenga.

(2)And the Marlins didn't have mostly no name players when they won their World Series'. It was after when they sold them all off that they had no namers.

(3)And the stadium will never happen? They've already broke ground on it. Do you have inside info?
1. Thanks.
2. Never said they won with no-names (it's a mix of veterans and good young players who were affordable), just that the owners spend nothing because the Marlins make no money.
3. Click on link.

[joelibyan]

1. Thanks.
2. Never said they won with no-names (it's a mix of veterans and good young players who were affordable), just that the owners spend nothing because the Marlins make no money.
3. Click on link.
inthemidst (http://www.absolutepunk.net/member.php?u=915162) made the no name reference, my bad...
I clicked the link and read the article top to bottom, but still don't see where it mentions the possibility of the stadium not happening... Are you talking about the 1.2 billion in debt pay back? I'm confused.

[KidRobot]

Lets Go Rays.

I wish I could get down to games more often, but alas, I only see about 4-5 games down there a year and 2-3 games against the Yankees here.

[JJtrackie716]

i don't think i ever saw the metrodome as full as it was in the stretch run this year. Also Patriots fans and Tampa Bay Rays fans are popping up everywhere now.

[LastPlaceRocks]

inthemidst (http://www.absolutepunk.net/member.php?u=915162) made the no name reference, my bad...
I clicked the link and read the article top to bottom, but still don't see where it mentions the possibility of the stadium not happening... Are you talking about the 1.2 billion in debt pay back? I'm confused.
You didn't get the joke.

i don't think i ever saw the metrodome as full as it was in the stretch run this year. Also Patriots fans and Tampa Bay Rays fans are popping up everywhere now.
It's always that way during the playoffs - they take down the curtain in right field that covers up the worst seats in baseball - but the last year of indoor baseball probably helped a little bit.

[COTA]

Steelers...

Penguins...

[EvilZeppelin]

Penguins...

both.

[sleepyseanzzz]

Boston, of course!

I kid, I kid...

...or do I?


the "nation" did grow exponentially larger when the red sox won the first 2 world series in over 90 years, and i feel that only the true yankee fans were around until now all of a sudden we did great this regular season and everyone else is finally cheering for them again.....i go to school in rhode island and this year especially there is far more yankees and giants and jets clothes being worn and a lot less sox and pats clothes, i love it personally. the only thing they have are the celtics

[COTA]

both.

I think Pens fans, for the most part, are much bigger bandwagoners. I think they Steelers could have a bad team and the stands would be mostly full.

[deadstar]

One can argue the Steelers have such a large fan base due to bandwagon fans in the 70s.

Complaining about bandwagon is really getting old. Every successful team has them.

[MarkAndros]

Is any other area more notorious for this than Tampa Bay?
I hate how Rays, Bucs, and Lightning fans go crazy when they do good but just stop giving a shit when they do bad.
I think we just lose hope easily because of all the years of horribleness.

You should have seen Arizona around the time of the superbowl. Went from never seeing Cardinals stuff to only seeing Cardinals stuff. And now back to seeing none.

[RyanFTW]

A lot of more "gangsta" human beings love the yankees. Yet for some reason, they can't name more than five players. Tried this out the other day, he just got mad and cussed me out. Not my fault he said he's a "superfan".

[eags2]

Cowboys fans are the absolute worst when it comes to this. After the Giants game there were so many facebook statuses that said stuff like "I want Kitna", among others. Most cowboy fans know NOTHING about football.

my favorite is when people around here (tri-state area) are die hard cowboys fans. like how?????? there not on national tv everyweek for you to see and you grew up an hour from jets/giants i just dont understand it.

[xbrokendownx]

to be fair, just because you live somewhere doesnt mean you have to be a fan of those teams

[LastPlaceRocks]

One can argue the Steelers have such a large fan base due to bandwagon fans in the 70s.

Complaining about bandwagon is really getting old. Every successful team has them.
That and no one shows up for a losing team with the exception of the NFL (minus Jacksonville), Chicago Cubs (to a point) and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

[KidRobot]

i don't think i ever saw the metrodome as full as it was in the stretch run this year. Also Patriots fans and Tampa Bay Rays fans are popping up everywhere now.

There aren't any Rays fans anymore. They didn't make the world series again.

[thursday727]

Tampa's up there because of all the transplants. It's the same thing with Miami and Atlanta.
Whats sad is that there are probably just as many or maybe even more Steeler fans in the tampa area than Bucs fans.

[thursday727]

There aren't any Rays fans anymore. They didn't make the world series again.
wrong.
just because they didn't make the world series dosn't mean we all abandoned ship.

[SwiftSilentDead]

Complaining about bandwagon is really getting old. Every successful team has them.

This.

[LastPlaceRocks]

Whats sad is that there are probably just as many or maybe even more Steeler fans in the tampa area than Bucs fans.
Wouldn't surprise me.

[youkwalks]

A lot of more "gangsta" human beings love the yankees. Yet for some reason, they can't name more than five players. Tried this out the other day, he just got mad and cussed me out. Not my fault he said he's a "superfan".
Ya, west coast NY fans are the worst.

[J.C.]

my favorite is when people around here (tri-state area) are die hard cowboys fans. like how?????? there not on national tv everyweek for you to see and you grew up an hour from jets/giants i just dont understand it.

Not to defend the bandwagoners, but the Cowboys are virtually always on in this area. Basically all their divisional games end up televised in one way, shape, or form.

[thursday727]

God i wish it was 2002-2003 again
greatest year ever to be a tampa bay citizen.
vu9ezbq1EBg

[KidRobot]

wrong.
just because they didn't make the world series dosn't mean we all abandoned ship.

There was a huge amount of sarcasm. I'm a Rays fan myself. Have been following them since 3 or 4 years ago when we got a house down there and this year I finally became a full on fan.

[Sarcasm]

What's more stupid is someone that switches to different sides of a rivalry, depending on who won recently.

[eags2]

Not to defend the bandwagoners, but the Cowboys are virtually always on in this area. Basically all their divisional games end up televised in one way, shape, or form.

unless they play the giants there never on tv here i just dont understand it really

[TEAMRAMROD]

God i wish it was 2002-2003 again
greatest year ever to be a tampa bay citizen.
vu9ezbq1EBg
I remember in about 2 years we had the Super bowl, Stanley Cup, and the Arena Bowl.

[LastPlaceRocks]

unless they play the giants there never on tv here i just dont understand it really
There's a reason the Cowboys are called "America's Team."

[Zeran]

i'm from upstate ny and am a cowboys fan. i used to be hardcore into them, as one of my earliest memories was watching the super bowl against the steelers.

[Sal]

I dislike White Sox fans who know nothing about baseball except that their team won the World Series 4 years a go, and the Cubs haven't won in over 100 years.

I have no problem with bandwagon fans... as long as they follow the sport. It bothers me when people make stupid comments, and they don't even follow what's going on in the sport.

[greenteaallday]

speaking of tampa i just remembered this song.
i4w6K5fA1Hg

They did this in NY too during the subway world series in 2000. "who let the mets out" was everywhere.