Do losing teams have loyal fanbases and...?

Question

Do winning teams have weak fanbases? Because I've been seeing a lot of answers where people are saying the Cubs have the most Loyal fanbase where as the Red Sox fans are a bunch of bandwagoners. So does that mean if you don't win World Championships you have a strong fanbase and vice versa?

I'm just disrepecting the Cubs or anything, just wondering.

Answer 1

I'm sure that teams like the Royals have loyal fanbases. The Cards have a pretty good-sized fanbase, the best in baseball.

Answer 2

Not neccessarily. Every team has loyal fans. The Red Sox, Yankees, and some Cubs and Rays have some bandwagoners, some because of the success they are having this year, and others because of success in the past and a bunch of good teams.

When a team does good, they will always have bandwagoners. I will always be a White Sox fan. When they won in 2005, bandwagoners came. Now, they are all Cubs fans.

So, to answer your question, I would just say to a certain extent.

Answer 3

Well, many people think that the most Loyal fans have the least fan base and are loyal because they are not good and dont have to worry about Bandwagon fans because they are to doing good example

the Rays,  last year on here i would see maybe 1 or 2 true fans and then this year i see many that i can guarantee you were not fans from the beginning

Answer 4

I dont think they do. Maybe some of them. I think I heard the Padres were not getting as much attendence at their stadium. Even if my team was in last place, I'd still be a loyal fan. I love my team and always will and have. I would also never become a bandwagoner. (Not saying any particular team has bandwagoners). Great Question. Here's a  STAR! =]

Answer 5

I've always thought that they Cubs and Red Sox had the most loyal fans in all of baseball.  Any fans that can stick by their team through years of heartache seem pretty loyal in my book.  I think 99 years and 86 years is a lot of heartache to suffer through and the fact they still even had fans proves their fans loyalty.

I think a lot of people just say Cubs because they're approaching the century mark for their World Series and the Red Sox have ended their streak and also won another since then.  Winning a championship will cause a team to pick up some bandwagoners.  Don;t take it personally, Red Sox fans that have always been fans of the team will always be considered loyal.

Answer 6

Well Not Really Look At My Giants the majority of the fans are getting tired of the giants losing all the time. When I was at the giants vs brewers on the 18th! once Prince Fielder hit the 1st homerun in the game the giants fans started to leave! and that was the 6th (I think I could be wrong there) but check the link out! it's the giants message board you might need to go back a bit to check out what some fans said ! but the giants fans have come to a stage where they are talking about who should the giant trade and how bad the management  is !!!!!!!!! no fan message board should say stuff like that but it's all true !

http://www.forums.mlb.com/n/pfx/forum.as...

Answer 7

Yes!! Many losing teams have "loyal" fan bases. Look at Los Dodgers, twenty years without a  WS appearance.

Still drawing 3.5+  million fans per year.

This is not a loyal fan base?

Be careful about disrespecting any team's fan base base, or else, edit your question..

Answer 8

I have always believed that all teams have a loyal fan base but when a team starts winning, there will be fans who jump aboard & start liking that particular team

Answer 9

well the White Sox were not doing well before 2005 and their fans are the most loyal fans I have ever met. im not just saying that because im a fan. but after 05 their fan base really skyrocketed.

Answer 10

I think as a majority, winning teams have the larger fan base just because you don't have to put yourself through as much an emotional risk ('86 I cried my eyes out), but there are a few teams out there that really do have a solid fan base and haven't won in years (Baltimore Orioles) and other who have won who can't draw a crowd at all (Florida Marlins).  I think that the bandwagon fans really start jumping on when teams have a compelling story behind them (Red Sox curse of the Bambino, Cubs curse of the Goat) and are in contention.  Plus teams like Boston and the Cubs are in large markets which mean more exposure nationwide and televised games which bring out more fans.  Long answer to a short resolution; no.

Answer 11

The Giants Have Loyal fans with a small fanbase

once they get good again everybody will love them

Thats what happened to the Warriors

Answer 12

When you look at fans of the Cubs, Indians, and other teams that haven't won anything in a long time, you know that they have to be loyal. There isn't really a bandwagon to jump on and staying with a team that disappoints year after year shows loyalty.

However, it is unfair to assume that there is no loyalty to be found in team's that have had success in recent years. I'll use the Red Sox as an example since you mentioned them. They have a lot of loyal fans. Before 2004, they were in the same boat as the Cubs and its not like Fenway was empty then. It's just that after 2004 and they won, a boatload of new "fans" decided to support the Red Sox. So there are still a bunch of loyal fans but also plenty of bandwagoners.

So I don't think championships determine how strong your fanbase is. It just determines how many front runners you have.

Answer 13

Every major league team has a loyal core group of die-hard fans.  For teams in the larger cities such as Boston, New York, LA, and others the core group is larger because there are more people to draw from.  there are other groups of people, that are not every day fans of the game, that become more regular fans when the team is winning.  These are your bandwagon fans that are along for the winning ride.  To answer your question, every team has some great fans that stick with the team through thick and thin but teams in the larger cities just have more of them.  On the reverse side, every team has bandwagon fans, and once again, there are more of them in larger cities because of the population to draw from.

Answer 14

You can never look at the Cubs when it comes to fanbases. They could not get anyone into the park until the early 90's. And why so many fans - because they put their games on WGN - a cable channel. That is why they are popular in places like Utah - their games are seen on TV.

Answer 15

Every team has it's own loyal fan base.  With a perpetually losing team it is usually smaller.  Then when it starts winning more fans return.  In the case with the Red Sox a lot of people started to like the team simply because they weren't the Yankees and had to beat the "evil empire".  Many of the Sox fans are bandwagoners but they do have a large loyal fan base too.

Answer 16

YES even one player on the red sox said that they are tired of all the disloyal fans and that fans just wear the hat because "it looks cool"

rays have the most loyal fans, and they lose

SO ITS TRUE

Answer 17

I think every sports team has some of each. There are loyal fans who will be there no matter what, and there are bandwagon fans.

I don't necessarily think its wrong to be a bandwagon fan, as long as you don't claim to be a die-hard fan when times are good. I'm not a big basketball fan, but a few years ago when my local Seattle Sonics were in the playoffs, I watched the games and rooted for them. I didn't claim to be a die-heard fan, but I'd still like to see them win. On the other hand, I've been a die-hard Mariners and Seahawks fan my whole life. I even wear my Seahawks gear to work on the Monday after a tough loss just to prove that I'm still a fan through the rough times. So when they went to the Super Bowl I was as excited as any die hard fan would be. I'm also still rooting for my Mariners even though they are competing for the worst record in baseball.

I don't think winning or loosing has any impact. All teams have some die-hard fans and some bandwagon fans. If a team is consistently winning, they will have a larger base of bandwagon fans at any given time, but there's no denying the fact that some of those fans would stop paying attention if the team started loosing.

Answer 18

The Cubs always had a loyal fanbase hence the nickname lovable losers. Boston fans have stuck pretty much by their team as well. I think the Marlins fanbase is a little weak, because they have won 2 championships in the past 10 years and I still hjardly see any fans in the stands.

Answer 19

The Giants have a small fanbase because they havent been winning for a few years but we still have a lot of loyal fans.