Whats the opposite of bandwagoning?

Question

So Im a Wings fan have been for years and years and Iam freakin stoked the Wings are just such a phenominal team...but I was thinking I wanted to pick a weak team to start following just so I can watch the struggle and the improvement over the next several years and maybe see them succeed one day. I thought I was going to get to see this with the wings after Yzerman and Shanny left...a rebuilding year if you will...but there was no slowing the wings down , i know...you should feel terrible for me .... lol.

Anywho so I think as a second team Im going to start following Phoenix. Because they are an under dog, they arent in the wings division , and they play SJ and Anaheim all the time...and i hates them.

So is this bandwagoning? Or the opposite because Im purposelly following them because they are kinda sucky?

Do any of you have a weak team you follow, or a secondary team you root for?

Answer 1

the opposite of bandwagoner would be a homer.

Answer 2

even though i claim to be a "Kings hater", ironically, that's the weak team that i follow...my dad is a huge Kings fan, so i guess some of his King-ness has rubbed off on me...only when the Sharks aren't playing...other than that I'm a Sharks fan

Answer 3

WTF-- all these LOOONG responses and the answer is simple..

Opposite of bandwagoner--- Being a diehard for the worst team in the league (atleast you will have the best draft pick)

Answer 4

Interesting, the nearest I've got is rooting for the team that knocked the Wings out of the Cup - and they have a pretty good record!  The only time I couldn't do that was with Anaheim - I just couldn't somehow bring myself to embrace them.

How about this?  I know it's a fab time to be a Wings fan, and I have not experienced the highs and lows of it, as I missed the last Cup we won, and only properly paid attention after the lockout.  What about just not taking it for granted that We will win? I'm glad that you don't feel cheated by the 'gap' between Stanley Cups but still feel the Wings are great, as there's more than one contributor here who's been badly scarred by that.

Phoenix is a good choice too - with *Gretzky's record as a player, it's very possible that his youngsters will pull together as a real force under his coaching, and anyone who can give the Ducks a spanking is ok by me!

*Did I spell that right??

Answer 5

To me, there's good bandwagoning and bad bandwagoning. What you propose is good bandwagoning because you haven't abandoned your team. Of course it helps that they have advanced this far. But nonetheless, I would do the same thing - and have.

If the current series leaders turn out to be the finalists, then I'll be a bandwagon Red Wings fan at least for all the front running Penguins newbies (but with all due respect to Erica).

Now, if you were, let's say a Penguins "fan" who only discovered them a week ago and then come here to boast about them being 3 up on the Flyers, then that is the epitome of a bad bandwagon fan.

IMMACULATE RECEPTION - It may appear to be that way but there is one defining moment in a bandwagoners life that shows what they are about. That is when their team falls on hard times or when they are facing elimination and they disappear.

No one here decides for anyone else who is a bandwagon fan. They do that themselves. If you are new and show up just when they (your team) start doing well, then it looks a certain way. But time will separate the real fans from the rent-a-fans.

By the way, none of us own this site. We have as much a right to be here as anyone else. And we all had to endure the bandwagon phase in one way or another.

Personally, I don't care who likes which team. I always claim to be my own kind of Flyers fan. But what I can do without is the proclamations of greatness before the fact and the insults hurled at fans of the losing teams.

Like the saying goes, if it looks like a duck, and sounds like a duck, then it must be a duck. And I for one would like to be proven wrong about whom I say is a bandwagon fan.

Elitist, eh? Give me a break.

Answer 6

If you stick with a team through good times and bad, then you aren't a bandwagoner. I have rooted for the Islanders since 1974, through the success of 4 Cups and the disaster that was Mike Milbury. There is a really small Isles fan base here , so feel free to join, plenty of room.

My secondary team is the local ECHL team, the Las Vegas Wranglers, who are still in the hunt for the Kelly Cup.

Answer 7

Well, you could watch the Lions...you know. keep it in the nieghborhood.. :)

Answer 8

You could root for Phoenix or another team not doing so well. I personally was born and raised a Red Wings fan, but since my parents currently live in Florida, my mom has made me start following the Lightning when I'm home with her. If you don't already know, Tampa was pretty much last in the league this year even though they have some tremendous players (like forwards Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis (and Brad Richards who they traded earlier this year to Dallas)). They've got the number one draft pick this year, so I'm anxious to see what they can do. Hopefully they'll get a goalie that can actually stop pucks and be able to build up some solid defense.

I'd also look out for the Blackhawks. I think their time may be coming up again.

Answer 9

Being a Thrashers fan.Throw a stone in Atlanta and not hit a Thrashers fan.

Answer 10

Hmm...opposite of a bandwagon.  A pulley fan?  I really don't know.

I root for the Stars and the Wild, but I doubt they could be called weak teams.

Answer 11

thank you for being a thrashers hater joe.

i think you're going through what i call maple leafs syndrome. it occurs when you become complacent about your sports team, and you begin to except the expected instead of going through the roller coaster of being a sports fan.

so in the nhl you have tonnes of teams to pick from. i'm in the same boat and have moved on to many other teams aside from my own in years past. it still hurts me to admit that i actually follow these teams where the sun shines brightly and beaches/golf courses are abundant...but what can you do when your team is going through a drought.

the good thing is that maple leafs syndrome can also be applied to all sports and their leagues i.e. the cleveland browns, tampa bay bucanneers, ny jets/giants/mets, detroit lions/tigers, florida marlins, derby county, liverpool, tottenham hotspurs, philadelphia eagles, pittsburgh steelers, montreal expos, atlanta braves/hawks/thrashers, the now forgotten vancouver grizzlies etc...

if you're scouting for teams you can watch the:

florida panthers

atlanta thrashers

toronto maple leafs

los angeles kings

san jose sharks

columbus blue jackets

washington capitals

pittsburgh penguins

boston bruins

tampa bay lightning

ny islanders

chicago blackhawks

phoenix coyotes

st. louis blues

minnesota wild

edmonton oilers

pittsburgh penguins

vancouver canucks

*nashville predators

now not all the teams on this list suck...but some of them are definately teams you should watch.

you're welcome. i agree with the pulley someone suggested and also homer. i was going to think of something, but instead i'll just tell you what i do. i put it under the bracket of being a "sports fan". a general fan...just cause i watch these other teams doesn't mean i forget my roots you know.

tampa bay is a good bet, but they already won the cup so i believe the can bounce back once they get rid of some things/people, so no.

a p**s poor team if you really want to know is the atlanta thrashers, columbus bluejackets, st. louis blues. those teams have been bottoming out for years and they have talent, but they're still bottom of the league. i believe the islanders are cursed for some reason because they've sucked for so long, that i can't remember a time when they were actually good. if florida's management wants to keep their team in a hole and not acquire or draft good players then goodluck to them. idiots. and last but not least the la kings. they're an up and up team so i won't put them alongside some of these teams...but if you want to watch them they're bottom of the standings too, and they can bring you lots of heartache but you'll like watching them play.

i also believe in downfalls for the ducks, canes, sens, sharks, and lightning organizations.

or you can just come and join leafs nation. we welcome everyone who is not a sens fan/a hardcore habs fan.

Answer 12

Well, when someone jumps on the bandwagon, they all of a sudden root for the hottest team. When someone hates the team they used to love, I would call it jumping ship.

Answer 13

O could nto resist- I have a weak team that I root for- they are the Detroit Lions.  Always and forever.  Why- I have no idea, but they need at least one fan.  

I love the home teams- but in hockey-Just the Wings.  I dont just pick another team to root for- that is just me.  But if they Wings arent playing, then I will root for an Original Six  team,  I was hoping the Habs or the Rangers would have made it farther in the playoffs, but oh well.   Just my opinion!  :)

Answer 14

Homerism

per exemplo Mike the Avs fan

*runs for her life*

I root mainly for the Ducks but I adore some former Ducks so I root for those teams kinda sorta.

hey so what if you're bandwagoning I don't care..

Answer 15

The thing I Think is funny is how a person is called a bandwagon fan or front runner just because they have only recently started posting in the YA hockey section.

There are millions of  true and hardcore fans who never post in here. I have been a Pens fan since the 70's and I'm a season ticket holder. But according to some of the elitist regular posters, I am a bandwagon fan because I just started posting.

What a joke those people are. And they don't even know it.

Answer 16

Bandwagoning basically means you start rooting for a team just because everybody else around you is and you want to feel accepted and some kind of recognition. Usually it occurs when a team has recently started doing really well, but I don't think that is always a prerequisite.

In fact, I would say most fans start out as bandwagon fans. For example, I became a fan of the Penguins in the early 90's (I'm still young too) when they won the Cup twice. But I'm a fan for life now. I'd say whether people become real fans is determined when their team is in a slump, or if they stop watching and attending games just for acceptance or recognition, and they still actively follow the team and at least try to watch every game (depending on your budget). If they stop rooting for and supporting their team in either instance, they were bandwagon fans all along.

In your case, I don't think that is bandwagoning. You are not looking for any kind of acceptance or recognition by rooting for Phoenix. Although, I don't know exactly why you are rooting for them in the first place. Just because they are underdogs and you pity them? That doesn't make much sense to me.

I've now been a big fan of all Pittsburgh teams, so I know what it's like rooting for and supporting a sucky team. The Penguins were in a slump for awhile, but I'm talking about the Pirates. They are approaching the record for most consecutive losing seasons this year (14). It's frustrating to say the least.